Embrace the Chaos

Another guest contribution from Dan Greenberg...

Should we be using Fibonacci, #noestimates, t-shirt sizing, or some other method for estimating work?

How should we handle unplanned work?

Who is responsible for testing?

Should we point bugs?

________ is in getting in my way – remove the impediment, Scrum Master.

Whose job is it to enforce that a team finish what they commit to?

What does “Agile” say to do?

Sound like a typical morning? These questions are probably familiar if you are serving in a Scrum Master or Agile Coach type role. Because our primary responsibility is to champion continuous improvement, we naturally find ourselves in situations that feel chaotic and out of control. I say – embrace the chaos. It’s a good thing. The fact that your team is thinking about these types of issues means they care and they are not complacent. The next step is to get them to own it.

My role is to remind the team that Agile has no answers for any of the above questions. Agile is just a set of principles and values, a philosophy, a way of thinking, a way that I tend to think. As long as we are reflecting on how to become more effective, then tuning and adjusting our behavior accordingly, we are being Agile, no matter what our specific practices.