Scrum Master
Case Study

Agile team in trouble

Problem

An agile team with 8 members was working on an internal software project for the organization. The team included a Product Owner, a designer, and a frequently changing roster of part-time junior developers who occasionally contributed to other projects. Management wanted to know what resources were needed to complete the project and to what extent, and when the first version of the product, the Minimum Viable Product (MVP), could be launched. Although the Product Owner had a very clear vision of the MVP, the team could not answer these questions.

Process

I joined the team in the role of Scrum Master 3 months into the project. In close collaboration with the Product Owner we performed the following activities:

Assembling a multifunctional team: We added a technical architect and evaluated the minimum resource requirements of the designer, frontend and backend developers.
Time allocation for the team: We made arrangements with the organization’s resource manager to allow the team to commit exclusively to the project for the next 3 months.
Product Owner support: We went through training on how to use Jira, manage Backlog, write stories, manage priorities, etc.
Deploying Scrum routines: We implemented all Scrum events and artifacts within the Scrum framework.

Outcome

After three months, we had a dedicated and highly motivated agile team whose members followed an agile mindset in their decision-making and effectively used the Scrum development method.

We provided an overview to the management of when the MVP will be completed and what the estimated cost of the project will be.

Despite member changes, the team successfully completed the project and launched the MVP as planned. Most of all, the teamwork and motivation of the team members increased tenfold and they were sad to leave the project.

My time allocation: 6h per week for 3 months or a total of ca. 70h