Scrum 2020 — Individual accountability creates silos

My issues with Accountabilities

Willem-Jan Ageling
Serious Scrum

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One of the misconceptions is that Scrum is soft. Scrum Teams can’t make promises ‘because the product environment is complex’. When Scrum Teams don’t deliver, they give the same excuse. No one can say anything about it because the team is self-managing. Outsiders aren’t allowed to intervene. This faulty perception of Scrum must sting the creators of the framework.

Scrum isn’t like this. Instead, Scrum requires relentless commitment. Without this commitment from the Scrum Team and its stakeholders, Scrum isn’t effective.

I assume this is why they decided to be clearer in the new Scrum Guide by adding Commitments and Accountabilities. I like the emphasis on the two, but I don’t like how they implemented Accountabilities. Scrum Master, Developers and Product Owners all have their own accountabilities. But what about the Scrum Team? Shouldn’t the team be the prime focus? Are the accountabilities an incentive for silos within the Scrum Team?

There’s so much to unpack here. Let’s get right to it.

Individual accountability creates silos — Image by marcson from Pixabay

The Scrum Guide emphasises on the team

To most of us, it is clear that Scrum always has been about cross-functional and self-organising teams. In complex…

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Willem-Jan Ageling
Serious Scrum

https://ageling.substack.com Writer, editor, founder of Serious Scrum. I love writing about maximizing value.