SpringOne Platform 2017 Jeanne Boyarsky, Coderanch Many Scrum principles assume you are co-located. But what if you aren’t. This session is to learn tools and techniques for working with remote team members in general and on a Scrum team in particular. The key is that everyone on the team is equally valued no matter where they happen to sit. While it takes more work to make this happen, the results are well worth it. Attendees will come away with several tools to use to map concrete techniques (like post its and planning poker cards) to the virtual world along with best practices (and anti-patterns to avoid).

1. Virtual Scrum
Jeanne Boyarsky
@jeanneboyarsky
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2. My background

3. Unless otherwise indicated, these slides are © 2013 -2016 Piv otal Software, Inc. and licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Background
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Roles
ScrumMaster
Developer
CodeRanch
Fully remote
Around the
world
Async
No Office
Volunteer
Writing
Mostly remote
Same time
zone
Mix of
sync/async
Work from
home
Mentor
robotics
Students
Meetings &
Remote

4. Unless otherwise indicated, these slides are © 2013 -2016 Piv otal Software, Inc. and licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
At work
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Previous
Team
Transition Current Future
# onsite offices Two One Three Four+
Full time
telecommuters
Yes No No ?
Partial
telecommuters
Yes Yes Yes Yes
Time zone
range
Two One Three Three

5. Unless otherwise indicated, these slides are © 2013 -2016 Piv otal Software, Inc. and licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Play along
http://tinyurl.com/virtual-scrum
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6. Communication channels

7. Unless otherwise indicated, these slides are © 2013 -2016 Piv otal Software, Inc. and licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Tool: Video/Screenshare
• Google Hangout
• Skype
• Discord
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Tip:
Click “show
messages” to enable
chat sidebar

8. Unless otherwise indicated, these slides are © 2013 -2016 Piv otal Software, Inc. and licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Tool: Persistent/Shared Messaging
• Slack
• NewsGator
• Discussion Board
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9. Unless otherwise indicated, these slides are © 2013 -2016 Piv otal Software, Inc. and licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Tool: “Transient” Messaging
• Google Chat
• Skype
• AIM – RIP 
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Tip:
Look for advanced
features such as polls

10. Unless otherwise indicated, these slides are © 2013 -2016 Piv otal Software, Inc. and licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Tool: Phone Bridge
• Company phone bridge
• Join.me
• FreeConferenceCalling.com
• etc
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Useful if no video
capabilities, team
members traveling,
etc

11. Sprint Planning

12. Unless otherwise indicated, these slides are © 2013 -2016 Piv otal Software, Inc. and licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Tool: Pointing Poker
https://www.pointingpoker.com/33074
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13. Unless otherwise indicated, these slides are © 2013 -2016 Piv otal Software, Inc. and licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Player 1
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14. Unless otherwise indicated, these slides are © 2013 -2016 Piv otal Software, Inc. and licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Player 2
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15. Unless otherwise indicated, these slides are © 2013 -2016 Piv otal Software, Inc. and licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Consensus
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16. Unless otherwise indicated, these slides are © 2013 -2016 Piv otal Software, Inc. and licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Remote Sprint Planning
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Tools
Phone bridge or video
Screenshare
(for seeing backlog or jira)
Pointing Poker
Lessons
Time zones/breaks
Ask quiet phone people what they
think
Ensure only one person has floor at
a time
Don’t press mute in “main room”
Press mute if at home and have fire
engines, etc

17. Standups

18. Unless otherwise indicated, these slides are © 2013 -2016 Piv otal Software, Inc. and licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Tool: Online Scrum Tools
• Jira?
• Scrumwise?
• Agile Buddy?
• Scrumdo?
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19. Unless otherwise indicated, these slides are © 2013 -2016 Piv otal Software, Inc. and licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Tool: Learning aid
• “The Moose” can attend
meetings
• Helpful as a crutch when not
used to having remotes
• Reminds the person is
participating
• Or stuffed animal/prop
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20. Unless otherwise indicated, these slides are © 2013 -2016 Piv otal Software, Inc. and licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Remote Standup
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Tools
Phone bridge or video
List of stories in sprint
Any learning aids
Lessons
Encourage remotes to stand
Open bridge/video early to chat
What time should standup be? What
time is morning?

21. Unless otherwise indicated, these slides are © 2013 -2016 Piv otal Software, Inc. and licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Remote Standup
Priority Order
• Pause long enough for remotes to
speak
Circle
• Give remotes a designated spot in
the circle
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22. Pair Programming

23. Unless otherwise indicated, these slides are © 2013 -2016 Piv otal Software, Inc. and licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Whiteboards – remotes as afterthought 
• Point webcam at whiteboard
• Take a photo
• Narrative
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Remember your
remotes are first
class citizens.
(Don’t do these)

24. Unless otherwise indicated, these slides are © 2013 -2016 Piv otal Software, Inc. and licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Tool: Whiteboard
• Skype
• Google docs
• Web whiteboard
• Deekit
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25. Unless otherwise indicated, these slides are © 2013 -2016 Piv otal Software, Inc. and licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Remote Pairing
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Tools
Video/voice
Screenshare
Whiteboard
Lessons
Don’t fight over the keyboard/mouse
Pay attention – don’t “multi-task”
Chat vs voice

26. Retrospective

27. Unless otherwise indicated, these slides are © 2013 -2016 Piv otal Software, Inc. and licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Tool: Post its
• One Note
• Noteapp
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28. Unless otherwise indicated, these slides are © 2013 -2016 Piv otal Software, Inc. and licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Remote Retrospectives
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Tools
Video/voice
Virtual PostIts
Lessons*
Raise hand on webex
Type “hand” and have moderator
call on
* Good when don’t have video for
teams that
• haven’t gelled yet
• have outspoken members

29. Unless otherwise indicated, these slides are © 2013 -2016 Piv otal Software, Inc. and licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Remote Agile games
• Story Cube
• WIP Game
• Beautiful Meadow
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30. Sprint Review

31. Unless otherwise indicated, these slides are © 2013 -2016 Piv otal Software, Inc. and licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Remote Sprint Review
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Tools
Video/voice
Screenshare
Lessons
Reinforce body language of product
owner (ex: thumbs up)
Have product owner be remote
sometimes

32. Other

33. Unless otherwise indicated, these slides are © 2013 -2016 Piv otal Software, Inc. and licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Tool: Shared docs
• Google Docs
• One Note
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34. Unless otherwise indicated, these slides are © 2013 -2016 Piv otal Software, Inc. and licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Closing tips
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Tools
Remember to IM/Chat
Part of team
Virtual lunch
Onsites

35. Unless otherwise indicated, these slides are © 2013 -2016 Piv otal Software, Inc. and licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Tool: Fist of Five
http://aqfof.herokuapp.com/GPWC3UEM
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36. Learn More. Stay Connected.
Jeanne Boyarsky
@jeanneboyarsky
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#springone@s1p