Colocation in Distributed Scrum TeamsLessons Learned
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About me
Agilist for 5+ years in the roles of developer and Agile/Scrum Master
Senior Software Engineer / Agile Evangelist@ YMC AG Kreuzlingen, Switzerland
Fabian Kiss
Twitter: @head_revision
Definitions
Distributed ScrumScrum Teams in different locations
distributed Scrum Teamdistributed team members
Distributed Scrum Teamdistributed Scrum Teamorteam per locationormix of both
Types of Distributed Scrum
by Jeff Sutherland et al., Distributed Scrum: Agile Project Management with Outsourced Development Teams, 2006
Levels of distribution
by Elizabeth Woodward, Steffan Surdek, Matthew Ganis, Distributed Scrum: Agile Project Management with Outsourced Development Teams, IBM Press, 2010
Colocation
In general: as much colocation as possible
« The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a
development team is face-to-face conversation. »
6th principle from the Agile Manifesto
Colocation
Recommendation: occasional colocation in Distributed Scrum
Danger:
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What?
Colocation
Recommendation: occasional colocation in Distributed Scrum
Danger: of distributed Scrum Team
(= of team members who are distributed otherwise)
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Why?
Scrum setup
originally: “classic” Scrum1 location3 Scrum Teams
Distributed Scrum2 locations (on-site / off-site)3 distributed Scrum Teams
transformation
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Types of Distributed Scrum
by Jeff Sutherland et al., Distributed Scrum: Agile Project Management with Outsourced Development Teams, 2006
Levels of distribution
by Elizabeth Woodward, Steffan Surdek, Matthew Ganis, Distributed Scrum: Agile Project Management with Outsourced Development Teams, IBM Press, 2010
Scrum setup
Characteristics
Disparity: Product Owner / Project stakeholders on-site
Small distance: Metropolitan area of Zürich
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Best Practices
Best Practice: on-site colocation of all team members for important Scrum Events
Sprint Planning, Review, Retro
more Best Practices?
Best Practices
Problem: vast part of Distributed Scrum references implicates certain motives
Best Practices
Neglected: Distributed Scrum within regional boundaries
more Best Practices?
Discover them by your own!
Observations
occasional colocation new challenge: different (self-)perception
Distributed Scrumvs.
“Remote Scrum”
Distributed Scrum vs. Remote Scrum
Distributed Scrum Remote Scrum
a distributed team with occasional colocation of all team members
a colocated team with occasional remote work by certain team members
possibly caused by...
fewer “colocated days” than “distributed days”
regularity of colocated days
Distributed Scrum vs. Remote Scrum
Due to perception “Remote Scrum”: recurring impediments, identified after several Sprints
Impediment #1
off-site location only
“exists” during remote
work
Remote Scrum Distributed Scrum
Impediment #2
off-site location is not
likewise equipped
Remote Scrum Distributed Scrum
Impediment #3
only face-to-face
communication
Remote Scrum Distributed Scrum
Lessons Learned
prevent perception “Remote Scrum”byestablishing a team+organization-wide awareness of Distributed Scrum from scratch
Lessons Learned
refer to Distributed Scrum (instead of only Scrum) whenever possible
avoid the term “remote”
Lessons Learned
do not successively add isolated practices for remote work to your classic Scrum
example:VC tool for face-to-face communicationvs.VC tool for team communication
Lessons Learned
consider to abandon colocation at the beginning to make the change to Distributed Scrum more noticeable
« At scale, all agile development is distributed development. »
Dean Leffingwell in Scaling Software Agility: Best Practices for Large Enterprises
