“Scrum” as Change Engagement Framework !
Empirical ways to engage people using change to deliver meaningful value.
🎯Purpose
In the VUCA world the word change is powerful, inevitable and constant. A key observation to note in the Scrum Guide the word change occurs almost 17 times and hence it is important. For instance that change can be agility across people, practices, product, business and enterprise etc,. In the context of Scrum framework change resonates well with all core essential elements along with values, principles and rules.The core essential elements are the roles, events and artifacts. A few excerpts from the Scrum Guide proves the significance of change.
Changes in business requirements, market conditions, or technology may cause changes in the Product Backlog. — Scrum Guide 2017
The Product Backlog is dynamic; it constantly changes to identify what the product needs to be appropriate, competitive, and useful. — Scrum Guide 2017
The Sprint Backlog is a plan with enough detail that changes in progress can be understood in the Daily Scrum. — Scrum Guide 2017
Only the Development Team can change its Sprint Backlog during a Sprint. — Scrum Guide 2017
When a Sprint’s horizon is too long the definition of what is being built may change, complexity may rise, and risk may increase. — Scrum Guide 2017
A Sprint would be cancelled if the Sprint Goal becomes obsolete. This might occur if the company changes direction or if market or technology conditions change. — Scrum Guide 2017
The Product Owner may represent the desires of a committee in the Product Backlog, but those wanting to change a Product Backlog item’s priority must address the Product Owner. — Scrum Guide 2017
During the Sprint Review, the Scrum Team and stakeholders collaborate about what was done in the Sprint. Based on that and any changes to the Product Backlog during the Sprint, attendees collaborate on the next things that could be done to optimize value. — Scrum Guide 2017
Interestingly even agile shares a mutually inclusive space with change. A few excerpts from the agile manifesto and principles for your perusal.
Responding to change over following a plan — Agile Manifesto 2001
Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer’s competitive advantage. — Agile Principles
During COVID-19 circumstances, organisations are exploring options to weather the storm and thrive. Leaders are willing to invest major efforts to manage complexity in the new normal. Also to maintain the momentum of flow for value delivery at the same time. Especially working from home being the primary challenge to deal with amidst everything. In dynamic environments seamless collaboration and communication amongst people is pivotal for engagement.
As the Scrum Master, I would love to invite 💌 all leaders who are willing to evoke organic change. We can collaborate together and visualise Scrum as a Change Engagement Framework. It collectively offers both simplicity and sustainability. This framework has been discovered by me based on my frame of reference and experience. I am elated to say “Engagement is the key” is the source of inspiration and motivation for this Framework. The whole credits to Gunther Verheyen, The Independent Scrum Care Taker.
The Change Engagement Framework consists of 4 key actionable steps. It must be enacted in empirical manner. Scrum values ❤️ are the cornerstone of this framework. It is very essential to embrace the them to achieve sustainable success using this framework. They act as compass 🧭 to navigate all conversations and situations that arise at any step. Also the Scrum Master plays a crucial role with regards to evoking change using Scrum. Yet it is easier said than done!
The Scrum Master’s job is to work with the Scrum Team and the organization to increase the transparency of the artifacts. This work usually involves learning, convincing, and change. Transparency doesn’t occur overnight, but is a path. — Scrum Guide 2017
The Change Engagement Framework involves following steps, Exploring insights, Envisaging Pathways, Experiment Options and Empowering People. Further down the road ahead let us together learn and understand ways to apply it in context of change.
1. Explore 🔎
As people are part of the complex adaptive system of an organisation. We need to explore their needs and wants with utmost care. It is very imperative to gather insights before trying any kind of change be it either micro or macro. The Scrum Master must identify creative ways to explain people about the Scrum values. To learn and explore their purpose and how the Scrum values aligns with the work they perform on a day to day basis. This helps in identifying the bright spots for partnering together with people to experience any change experiments in an effective manner.
The Scrum Team members learn and explore those values as they work with the Scrum events, roles and artifacts. — Scrum Guide 2017
2. Envisage 🔭
As the Scrum Master it is important to convey the purpose of change. It is very essential for constructing the emergent roadmap to achieve and sustain change. Likewise envisage the patterns that may emerge and evolve during the change journey. These patterns play a vital role to work with the people at various levels within the organisation. Partner with the peer Scrum Team members and leaders as follows,
- Identify pathways to optimise the flow of value.
- Focus on identifying and removal of hidden bottlenecks impeding the flow of value.
- Visualise change using systems thinking to focus on global optimisation of flow empirically.
A Scrum Master can detect incomplete transparency by inspecting the artifacts, sensing patterns, listening closely to what is being said, and detecting differences between expected and real results. — Scrum Guide 2017
3. Experiment 🧪
Experimenting options with learning moments is the key for success within complex environment. Experiments paves the way to try small changes and learn from them to build and sustain them. The Scrum Master must consistently experiment changes in accordance to evolving organisational ecosystem. It is possible by having meaningful conversations while engaging with people. Inspect and adapt change initiatives with radical transparency and minimalistic rules. This is one of the ways to build collaborative, engaged and high performing Scrum Team(s). Moreover it builds engaged organisations by inspection and adaption at every opportunity.
Causing change that increases the productivity of the Scrum Team; and,
Working with other Scrum Masters to increase the effectiveness of the application of Scrum in the organization. — Scrum Guide 2017
Finding techniques for effective Product Backlog management; — Scrum Guide 2017
Planning Scrum implementations within the organization; — Scrum Guide 2017
4. Empower 🌐
The Scrum Master who believe in people’s ability and resourcefulness will act as follows:
- He/She will empower them to discover their Mastery, Autonomy and Purpose.
- He/She will explain and help them understand the rules and principles behind the change.
- He/She co-creates change initiatives by partnering with people across the organisation.
- He/She evokes the sense of purpose and shared ownership with focus on accountability.
All the above action requires ⚖ balancing act at all the levels of the organisation. As the Scrum Master he/she empowers people to deliver meaningful value. He enacts Servant Leadership style at operational, tactical and strategic levels. It refers to enacting various stances like teaching, coaching, mentoring to espouse change. These stances along with values will inspire people to aspire towards meaningful outcomes.
The Scrum Master helps everyone change these interactions to maximize the value created by the Scrum Team. — Scrum Guide 2017
Ensuring that goals, scope, and product domain are understood by everyone on the Scrum Team as well as possible; — Scrum Guide 2017
Coaching the Development Team in self-organization and cross-functionality; — Scrum Guide 2017
Coaching the Development Team in organizational environments in which Scrum is not yet fully adopted and understood. — Scrum Guide 2017
Leading and coaching the organization in its Scrum adoption; — Scrum Guide 2017
🔑 Key Takeaways
Ultimately, I would like to convey a key message especially to the people part of Leadership. To succeed and sustain any form of change humanise the organisation using empiricism. Empirically engage your current and future workforce to deliver and sustain value creation. As the Scrum Guide says with regards to Product Owner.
For the Product Owner to succeed, the entire organization must respect his or her decisions. — Scrum Guide 2017
In similar lines, I would request and recommend leaders to provide the necessary time-box and environment to the Scrum Master(s).
For the Scrum Master(s) to succeed in evoking empirical change, the entire organisation must respect his or her observations. Also support him or her to foster an engaging and impactful environment. — Umar
Scrum Master(s) must explore diverse ways to create durable impact over ephemeral outputs. He/She must strive to build the environment for people to foster engagement. Also motivate people to embrace Scrum values, principles and rules in its true essence. I have succeeded evoking positive and productive change using the Change Engagement Framework. I believe you can also do it, if I can!
My sincere Thanks to Maarten Dalmijn and Harry S Long for your valuable review and suggestions provided.
Thanks for reading the entire article📝. As always, I am open and eager about hearing each of your feedback and experiences to inspect and adapt in my next article ✍️. Sharing and Caring is the art of learning in the VUCA 🌏!
