Success and Reflection in Agile Teams | Karthiga Seturaj

Summary

Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast: Agile Storytelling from the Trenches

Episode: Success and Reflection in Agile Teams | Karthiga Seturaj
Release Date: December 19, 2024
Host: Vasco Duarte
Guest: Karthiga Seturaj, Experienced Scrum Master and Agile Coach

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In this insightful episode of the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast, host Vasco Duarte engages in a deep conversation with Karthiga Seturaj, a seasoned Scrum Master and Agile Coach. The episode, titled "Success and Reflection in Agile Teams," delves into effective retrospective practices, defining success for Scrum Masters, and gauging team autonomy and maturity within Agile frameworks.

1. Favorite Retrospective Formats

Karthiga’s Preferred Approach:
Karthiga begins by sharing her favorite retrospective format, the D.A.K.I. (Drop, Add, Keep, Iterate) method. She emphasizes the importance of continuous evaluation and adaptation in Agile teams.

Karthiga Seturaj [03:07]:
"Retro is definitely one of the favorite parts of my job. Like any other Scrum master, I like the format D.A.K.I. That's the acronym for Drop, Add, Keep, Iterate."

Lean Principles and Continuous Improvement:
As a proponent of Lean, Karthiga underscores the necessity for teams to constantly assess what adds value and what doesn't. She advocates for integrating improvement habits into daily routines rather than confining them to bi-weekly retrospectives.

Karthiga Seturaj [03:07]:
"We have to instill that thought or that behavior with the teams so that they think about it on a day-to-day basis, not just think about implementing items at the end of every two weeks."

Retro Post Box Concept:
To facilitate ongoing feedback, Karthiga encourages the use of a "retro post box" utilizing tools like MiroBoards. This allows team members to jot down thoughts and observations in real-time, ensuring that reflections are fresh and relevant.

Karthiga Seturaj [03:07]:
"We use Mirabor. So they're always welcome to go and post their stickies in the retro post box so that they can put something whenever it's fresh in their mind."

2. Defining Success for Scrum Masters

Empowering Team Autonomy:
When discussing success, Karthiga highlights that a key indicator is the Scrum Master's ability to "put ourselves out of the job." Success is achieved when teams become self-managing and self-organizing, functioning independently without constant oversight.

Karthiga Seturaj [06:02]:
"We want to help teams get to the point where they are self-managing, self-organizing, being able to operate independently."

Measuring Team Health:
Beyond autonomy, Karthiga points to both tangible and intangible metrics to assess the health and success of a team. She recounts a pivotal moment where a team requested to run retrospectives independently, signaling their maturation and the Scrum Master's effective coaching.

Karthiga Seturaj [06:02]:
"They are mature enough now that they don't need me anymore in the room. It's actually really empowering to see that."

Strategic Focus and Continuous Improvement:
Success also entails the Scrum Master shifting focus from tactical tasks to strategic initiatives, allowing for broader organizational impact.

Karthiga Seturaj [06:02]:
"You can move on and shift your focus to other strategic needs... there might be other areas where you can help with."

3. Observing Team Autonomy and Maturity

Proactive Observation:
Vasco and Karthiga explore how Scrum Masters can monitor the transition of teams toward autonomy. Karthiga emphasizes observing whether teams take initiative and drive continuous improvement without waiting for external prompts.

Karthiga Seturaj [08:47]:
"Do they take the initiative? Are they driving continuous improvement?"

Understanding Core Principles:
It's crucial that teams grasp the underlying principles of Agile practices. Karthiga advises assessing whether teams understand the "why" behind their daily activities, which fosters genuine commitment rather than mere compliance.

Karthiga Seturaj [08:47]:
"Do they understand the why behind whatever we are doing on a day-to-day basis and also focusing on the team health."

Effectiveness of Meetings:
Another indicator of maturity is whether teams can conduct effective meetings that achieve their objectives even without the Scrum Master facilitating them.

Karthiga Seturaj [08:47]:
"Are they really getting value out of those meetings?"

4. Indicators of Team Readiness for Autonomy

SWOT Analysis and Health Assessments:
Karthiga advocates for regular SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analyses to track team progress. By conducting these assessments periodically, Scrum Masters can identify shifts from weaknesses to strengths and from opportunities to tangible improvements.

Karthiga Seturaj [10:44]:
"Are they able to convert their weaknesses to strength? Are they able to convert those opportunities for improvement to strengthen?"

Evolution of Work Agreements:
Monitoring the evolution of work agreements is another vital indicator. Karthiga mentions that mature teams will have updated agreements that reflect their growth and changing dynamics over time.

Karthiga Seturaj [10:44]:
"The work agreements that they first put together and the work agreements that they might again put together after six months or one year should definitely be different."

Data-Driven Insights:
Karthiga emphasizes the importance of using metrics and data to support observations. Tracking changes in SWOT analyses and work agreements over time provides concrete evidence of team development.

Karthiga Seturaj [10:44]:
"I personally like metrics. That's why I try to have some kind of data to support all my analysis."

5. Practical Applications and Tools

Version Tracking for Work Agreements:
Vasco suggests using version control systems like Git or Confluence to track the evolution of work agreements. This practice offers a clear historical record of team progress and adaptability.

Vasco Duarte [12:39]:
"If you have them in a version tracking system like Git or even Confluence and you just look at the previous versions and how they've evolved over time, that's a great way to measure the evolution and the growth of a team."

Conclusion

Karthiga Seturaj provides a wealth of knowledge on fostering successful Agile teams through effective retrospectives and empowering Scrum Masters to cultivate autonomous, self-managing teams. Her insights underscore the importance of continuous improvement, proactive observation, and data-driven assessments in achieving and measuring team success.

Notable Quotes:

• Karthiga Seturaj [03:07]:
  "Retro is definitely one of the favorite parts of my job..."

• Karthiga Seturaj [06:02]:
  "We want to help teams get to the point where they are self-managing, self-organizing, being able to operate independently."

• Karthiga Seturaj [08:47]:
  "Do they understand the why behind whatever we are doing on a day-to-day basis and also focusing on the team health."

• Karthiga Seturaj [10:44]:
  "Are they able to convert their weaknesses to strength? Are they able to convert those opportunities for improvement to strengthen?"

This episode is a must-listen for Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches seeking actionable strategies to enhance team performance and achieve sustained Agile maturity. By implementing Karthiga’s recommendations, practitioners can drive their teams toward greater autonomy and success.

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If you found this summary helpful, consider tuning into the full episode of the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast for an even deeper dive into Agile storytelling and team success strategies.

Transcript

[Vasco Duarte]

Hey, how are you doing? I'm Vasco Duarte, your host on the Scrum Master Toolbox podcast. And I've got some exciting news. So right now, as I record this, I'm holding in my hand the signed contract for our very first Global Agile Summit. We're all in and I couldn't wait to share this news with you. So mark your calendars. May 18th to 20th of 2025 in Tallinn Eston, we're going to have a transformative experience. We're putting together an event that it's all about real life agile. It's not theory or buzzwords, it's practitioners sharing what's working, what's making an impact, and how they've overcome challenges that you too will have to face, or maybe even facing. Right now, we're bringing together the best stories in Agile. From product leaders to engineering wizards to business visionaries, these will be stories that will inspire you to action. This isn't just another conference. It's a chance to connect with the people that are shaping the future of Agile. And here's the best part. Right now we're in our super early bird phase. And that means you can grab tickets at just 25% of the final price. Look, that's not just half off, it's half off of the half off. It's an incredible deal for our dedicated community members, just like you listening to this right now. So at the summit, day one will be all about hands on workshops. And days two and three will dive into leadership, product strategy, coding, testing, and everything that makes Agile thrive in organizations. Right now remember, these are all first person, real life stories. Now whether you're a leader, a developer, or part of a consulting company, this event is built to take your Agile game to the next level. So don't wait. Go to globalagilesummit.com and grab your ticket. Today, let's all make 2025 the year agile truly transforms your teams, your business and our industry. I'll see you all in Tallinn. And Remember, go to globalagilesummit.com and get your super early bird ticket right now. It only be available until the agenda is announced, so don't wait. Grab it right now. Right now that that's out of the way, on to the episode. Hello everybody. Welcome to our success Thursday. This week we have with us Kartiga Seturaj. Hey Kartiga, welcome back.

[Kartiga Seturaj]

Hey Vasco. Happy Thursday.

[Vasco Duarte]

Happy Thursday indeed. Thank you for that. Happy Thursday, everybody. So Thursday is of course success day here on the podcast, but we'll talk about Success in a minute. First, Kartiga share with us, what's your favorite retrospective format and why here?

[Kartiga Seturaj]

Retro is definitely one of the favorite part of my job. Like any other Scrum master, I like the format Darky. There are a lot of formats that I like, but this, this one, D A K I. That's the acronym for drop Add, Keep iterate. So being a proponent of Lean, I always keep reminding my team to continuously evaluate the process. Right. Think about what you need to continue doing more than that. What is it that we should stop doing? So if there's anything that's not adding value, we'll have to talk about it. So we'll have to instill that thought or that behavior with the teams so that they think about it on a day to day basis, not just think about implement items at the end of every two weeks or whatever your iteration cadences making it a habit behavior. So the teams constantly think about the difference between value adding activities and non adding activities. So that's something that I'd love to do. And I also encourage teams to use the Retro post box. So we use Mirabor. So there'll be a Miraboard already up and running for every iteration. So they're always welcome to go and post their stickies in the retro post box so that they can put something whenever it's fresh in their mind. I would be a millionaire if I had a dollar every time a developer said, I don't remember what happened last week. Of course you don't. I don't remember what I had for dinner last night. So make it a habit. Right. Don't think about improvements every two weeks. Think about it on a daily basis and the team should immediately go and post it in the retro post box. That also helps make best use of the time when they gather for the retrospective.

[Vasco Duarte]

Yeah, absolutely. And this idea of having something ready all the time really helps to make that habit. I guess we could call it stay right like sediment. That habit of reinforce that habit of continuously adding things that we would like to discuss to the retro board. And then later on we can prioritize or discard some that have stopped being, I guess, important at that time. Right. So that's a great idea.

[Kartiga Seturaj]

Absolutely. Yep.

[Vasco Duarte]

So when we think about retros, of course we, we want to work on the retros and we even enjoy, as you said, preparing and hosting the retros because it helps us succeed ourselves as Scrum Masters by helping our team succeed. So Kartika, let's dive into that success definition. What do you say is success For Scrum Masters, sure.

[Kartiga Seturaj]

So like any other, you know, textbook definition, we want to put ourselves out of the job. So that's actually true. We want to help teams get to point where they are self managing, self organizing, being able to operate independently. That that's definitely one of the success measures for this Scrum Master. And there's also other ways like you can measure success, the health of the team there. There are a lot of tangible, intangible metrics that we can use to track success of Scrum Master. Another thing that I would like to share a small story here. One of the teams that I coached at one time, they suggested that when I did anonymous survey, they suggested that they want to run the retro by themselves. Initially I was like, oh my God, did I do anything wrong? Why do they want to do it by themselves? But then I understood that they are slowly maturing. I mean, they are mature enough now that they don't need me anymore in the room. It's actually really empowering to see that. And yeah, we should be proud to be a Scrum Master of a team who wants to do the retros by themselves. Instead of saying we don't want to do retros. They're on the other side of the spectrum. Right. So they are like really mature. They know what they're doing. They understand the importance of retro. They want to take ownership. That's what success means. So when a team is saying that, I would say that particular Scrum Master has been successful in helping the teams achieve their agile maturity. That would give you. That doesn't mean that you're out of job. It means that you can move on and shift your focus to other strategic needs. Other strategic priorities within the organization. There might be other areas where you can help with. So that gives you more time to focus on those strategic initiatives. Moving away from this tactical task of just facilitating meetings, there might be other things where you can bring more value to the table. And also it's important for the teams to honor the process and principles when a Scrum Master is not in the room. So that's one good indication of whether Scrum Master is successful. Do the teams do what needs to be done even when you're not around?

[Vasco Duarte]

Yeah. And do the teams do what needs to be done when you're not around is something we should definitely keep our eye on and even proactively create the opportunities to observe that. So that would be my next question. Kartiga, how do you look at what is happening from the moment you enter a team to the moment where they are fully autonomous. Right. Like what are the behaviors, what are the things you're wanting to observe that give you the indication that indeed the team is becoming more independent? Sure.

[Kartiga Seturaj]

Yeah. There are definitely a lot of things that we can observe. And look at one thing, do they take the initiative? Are the need to drive continuous improvement. That's. We just talked about that. Doing retros. Not just doing retros. Right. What do they do on the action items that come out of retros? Are they taking the lead and initiative or are they just waiting for another leader or Scrum Master to help them with that? That would definitely help you understand. Do they understand the why behind whatever we are doing on day to day basis and also focusing on the team health? As I said, there are various health modules that we have in the market and also for free, which would also help you kind of monitor the team's health on a periodic basis. So that's another thing. There are a lot of tools that you can use. That's what I mean when I say what health monitors and how effective the team's meetings are. Even when the Scrum Master is not facilitating it, are they meeting the goals of that meeting? Are they just meeting for the sake of meeting or are they really getting value out of those meetings? So being an observer to see whether all these are being, you know, how this is being done by the teams would also help.

[Vasco Duarte]

Yeah, absolutely. Keep an eye on all of those things. One of the questions that I like to ask is, okay, so let's imagine that a team is really getting to be much more autonomous. One thing we could look for is that they want to host a retrospective themselves. You've already shared that. But what are other things you look for that tell you that they are perhaps not really autonomous yet, but they are ready to start going in that direction, that you recognize that, okay, I can maybe step away for a couple of days and let them take over.

[Kartiga Seturaj]

Sure. So one thing that might also help is the maybe. As I said, when you do this health assessment, one thing that I've tried out with the teams is the SWOT analysis, like doing analysis on their strength weaknesses, opportunities for improvement, threats and risk. So when you do that on a regular basis, like every six months or every three months, whatever works best for you, keeping an eye on how those shift, are they able to convert their weaknesses to strength? Are they able to convert those opportunities for improvement to strengthen? So that is where we want to be at. Right. So once you get a good view of what the strength, weaknesses, opportunities are after three months. When you do the same analysis, what are the shifts? Are they shifting from weakness to strength? Opportunity to strength would also help you get an idea of whether the theme is progressing in the right direction. So I personally like metrics. That's why I try to have some kind of a data to support all my analysis. So this would definitely help. And also their work agreements. Right. So when they first form in the team formation, the Tuckman's chart, if they are a new team, the work agreements that they first put together and the work agreements that they might again put together after six months or one year should definitely be different. If they are still talking about we should improve our peer review process, which they talked about six months or one year ago, no, they are not ready. There is still something wrong that we need to fix. There is something fundamentally wrong. So things should change and evolve. The work agreements would evolve. That's how the results of the SWOT analysis will also change over time. That might give you more information and also that could be used as indicators for you to understand whether they are progressing towards the next phase of maturity.

[Vasco Duarte]

Yeah, absolutely. That's a great example by the way. Looking at how the working agreements have evolved. If you have them in a version tracking system like Git or even Confluence and you just look at the previous versions and how they've evolved over time, that's a great way to measure the evolution and the growth of a team. Thank you for sharing that, Kartiga.

[Kartiga Seturaj]

Absolutely.

[Vasco Duarte]

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