Scrum is a framework utilized to set an agile mindset in developing, delivering, and sustaining complex products. It is a tool that business or non-business organizations use to increase agility.
Still, there are scrum teams that fail to unleash their true potential. Successful scrum teams are rare and very fragile. A single mistake can easily disrupt the dynamic, affecting your team negatively. Thus, how can you determine if your scrum team is a highly functioning one? Can you afford to disrupt the current dynamic to make a change?
To help you identify a highly functioning scrum team, here are some of the valuable characteristics of a functioning scrum team:
- Highly Collaborative
Team players should involve a high degree of collaboration to deliver high-value products. Some may refer to this as having a ‘quality circle.’ Each member of your team should be encouraged to contribute to producing high-quality value products. Team members should never be afraid of sharing their ideas, regardless of their primary role. The ability to willingly aid each other to achieve the shared goal is one of the essential characteristics of a highly functioning scrum team.
- Great Communicators
Members of a highly functioning scrum team are great communicators. Great communicators do not simply speak with great mastery but also listen with intent. More than speaking and listening to one another, being open to the ideas of others is also an important characteristic.
- Self-Motivated
The ability to thrive in improving independently is one of many traits of a highly functioning scrum. Team members are not limiting themselves with their defined roles. Instead, they are continuously motivated to improve their abilities. This characteristic creates a solid framework for each team player to play their part and produce the best results effectively.
- Team Focused
Another significant characteristic is having a deep understanding that working with a collaborative group of individuals as a team provides higher quality results. Collaboration with other team players provides better decision-making and higher productivity levels. Having this kind of mindset is essential to work in synergy with other team members effectively.
- Problem Solvers
In a scrum team, members are encouraged to develop an abrupt mindset in handling complex problems. Members of a highly functioning scrum team must be great problem solvers. The ability to provide quick solutions is one of the crucial characteristics that every scrum team must possess. Practical problem solving can be done by identifying issues, seeking input, and determining the best option to achieve the best results.
- Flexible
It is recognizable that members are quick to understand and adapt to changes in a highly functioning scrum team. They are never afraid of change but instead possess a positive attitude towards it. They even propose changes necessary for the benefit of better output and achieving the team’s shared goal.
- Results Driven
When the team is results-driven, they fully understand the importance of delivering quality outputs. They strive to align their works with the team’s shared goal and work to the best of their abilities to meet it. Having the best framework is not enough to ensure that the scrum team is performing its full potential. Instead, the desire to make continuous improvements to produce and deliver the best results.
Why build a Scrum team?
If you plan to build a Scrum team to be more agile, the following are essential critical benefits that Scrum provides to organizations, groups, products, and individuals.
- Speed to Market and Increased ROI
Since scrums use sprints as the primary work method, features are developed incrementally, and small usable parts of the product are available at the end of each sprint. Incremental updates enable a stakeholder to possibly release the product on an earlier date from the development cycle. The decrease in time to market can increase the return of investment (ROI) with less competition.
This method can also help solve possible issues that can arise in the future, avoiding a failure for the entire, complete product before the release. Fewer cost defects and up-front testing means less wasted work and faster deployment.
- Great Quality Produce
Quality is a crucial principle of development with Scrum. Project Management Team under Scrum aims to accomplish a vision or goal by defining and elaborating the project requirements. This will let the product feature be relevant as possible.
In addition, testing occurs every sprint in a scrum team, enabling routine inspection on the product as it develops. This allows the Scrum Team to detect any potential quality issues and prevent them as necessary.
Scrum also provides a framework that includes frequent feedback, ensuring that the quality is as high as possible. Regular and continuous improvement of scrum team output (product or service) through sprint reviews with stakeholders
- Transparency
A scrum team encourages active client and product ownership and stakeholder involvement throughout the development of a product. The scrum team gives importance to feedback from the client.
Therefore, transparency is much higher in a scrum team, both around progress and status, which can help in adjusting, changing, and meeting expectations effectively.
- Risk
Since Scrum is centered in small increments of product, Product Owners and Stakeholders can identify risks regularly. This helps the Scrum Team address it immediately, ensuring that decisions can be taken at a suitable/earlier time, while it can still make a difference to the outcome. The Scrum Team owns risks, and they are regularly reviewed. The risk of a failed initiative is reduced.
- Flexibility/Agility
In traditional product development, developers create extensive specifications upfront, with the costs of the project. Any changes must be paid as the project proceeds. Clients resist changes and try to keep them at a minimum. This approach fails as it assumes that the software developed is already at 100% and no issues are needed to be addressed. Necessary changes in the business and market cannot be applied to the product due to additional cost, making the product less valuable than it should be.
More of SCRUM:
In a scrum team, changes are accepted and anticipated. In a project, additional requirements emerge and evolve as the product develops. For this to work, it is vital to have an involved product owner understand the concept and provide necessary feedback and changes in decisions, trading scopes where it adds value to the product.
- A Valuable Product
In traditional project development, it is too common to deliver a product and later find out that it is not as expected, having too many faulty and useless features.
In Scrum, building the right product that will deliver the desired expectation of the client is essential. The ability to resolve emerging issues and to adapt to any immediate business changes helps a high-functioning scrum team develop the right and high-quality product for the customers and users.
- Business Engagement/Customer Satisfaction
Since feedback is an integral part of Scrum, product owners are actively involved in projects. High transparency of the product, progress, and business changes are needed in each development, making business engagement a big part of Scrum.
This is an essential benefit of scrum as great business engagement can create a more positive and enduring working relationship among clients, business owners, and developers.
- More Enjoyable
The active involvement of both client and project teams in highly functional scrum teams makes it a more pleasant workplace. A great work environment can make everyone productive, with higher quality work and more innovation. Motivated employees are more effective, systematic, and innovative.
Tough But Worth It
Building a high-functioning scrum team can be a meticulous process. More than that, it is vital to ensure that the scrum team you made is performing to the best of their abilities. However, if you honestly spot those qualities mentioned above on your team, it is good news. It is likely that you already have the best performing scrum team you could dream of.
There is no perfect team. If you are fortunate enough to have this type of team, enjoy the great work. No need to push or add more pressure on the team. You can instead try opening opportunities for them to mentor others.
Why Flexisource IT Scrum Framework?
Flexisource IT has dedicated remote IT teams who are well-versed in Scrum project management methodology. Our Scrum Framework promotes seamless team collaboration in creating well-organised projects and efficient teamwork.
Our Scrum Framework offers fast project progress with high-quality products and regular scrum meetings to change priorities accordingly. Read Flexisource IT Scrum Framework and work with us.
Aileen Artiaga is a part-time writer, SMO specialist, and travel enthusiast. She is a curating content, analyzing posts performance, and delivering information to content marketing portals. She also manages her own YouTube channel.
