Introduction
In this blog, we will explore how evidence-based (Empiricism) decision-making and Lean Thinking drive agility in Scrum, ensuring teams remain adaptive and responsive to change.
Empiricism as the Foundation for Decision-Making in Scrum
According to the Scrum Guide 2020, “Empiricism asserts that knowledge comes from experience and making decisions based on what is observed.”
This principle emphasizes that knowledge is derived from experience, and decisions should be made based on known facts rather than gut feelings or assumptions.
In Scrum, teams gather information through various events such as Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, and Sprint Retrospective, as well as through Scrum Artifacts like the Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, and Increment.
These data points provide the evidence needed to guide decisions, ensuring that each Sprint brings the team closer to achieving their Sprint goals.
The Three Pillars of Empiricism
Empiricism in Scrum is built on three fundamental pillars:
- Transparency: Processes, work, conflicts, problems, and impediments must be visible and clear to all stakeholders.
- Inspection: Teams regularly check their progress against their goals and existing processes.
- Adaptation: When deviations from the plan are identified, teams must adjust quickly to mitigate the risk of failure.
Empiricism in Scrum: A Simple Explanation
Imagine you’re baking a cake and want to make the best cake possible. To achieve this, you follow three simple steps: observe what’s happening, check progress, and make changes if necessary.
This is essentially how empiricism functions within Scrum.
- Transparency (Seeing What’s Happening)
Example: You have a clear recipe and a checklist of ingredients on the kitchen counter. Everyone helping you bake can see the recipe and knows what’s supposed to happen next.
In Scrum: The Sprint Backlog is like your recipe, showing what the team plans to work on during the Sprint. The Definition of Done is like your checklist, indicating when a task is truly complete.
- Inspection (Checking How Things Are Going)
Example: While baking, you check the cake in the oven every 10 minutes to ensure it’s rising properly and not burning.
In Scrum: The Daily Scrum allows the team to check on their work’s progress, similar to peeking into the oven. The Sprint Review is where the team evaluates the finished product (the Increment) with stakeholders to gather feedback.
- Adaptation (Making Changes if Needed)
Example: If the cake is burning on top but remains raw in the middle, you might lower the oven temperature or cover it with foil to prevent further burning.
In Scrum: After the Sprint Retrospective, the team may adjust their approach in the next Sprint. If feedback from the Sprint Review indicates that the cake wasn’t sweet enough, the team will adjust the Product Backlog to add more sugar next time.
Lean Thinking in Scrum
Lean thinking, as described in the Scrum Guide 2020, emphasizes “Reducing waste and focusing on the essentials.”
Lean thinking revolves around eliminating waste, maximizing value, and striving for continuous improvement, making it another cornerstone of decision-making in Scrum.
Lean thinking helps teams focus on what is most valuable at any given moment, minimizing unnecessary costs and maximizing efficiency.
Understanding Waste in Scrum
In Scrum, waste refers to any activity or work that does not add value, such as partially completed work, task switching, unnecessary features, delays, defects, and overprocessing.
By applying lean principles, Scrum teams decide to limit the scope of work within a Sprint to ensure that the most valuable items are delivered to stakeholders first.
This approach not only reduces waste but also ensures that users receive results quickly, allowing the team to gather feedback and improve continuously.
Lean Thinking in Scrum: A Simple Explanation
- Focusing on the Most Valuable Tasks
Example: Imagine you’re baking a cake and, instead of making five different flavors, you decide to focus on the most important aspect—the delicious sponge cake.
In Scrum: Scrum teams focus on the most valuable tasks rather than working on less critical items.
- Continuous Learning
Example: If you’re drawing and repeatedly making the same mistake, you learn from it and ensure you don’t repeat it, gradually perfecting your drawing.
In Scrum: After each Sprint, the Scrum team meets during the Sprint Retrospective to discuss how to improve in the next Sprint.
- Avoiding Unnecessary Delays
Example: If you’re making a cake, you don’t want everyone to stand around watching you mix the batter. Instead, you assign tasks to everyone, ensuring that all contribute to the final result.
In Scrum: The Scrum team eliminates delays by distributing tasks and ensuring everyone is working on something valuable at any given time.
Conclusion
Through the pillars of Transparency, Inspection, and Adaptation, decisions in Scrum are based on empiricism. In Scrum and Agile, decisions are not made based on opinions, gut feelings, beliefs, or assumptions, as executing tasks is too costly to risk going off course as a Scrum team.
Therefore, evidence, facts, and data are used to make decisions efficiently and rationally, ensuring that time and effort is allocated effectively across the Scrum team and the organization.
