Matthieu's Playbook - Tried and True Patterns for Kickstarting Scrum Teams New and Old

Matthieu Cornillon | mcornillon@amplify.com | @growingtruffles | growingtruffles.wordpress.com
Matthieu’s PlaybookTried and True Patterns for Kickstarting Scrum Teams New and Old
Version Presented at Agile Denver’s Mile High Agile
May 30, 2019

Matthieu’s Playbook
Tried and True Patterns for Kickstarting
Scrum Teams New and Old
April 2018
2
Matthieu Cornillon
Enterprise Agile Coach
Amplify
@growingtruffles
growingtruffles.wordpress.com
mcornillon@amplify.com

Preamble:
What Does Continuous
Improvement Require?

• measurement
• velocity, bug count, morale, NPS, etc.
• at-bats
• sprints, days
• experimental controls
• same team, sprint length, environment
Continuous Improvement Requires Three Components

Why am I doing a presentation
called Matthieu’s Playbook?

Throw it out when you don’t need it anymore!
This Playbook is Just Scaffolding
Really. Throw it out.

• A lot.
What We’ll Cover

• Quickly.
How I’ll Cover It

bad words:
start
make progress
get into
work on
GOOD WORDS:
FINISH
REACH
ATTAIN
COMPLETE
STARTWITHTHEENDING
As a…
I want…
so that...
This story format helps
force you toward a clear
deliverable, but fill in
gaps with acceptance
criteria.
The bottom line on finish lines:
If you aren’t sure when the story is
done, it’s not clear enough.
Make sure your stories have clear finish lines.
“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.” - Yogi Berra

ONE-AT-A-TIMEPLANNING
One-at-a-Time Planning
1. PO, what’s the next most important
thing we should work on?
2. Team, how will you tackle that item?
3. Team, are you reasonably confident you
can complete all of this work by the
end of the sprint?
4. Team, can we take on more work?
5. Repeat until confidence drops or team
says “enough!”
START WITH A
BLANK SCRUM
BOARD!
Remember:
Only the Development Team can
assess what it can accomplish
over the upcoming Sprint.
“Plans are useless, but planning is
indispensable.”
- Dwight Eisenhower

1. Why the concern?
2. What can we do to
get things back on
track?
“Moving fast is not
the same as going
somewhere.”
- Robert Anthony
THEDAILYQUESTION
At Daily Scrum, aka Stand-Up
How confident are you that as a team you will
complete all the work by the end of the sprint?
1 - 2 - 3 - Vote!
Super
confident!
No
way!
Great! Get
back to it!

TOPOINTORNOTTOPOINT
“Hey, can you pass me that ruler?” -Someone somewhere must have said this when
asking for a tool which they, at least, deemed valuable.
Don’t
get into
arguments
about
pointing.
Just do
what
works.
1. Start with relative story estimation.
2. Then move to planning poker.
Don’t Tie
Points to Time!
Everyone
votes at the
same time.

JUSTENOUGHREFINEMENT
Engaged Backlog Refinement
NO MORE BORING
BACKLOG REFINEMENT
MEETINGS!!!
Close your laptops!
Put away your phones!
This meeting IS work!
FINE REFINEMENT:
✼ Any big unanswered questions about stories?
✼ Whole team estimates story in points.
✼ 1-2 sprints of groomed stories in backlog?
COARSE REFINEMENT
Query-Go-Round:
✼ Each pair gets 1 story on blank page
✼ 5 min to write as many questions as possible
✼ Rotate/repeat until everyone has seen every story
Agoodcadencetostartwith:
Fortwo-weeksprints,do1hr/wk
Alternatecoarseandfinerefinement
don’t over-refine!
“If it be now, ’tis not to come. If it be not to come,
it will be now. If it be not now, yet it will come—
the readiness is all.”
- William Shakespeare

Calling unfinished stories done
is like cheating at solitaire.
Beginning of Sprint Review is a
good finish line for the sprint.
Regardless: pick a sprint finish line.
stick to it, and don’t switch it around.
DON’TSWEEPTHINGSUNDERTHERUG
Hitting finish lines is hard. Pushing yourself to do it drives you
to understand your limitations, which in turn drives improvement.
PRETTY
DATA
Data you
can use!
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” -George Santayana
If your stories
aren’t done,
ask yourself:
why?

Think like a scientist.
● Plan experiment
● Run experiment
● Evaluate results
Use working
agreements to
build team habits.
PUTONYOURLABCOATS
DIG DEEP
Discuss one issue
Try one or two things
“We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, then, is not an act,
but a habit."
-Will Durant

• What’s the idea behind this technique?
• How does this connect to Agile/Scrum
values principles?
Try to focus on the ideas

I call this “Matthieu’s Playbook” because it is the set of
plays I use with teams. But that’s not to say that I invented
these plays. I came up with some things, adapted others,
and flat out lifted the rest. I am not interested in credit!
This is about sharing a set of techniques I’ve found helpful,
in the hopes that others will also find them helpful.
Super Important Note:

Introduction

Thank you for working with us to craft learning experiences that are
both rigorous and riveting. We share your goal of inspiring students
to think deeply, creatively, and for themselves.
We are in your corner – extending your reach, saving you time, and
enhancing your understanding of each student.
We are in your corner –
Dear teachers,
You do a job that is nearly impossible and utterly essential.
extending your reach, saving you time,
Thank you for working with us to craft learning experiences that are
both rigorous and riveting.
Sincerely,
Amplify

We’re hiring.
amplify.com/careers

Start with the Ending

Matthieu Cornillon | mcornillon@amplify.com | @growingtruffles | growingtruffles.wordpress.comMatthieu Cornillon | mcornillon@amplify.com | @growingtruffles | growingtruffles.wordpress.com
• Telltale signs:
• Very short
• No acceptance criteria
• Carries over multiple sprints
• No one on team can tell you when
it’s done
• Key Variation: the spike that says
“Research x” - Define these by
stating the question(s) you seek to
answer. When you can answer
them, you are done.
• Why it’s a problem:
• Acts as a blank check, siphoning
off team time with no end.
• Ruins experimental controls.
• How to fix it:
• Clear finish lines.
STARTWITHTHEENDING
The Ooze
† The best way I know to contain spikes is to set the acceptance criteria as “We can answer {carefully worded question}”. You can also
add “Any other questions we find along the way are documented for later conversation.”
Telltale Signs
● Very short user stories, no acceptance criteria.
● Stories carry over for multiple sprints.
● Key Variation: spikes defined only as “Research x”†.
How It Gets You
● Acts as a blank check, endlessly siphoning team time.
How to Vanquish It
● Clear finish lines.

• where/how far to go and...
• when to stop
Simplicity--the art of maximizing the amount of work not done--is essential.
STARTWITHTHEENDING
Start With the Ending
Finish lines are good for knowing...

Start work on the dog house.
STARTWITHTHEENDING
Stories with Clear Finish Lines
Clear or not?

Make significant progress on the dog house.
STARTWITHTHEENDING
Clear or not?

Build the dog house.
STARTWITHTHEENDING
Clear or not?

Build the dog house.
• Footprint between 8-12 sq. ft.
• Single opening 30”H x 18”W.
• Some sort of soft, removable, washable floor cover.
STARTWITHTHEENDING
Clear or not?

As a dog, I want a dog house, so that I can
relax in a dry space.
• Pretty good, but still not sure about these:
• Does it have to withstand being outside?
• What kind of dog?
STARTWITHTHEENDING
Clear or not?

The bottom line on finish lines:
If you aren’t sure when the story is done,
it’s not clear enough.
STARTWITHTHEENDING

One-at-a-Time
Planning

Time in the Trash (Sprint Planning Edition)
Telltale Signs
● Sprint planning is a drudgery; teams rush it.
● Teams don’t really make a plan, they make a list.
● Teams overcommit.
How It Gets You
● Provides very little value, demoralizing team.
● Sprint is a mess.
How to Vanquish It
● Full team understanding of all stories.
● One-at-a-time planning to avoid overcommitment.

Only the Development Team can assess what can be accomplished over the
upcoming Sprint.
Sprint Planning
Scrum Guide: Fill in the blank
Only the Development Team can assess what can be accomplished over the
upcoming Sprint.

Sprint Planning: Start with a Blank Scrum Board
Why?
• Starting with full board forces team to take negative stance: We can’t do that!
• Hard to imagine a less full board when you’ve already seen the full one
• Starting at blank board puts team in control: Here’s how we can help!

Product Owner tells team the
next most important piece of
work that needs to get done.
Team hashes
it out
PO, what’s next?
ONE-AT-A-TIMEPLANNING BLANK BOARD
Team discusses, asks
questions, creates tasks,
roughs out plan for how they
will achieve this piece of work.

Team hashes
it out
Are you confident that you as a
team can get all of this work
done by the end of the sprint?
PO, what’s next?
Team discusses
problem, adjusts
Team, can
you get it
done?
NO

Ask this separately from
“Can you get it done?”, especially
as you start to approach capacity.
Team hashes
it out
PO, what’s next?
Team,
could you
do more?
Team discusses
problem, adjusts
Team, can
you get it
done?
YES
NO
YES

Team hashes
it out
PO, what’s next?
YOU HAVE
YOUR SPRINT!
Work feel
roughly
balanced?
Team,
could you
do more?
Team discusses
problem, adjusts
Team discusses
problem, adjusts
Team, can
you get it
done?
YES
NO
YES
NO
NO
YES
Does any individual team
member feel particularly
under- or overloaded?

Team hashes
it out
PO, what’s next?
YOU HAVE
YOUR SPRINT!
Work feel
roughly
balanced?
Team,
could you
do more?
Team discusses
problem, adjusts
Team discusses
problem, adjusts
Team, can
you get it
done?
YES
NO
YES
NO
NO
YES

The Daily Question

DAILYQUESTION
So-Far-So-Goodism
Telltale Signs
● Daily Scrum sounds like robots talking.
● No real teamwork to address sprint risks.
● “We’re in trouble. Hopefully it will work out.”
How It Gets You
● Lets risks grow.
● Misses opportunity for team problem-solving.
How to Vanquish It
● Look up regularly to see how you are progressing.
● Actually address risks.

“...to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and to inspect how progress is
trending toward completing the work in the Sprint Backlog”
“...team members often meet immediately after...to adapt, or replan, the rest of
the Sprint’s work.”
THEDAILYQUESTION
“[Daily Scrum] is a key inspect and adapt meeting.”
What are we inspecting? What are we adapting?

• Every day, after the individual updates, prompt team:
How confident are you that as a team you will complete all the work by the
end of the sprint? 1 - 2 - 3 - vote!
• Everyone raises 1 - 5 fingers, where 5 is completely confident
• If all 4s and 5s, great! Move on!
• If anyone throws a 3 or lower, ask:
• What is the concern?
• How can we as a team address it?
THEDAILYQUESTION
The Daily Question

• Very quick
• Question has holistic focus
• Early detection of problems
• Gently forces engagement
• “No vote” isn’t an option
• Low vote forces discussion
• Artificially high vote reveals itself quickly
THEDAILYQUESTION
Why it works

Team hashes
it out
PO, what’s next?
YOU HAVE
YOUR SPRINT!
Work feel
roughly
balanced?
Team,
could you
do more?
SETYOURSELVESUPTOSUCCEED BLANK BOARD
Team discusses
problem, adjusts
Team discusses
problem, adjusts
Team, can
you get it
done?
YES
NO
YES
NO
NO
YES
The Daily
Question
All 4s and 5s
YES
Any 1s,
2s, or 3s

To Point or
Not To Point

• If it works for you, do it.
• If you’ve never done it this way, try it.
• If you still don’t like it, don’t do it.
• Use story count as a metric if you want.
TOPOINTORNOTTOPOINT
Pointing: The Third Rail of Agile

Telltale Signs
● Tying points to time (e.g. 1pt=1 developer day)
● Non-simultaneous pointing
● Team doesn’t understand and/or openly hates points.
How It Gets You
● Wasting time going through the motions
● Aggravates team
How to Vanquish It
● Do it or don’t. Halfway is a waste of time.
● Don’t tie points to time.
● Start with relative estimation, move to planning poker.
● Everyone votes simultaneously.
TOPOINTORNOTTOPOINT
Zombie Points 1...2...3...5...8...brains!

• Wait until you have ~20 stories to point.
• New teams might want to wait 2-3 sprints
• Okay to start with a mix of completed and future stories
TOPOINTORNOTTOPOINT
Start with Relative Estimation

TOPOINTORNOTTOPOINT
Pick a story that is about “middle” size among all the stories

TOPOINTORNOTTOPOINT
Pick another 1 or 2 middle-size stories.

TOPOINTORNOTTOPOINT
Put the other stories up: left for smaller, right for bigger

TOPOINTORNOTTOPOINT
Add Fibonacci sequence labels, with middle-size stories as 5

• Discuss a story.
• Everyone on team votes on number of points simultaneously†
• Discuss any differences
• Re-vote until you have agreement
TOPOINTORNOTTOPOINT
You’ve established standards, so move to Planning Poker
† Using hands, cards, pointingpoker.com, etc.

Just Enough
Refinement

Time in the Trash (Backlog Refinement Edition)
Telltale Signs
● At Backlog refinement, only PO and tech lead talk
● Everyone on laptops doing other work.
● BORING!
● Teams just don’t do it.
How It Gets You
● Provides very little value, demoralizing team.
● Team don’t really understand the stories
How to Vanquish It
● Engaged backlog refinement with whole team

What does “just enough” refinement mean?
PotentialVariationinStorySize(%)
Time
Story Done
Acceptable In-Sprint Variation
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X X X X XX X X

1. Enough that likely variation doesn’t ruin your sprint.
2. Stick to questions whose answers might change your estimate.
How Much is “Just Enough” Refinement?
Two Rules of Thumb:

Query-Go-Round
• Break into pairs
• Each pair gets a sheet of paper with a different story written at the top
• Pairs have 5 min to write as many questions as they can about their story
• Important: Don’t answer questions! Just ask them.
• After five minutes, rotate papers and repeat, adding new questions
• Repeat until the stories have made it through all groups
Full instructions: https://growingtruffles.wordpress.com/2014/10/02/query-go-round/

PAIR B PAIR C
Clean the propertyBuild a doghouseThrow a party!
● Includes mowing?
● Includes planting?
● Types of flowers?
● Any junk in yard?
● Have dumpster?
PAIR A
Query-Go-Round DEMO
● Occasion?
● # of guests?
● Kids? Adults?
● Size of dog?
● Have lumber?
● Have tools?
● Paint color?

PAIR C
Build a doghouse
● Size of dog?
● Have lumber?
● Have tools?
● Paint color?
● Door?
Clean the property
● Includes mowing?
● Includes planting?
● Types of flowers?
● Any junk in yard?
● Dumpster?
● Have tools?
● Have gas?
● Have power?
PAIR B
Throw a party!
● Occasion?
● # of guests?
● Kids? Adults?
● Location?
● Food restrictions?
● Decorations?
● Invitations how?
PAIR A
Query-Go-Round DEMO

• Easier to speak in pairs
• Everyone interrogates every story very quickly (5 min/story)
• Just asking questions deepens team understanding
• Avoids hypothetical or overly detailed discussions
• Guides PO on what they missed in defining the story
Query-Go-Round: Why It Works

• Product Owner reviews questions and updates story appropriately
• Alternate this “coarse” refinement with “fine” refinement:
Query-Go-Round: Then What?

Don‘t Sweep Things
Under the Rug

The Vanity Metric
Telltale Signs
● “I’ll finish later today. Can we just call the story done?”
● “It will look like we didn’t do any work.”
How It Gets You
● Undue focus on “point accounting”.
● Sweeps valuable signal under the rug.
How to Vanquish It
● Pick a finish line.
● Stories are either done or they aren’t.
● Focus on what team can learn from the data.

• Usually, order is: sprint review → sprint retro → sprint planning
• Set beginning of sprint review as end of sprint.
• Doesn’t matter, as long as:
• You agree as a team.
• You don’t change it every sprint
• You call stories done only if they are completely done by the end of the sprint
Sprint Finish Line
At what exact moment does the sprint end?

• Poor handoffs (“oops, I forgot to tell testers the story was ready for QA”)
• Poor story definition (“oh, that’s what this story was supposed to be?”)
• Poor planning (“looks like rushing our planning didn’t save time after all”)
• Poor finishing skills (“why are all of our stories 99% done?”)
• Overcommitment (“why are we drowning ourselves like this?!”)
Respect the Finish Line
The story isn’t 1 sprint + 1 hr long. It’s late for some reason:

Retros: Put On Your
Lab Coats

PUTONYOURLABCOATS
The Surface Scratcher
Telltale Signs
● Team schedules short retros.
● All issues raised are discussed.
● No follow-through on action items.
● Low engagement at retros.
How It Gets You
● No meaningful change; learned helplessness.
● Retros feel like a waste of time.
How to Vanquish It
● Focus on depth rather than breadth.
● Ensure follow-through on experiments.

PUTONYOURLABCOATS
Think depth instead of breadth.
• Pick one issue to discuss
• Give yourselves time to discuss it
• Dig deep, find possible root causes
• Five Whys
• Cause and Effect Diagrams
• Pick one or two changes you will try in the coming sprint
Dig Deep

• It’s an experiment!
• You don’t have to be sure it will work
• Gives you room to try “crazy ideas”
• You don’t have to keep it forever.
PUTONYOURLABCOATS
Why “Lab Coats”?

• Plan experiment: Be clear about what you will try
• Run experiment: Don’t let this important work slip to the side.
• Evaluate results: Did it achieve the result you hoped?
PUTONYOURLABCOATS
Think Like a Scientist

Questions*
*If I’ve actually left enough time for them.
I’m really not sure how this will time out.
But anyway you should always feel free
to reach out to me at address below,
and also ask via comments directly
on this Google slide presentation

• L: company mission
• M: OKRs or other goals
• S: sprint backlogs
• XS: story acceptance criteria
• XXS: personal daily commitments/tasks
• L: company mission
• M: OKRs or other goals
• S: sprint backlogs
• XS: story acceptance criteria
• XXS: personal daily commitments/tasks
STARTWITHTHEENDING
Setting Clear Finish Lines
Contexts

Here are the exact steps to follow.You figure this out based on values and principles.PROCESS
PRINCIPLES
VALUES You should live by these.
If you do these, you’ll uphold/enable values.
PROCESS

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