Scrum sabotaging dev productivity?
I am spotting a pattern lately. Developers doing less and less😯. Why?
Estimates are getting increasingly bloated 🎈.
What's inflating these estimates?
It's down to estimate meetings. Some people find tasks difficult; others don't dare to contradict. We often lean towards the highest estimate. Just to be on the safe side...
What else is tripping us up?
The pressure to deliver an X amount of PBI's in a sprint🏃♂️. Any shortfall equals 'punishment'⛔️. So next time better safe dan sorry. We bulk up the estimate.
Finished faster than thought🕐?
Congratulations! But, got time to spare? Likely, no new task is assigned, or you get a 'filler' task, like helping Charles. Soon, you learn to stretch tasks till the sprint end.
Will daily standup uncover the truth?
Not always. Daily standups mean pretending a lot with bloated PBI's 🎭.
Is pretending the new norm?
This will happen so easily because tech work is poorly understood by business users. A barber can't say a haircut takes a week without questions.
Do we let it slide?
During the demo meeting, I cringe at the volume we delivered. Yet, stakeholders seem thankful for all the work we have done 🙌.
Can we bust this bubble?