From Estimates To Team Availability - The Capacity Sheet Tool For Scrum Masters | Ramya Shastri

Summary

Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast: "From Estimates To Team Availability - The Capacity Sheet Tool For Scrum Masters"

Release Date: December 4, 2024

Host: Vasco Duarte, Agile Coach, Certified Scrum Master, Certified Product Owner
Guest: Ramya Shastri

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Introduction

In this insightful episode of the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast, host Vasco Duarte engages with Ramya Shastri, an experienced Scrum Master and Agile Coach, to delve into practical strategies for managing team changes within Agile frameworks. The conversation centers around Ramya's innovative approach to replacing ineffective timesheet practices with a more efficient capacity sheet tool, offering valuable lessons for Scrum Masters striving to enhance team productivity and satisfaction.

The Challenge of Implementing Change

Ramya begins by addressing a common pain point among Scrum Masters: convincing management and stakeholders to adopt Agile practices when faced with resistance or lack of understanding.

Ramya Shastri [01:12]: "You don't have to convince anybody. They should understand the importance of what we are doing, why we are doing it."

She emphasizes the importance of leading by example, encouraging Scrum Masters to embody the changes they wish to implement.

Ramya Shastri [01:22]: "Lead with example. So whatever change that you're leading, lead the change."

Identifying the Core Issue: Timesheets Overload

Upon joining a new project, Ramya discovered that her organization mandated detailed timesheet entries, contrary to the company's usual flexible working culture. This requirement caused significant frustration among team members and led to the departure of several project managers and Scrum Masters before her arrival.

Ramya Shastri [02:10]: "I was surprised to see why this particular project was doing against what the company is supposed to be operating on."

The timesheet system required team members to log their activities hourly, which was both time-consuming and demotivating. Ramya recognized that this practice was counterproductive to Agile principles, which prioritize flexibility and team autonomy.

Developing the Capacity Sheet Tool

To address the issue, Ramya devised a solution she termed the "capacity sheet." Unlike traditional timesheets that track hours worked, her capacity sheet focused on team members' availability and the overall capacity for each sprint.

Ramya Shastri [04:00]: "Capacity is not measuring the number of hours each team member is putting in or clocking in."

She meticulously documented each team member's availability, accounting for part-time commitments and planned leaves. This data-driven approach allowed for accurate sprint planning without the burden of detailed time tracking.

Gaining Management and Client Buy-In

Despite Ramya's efforts, the delivery manager remained skeptical, citing client requirements for timesheet submissions primarily for billing purposes.

Ramya Shastri [05:30]: "Why would a customer ask you to maintain a timesheet?"

Undeterred, Ramya took the initiative to engage directly with the client to understand their underlying needs. She discovered that the client's primary concern was simplifying the process of building business reports, not necessarily tracking hours in detail.

Ramya Shastri [06:20]: "I just picked this sheet up, gave it to the business owner, and you have the rate cards and price."

By presenting the capacity sheet as a more efficient alternative, Ramya successfully demonstrated its value, leading to its adoption by both her organization and the client.

Impact and Feedback

The implementation of the capacity sheet had a profound positive effect on the team. Members expressed immense relief and appreciation for the removal of tedious timesheet requirements.

Ramya Shastri [08:40]: "Now onwards, you don't have to worry about these timesheets. They literally hung up saying that this was the biggest nightmare for me, for us, and you saved our lives."

The capacity sheet not only streamlined billing processes but also enhanced team morale by eliminating unnecessary administrative burdens.

Key Takeaways

1. Understand the 'Why': Before implementing any change, it's crucial to understand the underlying reasons behind existing processes. This insight can reveal more effective solutions.

2. Lead by Example: Demonstrating the desired change through your actions can be more persuasive than attempting to convince others verbally.

3. Innovative Problem-Solving: Ramya's capacity sheet is a testament to how creative solutions can replace outdated or inefficient practices, aligning better with Agile principles.

4. Effective Communication: Engaging directly with stakeholders, including clients, to understand their needs can lead to mutually beneficial solutions.

5. Team Empowerment: Removing burdensome processes can significantly boost team morale and productivity.

Conclusion

Ramya Shastri's experience highlights the pivotal role of Scrum Masters in driving meaningful change within Agile teams. By identifying inefficiencies, developing innovative tools, and fostering open communication, Scrum Masters can enhance both team performance and stakeholder satisfaction. This episode offers valuable lessons for Agile practitioners seeking to navigate and lead change effectively.

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Upcoming Episode:
Tomorrow on Success Thursday, the podcast will explore defining success for the Scrum Master role, including tips on measuring performance and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

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Transcript

[Vasco Duart]

Hi, I'm your host, Vasco Duart. Welcome to the Scrum Master Toolbox podcast where we share tips and tricks from Scrum Masters around the world. Every day we bring you inspiring answers to important questions that all Scrum Masters.

[Host]

Face day after day. Hello everybody. Welcome to our Wednesday the Change Leadership episode. This week with Ramya Shastri. Hey Ramya, welcome back.

[Ramya Shastri]

Hi Vasco. Thank you so much for having me.

[Host]

So I'm really eager to hear your story of change. I mean, for those of you who haven't listened to it yet, check out yesterday's episode, which is itself also a story of change. So brilliant episode about how to help a team overcome a fear culture. Check it out. But today we want to hear a story of a change and kind of how you went about like from beginning to end. What were the things that actually had an impact? Maybe other things that didn't have an impact. But we want you to walk us through the steps of that change process and highlight for us the tips, the tricks, the tools and the techniques you used back then that you still apply today.

[Ramya Shastri]

Absolutely. So one of the examples that I would like to share over here is, I mean when we talk about change, right? I mean many of these Scrum Masters, they feel that we are trying, but then our management is not listening or they are not getting convinced. How do I convince the manager? This is a typical question even I, I come across, right? So this is what I always try to tell them, right? So one is you don't have to convince anybody. They should understand the importance of what we are doing, why we are doing, right? So that is one second thing is you'll have to lead by example. So whatever change that you're leading, lead the change. But lead with exam. So this is typically what I try to explain. So let me give you an example. So I was working as a Scrum Master in a, in a project wherein I joined that organization newly. And that was my first assignment as a Scrum Master though I joined as an Agile coach. And the reason why I'm saying again, a Scrum Master is that the framework that that project chose, chose was a Scrum frame. That's the reason why I'm saying as a Scrum Master, but typically I was working as an Agile coach. So I was handling like six teams over there single handedly as a Scrum Master or Agile Coach, whatever you may want to follow. So I was, I discovered later after working some, after working for a while in that project that before me they were like four to five Scrum masters or project managers, I mean they tried different, different combination. And there were like five project managers and combination of Scrum Master project managers who voluntarily got released because they were not liking the culture that this project had. So when I joined that organization and a project, so I realized that there was a culture of maintaining the time sheets. When I say timesheets, they were logging this hour, what they were doing this hour, what they were doing. So if they are typically working for say eight hours in a day, so they had to maintain that list of every hour, this hour, what I was doing. And this was to happen for each and every team member and in the organization that I was working for, had no culture of maintaining timeshares at all. And it's like a flexible working hours, flexible timing and all those things. And I was surprised to see that why this particular project was doing against what the company is supposed to be operating on. So I happened to check with the team members and they told me that, you know what, our delivery manager has asked us to do that and this is a very, very much pain in our neck. So that's the comment that I familiar. And I happened to check with the delivery manager there. So then she told me that we do it because our customer has asked us to do this, client has asked us to do this. And I was baffled. I mean, why would a customer ask you to maintain a timesheet? So she told me that no, it is required for billing purpose. So I was like, I mean, this is not the right way to build people, right? So if you know your availability of the team members, you have a fixed team, you know their availability, you can build accordingly, right? But then she, she was like, no. She was very reluctant. She was like, no, this can't happen, client will not listen, and so on and so forth. So I came up with some mechanism, a tool, very, a very simple exception. So I named it as capacity. Right? Capacity sheet. When I say capacity, it is not measuring the number of hours each team members are putting in or clocking in. Just to make it very clear with our audiences. Because when we say we are Scrum Masters and capacity, people assume that it is number of hours we are clocking. No. So what I tried to do was I just kind of noted down the availability and with that availability, so I had like five teams, right? So I maintained multiple sheets and in each team I had each team member and sprints and availability, like whether the person is 100% available, 50% available, 45% whatever throughout the sprint, right? And if how many Days or leaves he or she is taking. So I maintained that. And based on that, I also asked for the rate cut. Obviously, depending upon the level that each person is. I kind of done the calculation by the availability, availability of number of days in a sprint that person is available multiplied by red card party. So that's how we got the billing thing. So when I worked on it, I literally sat on that particular sheet for so long and I prepared that sheet and I just happened to showcase that to the manager, delivery manager. Still, she was reluctant. She's like, this looks good, but I'm not sure if this would sail through. I said, you don't have to worry anything about. You just have me meet the customer. Let me talk to your counterpart from the customer side. Let me convince that customer or a client. Let me understand. So she said, okay. It was again, kind of a delegation, right? So she doesn't have to work and convince the customer. So I went to the customer and I asked him, why are you doing this? Why do you want to maintain hours, right? So he said, me, no, that becomes easier for me to build my business owners. So I said, don't worry. What if I give you a better way to do this? He said, it would be better. Then I said, here you go. So I explained entire thing to him and I was so surprised. He told me that you took away my efforts as well. I had to worry so much to fill in. So what. What he used to do is whatever hours and tasks that each team member used to do. Then he had some level of kind of a calculation at his end and then he used to build his custom. So I made everyone's life easy and I just showed him that now you don't have to do any calculation at all. You just pick this sheet up, give it to the business owner, and you will have the rate cards and price.

[Host]

This is such a great example of how many processes are developed in companies without really understanding the need of why they are there. And this is a really cool example because there's this level of management that kind of says, oh, but the customer is asking for it. Even though the customer didn't really want that, they wanted something else. But perhaps when they had discussed the first time, the communication hadn't been productive enough to uncover the need by the customer. And this also highlights the why question that you ask. Why is this important for you? Why do you need this? It's not needed, but rather why do you need it? What are you trying to achieve with this information that uncovers that information that you then need to tell the customer, hey, there's a easier, faster way for you to do the same. Here's an example.

[Ramya Shastri]

Correct. And this sheet, even now they use it. No one has to maintain anything, they just have to give their availability and everything gets calculated and the customer is also using that. And when I came back to this delivery manager, I told her that, you know what, I sold this thing to your customer and she was more than happy. And when I talked back to the team members, I said that now onwards, you don't have to worry on these timesheets. They literally hanged me saying that this was the biggest nightmare for me, for us, and you saved our lives and this literally happened.

[Host]

And it usually is like that. That timesheets are nightmares, especially if they need to be detailed, like to the hour for example, or even in some cases to the 15 minute intervals, which is mind boggling. Thank you for sharing this story, Ramya.

[Ramya Shastri]

Thank you. My pleasure.

[Vasco Duart]

Leading change is one of the core skills we must acquire, but it is only one of the steps towards our success as Scrum Masters. Tomorrow on Success Thursday, we will talk about how to define success for the Scrum Master role. We'll tips on how to measure your way to that position and most importantly, how to develop that focus on continuous improvement that is as important for Scrum Masters as it is for teams. See you tomorrow. I really hope you liked our show and if you did, why not rate this podcast on Stitcher or itunes? Share this podcast and let other Scrum Masters know about this valuable resource for their work. Remember that sharing is caring.