Issues with newly formed SCRUM teams

Previously I had mentioned the Agile Software Development Methodologies, specifically the Scrum methodology.  The Scrum method is one of the most popular methods for many reasons but there are also some issues that come along with this methodology.  Just as a refresher Scrum is a framework of teams with about 2-12 people and they all have 1 of 3 different types of roles.  There are daily, sprint and PSI meetings that the teams must all attend.  Overall this framework is very team oriented, self-managed and fast-paced.

With experience in the Scrum framework there are a few noticeable issues with it.  From my experience the meetings become overwhelming.  As many people in the professional world know, meetings are not fun.  This means if the meetings are not productive people will begin to not show up or organizers will cancel them if other things come up.  I notice the lack of involvement in these meetings over time.  If the team was behind schedule or a major defect was found than all meetings were put on the back burner or just ignored.  This hindered the Agile process immensely.  The daily stand-ups were usually attended regularly but the other meetings that were focused on team building and not product oriented tended to be skipped by team members.

Another issue that I saw was the trap of such short time frames.  During an 8 week PSI if there was a 2 week period where unexpected issues came up then the team would never be able to make up time and meet their week 8 deadline.  In this situation if working software is to be delivered at the end of week 8 and the team of testers are waiting for it but it never arrives there are big problems.  Everyone’s plans for the next 8 week session must be changed which ultimately costs a lot of money, pushes back deadlines and creates stress.

These are just a couple of the main issues that I have seen with the Scrum framework.  These teams are also very new to the Agile process which is part of the reason why the problems exist.  It will just be a matter of time if organizations see results with these methodologies or not.

Posted By: Leslie P