This document discusses many potential people issues that can undermine an Agile-Scrum project, including lack of buy-in, improper roles, siloed teams, poor communication, lack of skills or motivation. It notes that organizational culture and support are important, and addresses problems like geographic distribution, free electrons, specialization, micromanagement and more. The coach is asked for help, but responds that fixing these deeply rooted issues requires organizational transformation, not a quick fix, and will be a journey to clean up the system.

1. Chandan Patary,Agile coach
People issues with Agile-
ScrumTeam: Challenges
for Agile coach? – Part1

2.  We are using Agile-scrum but we are not getting
output?
 How can Agile coach help us?
 Where are the problems?
 All these issues if not taken care will cause long
term issue in Agile scrum
Issues?

3. How people issue can cripple the Agile-scrum
project output?
What are the factors influence Agile scrum team?
People Challenges

4. How is the Organizational culture?
 Do we have buy-in from the team to produce value and follow Agile?
 All the team members are engaged and committed?
 Is it a flat organization or too many layers to get the work done?
 Product owner and scrum masters playing their role defined by the SCRUM
philosophy?
 How is the Agile knowledge for other department like
HR, Training, procurement? Do they know the Agile process? They act as
Agile team?
 Team members are caring,sharing,owning and taking responsibility and
willing to learn?
 Team members are jealous with each other ?
 No investment on people development?
Organizational Climate

5.  Team is in distributed Agile environment? Executed in multiple geographical
locations?
 Frequent travel? Video conference? Using all mechanism but still team
bonding effectiveness is not improving?
 Developers are in other location not sharing implementation but builds are
coming at interval to test engineers which are located different geographic
location?
 Geo – political issue confusing team members?
 Poor accent and communication problem?
 Other side is not sharing knowledge ?
Cultural Diversity

6.  Free electron are not engaged in project?
 Free electrons running into multiple directions?
 Free electron are confused and yielding wrong result?
 Not enough support like vision,startegy to direct these free
electrons?
Free Electron as a team members!

7.  Distributed multi location diversified team creativity varies?
 Caused any team issues if creative solution mostly coming from other
global location?
 Tasks shared, design solution mostly coming from global location?
Dependency is high on global location? Highly creative team
members are only one location?
 Team is under constant pressure?Threat ? to come to a stage of
creativity?
Creativity

8.  All team members ready to take any assignment?
 All team members having skill and required knowledge to execute the tasks?
 “I am a architect , I can not do testing or bug fixing” attitude is missing in
team?
 Not able to deliver value? Always reporting impediments after impediments?
 Accountability is missing ?
 I have done the development let tester test it and I will fix the bug! Are we
really done the development?
 Too many specialist ? not willing take other than their own area?
 Requirements are not written properly , can’t start the work?
 Team space is there but anybody is sharing anything?
Team Members Competencies and
Characteristics

9.  Looking for only Burn down chart, Velocity, Doneness ?
 Too much micromanagement ? Value generation ? Productivity
improvement? Behind numbers?
 Especially multi site and multi location ? Is there any race for
demonstration? who is contributing more?
 Not shielding the team members?
Team Leader or Project Leader

10.  Managers are ignorant about Agile – scrum process?
 Always waterfall mindset and asking for budget information?
 “ I know agile, don’t teach me but where is the MPP?” !
 Not much support for agile execution ? Why do you need video conference?
Why do you need to sit together? Why do you need to travel? Why do you
need dedicated test resource? etc.
 Senior manager are not interested to know about project impediments?
But wants output?
Top Management Support

11.  Where are the requirement documents ? are they Approved?
 Where is Design document? All other document approved?
 We have separate test department when are we delivering to them?
Currently they are busy in other integration testing?
 Everything is fine but what is EV of the project? And SPI and CPI?
 Manager does not have trust nor respect on team?
WaterfallType Manager in Agile world

12.  Team members are not willing to take up assignment?
 Scrum master is pushing hard to get the work done?
 Team members are not willing to contribute ?
 Team members are not promoted to next level for long time? I want
designation?
 Poor pay package but expectation from the team is high as an end
deliverables?
 Too much commitment from various assignment?
Team Member’s Motivation

13.  Team is only doing daily standup ! Nothing else?
 No demo , no other scrum process has been properly followed?
 No body is volunteering to take tasks, neither updating what they are
working on?
 Scrum master is pushing hard to extract information and assigning tasks?
 Scrum master is writing implementation in the meeting to the team
members?
Agile Stand up:

14.  Missing proper Agile training?
 No Agile coach or consultant?
 Coaching and mentorship or organization supports are missing?
 Team members are reading and deploying Agile process ?
Proper Agile Support

15.  I will do all the module ?
 Bow down in front of me for knowledge?
 No coaching, mentoring or sharing knowledge?
 Do we have team members like this ?
Cowboy coder!

16.  Product owner is learning product?
 Architect is playing role of product owner?
 Project manager is playing role of Scrum master ? He or She is a
tasks master? Does not understand technology?
 All team members are fresh from college and all are experimenting
with the work?
Efficient Agile team members missing?

17. Team has all these issues, Mr. AGILE COACH can
you help us?
Optimistic Agile coach will say ? NO!!
It is a DNA change, Total organizational
transformation, Agile process can not provide quick
fix.
It is journey to clean up the system.
Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is
unhappy in its own way.—LeoTolstoy
What to do next?