Why Organizational And Scrum Patterns Are Essential for Leading Change | Ville Reijonen

Summary

Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast: Agile Storytelling from the Trenches Episode: Why Organizational And Scrum Patterns Are Essential for Leading Change | Ville Reijonen
Host: Vasco Duarte
Guest: Ville Reijonen
Release Date: January 22, 2025

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Introduction

In this insightful episode of the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast, host Vasco Duarte, a seasoned Agile Coach and Certified Scrum Master, engages in a profound discussion with Ville Reijonen, a patterns enthusiast and experienced Agile practitioner. The episode delves into the critical role of organizational and Scrum patterns in leading and managing change within teams and organizations.

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Key Discussions and Insights

The Essence of Change Leadership and Patterns

Vasco opens the conversation by emphasizing the omnipresence of change leadership in the roles of Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches. He introduces Ville as a patterns enthusiast, setting the stage for a deep dive into how patterns can facilitate effective change management.

Ville Reijonen shares his passion for patterns, describing them as essential tools for understanding and implementing change within organizations. He highlights that patterns provide structured solutions to recurring problems, making them invaluable for guiding teams through transitions.

Navigating Change During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Ville recounts his experience from the year 2000, highlighting his pre-pandemic strategy of engaging with colleagues face-to-face in cafeterias to foster spontaneous discussions and collaborations. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted this approach, necessitating a shift to virtual interactions dominated by meetings.

[03:33] Ville Reijonen: “Before COVID, I’d often park myself in a cafeteria to catch up with people during their downtime. When COVID hit and cafeterias became obsolete, I had to find new ways to create meaningful interactions in a landscape dominated by virtual meetings.”

Faced with this challenge, Ville adapted by establishing regular virtual meetings that focused on addressing team members' issues and providing them with the necessary information and patterns to overcome obstacles. This transition underscored the importance of adaptability and the strategic use of patterns in maintaining effective communication and collaboration.

Using Patterns to Explain Scrum Concepts

Vasco probes deeper into Ville's application of patterns, asking for concrete examples of how patterns can be used to elucidate Scrum roles and practices.

[05:30] Vasco Duarte: “Can you give an example of using patterns to explain the concept of a Product Owner to someone like a tester?”

Ville explains that he uses patterns as a foundational tool to introduce and clarify Scrum roles. By providing documented patterns from resources like scrumbook.org, he ensures that team members have a clear and concise understanding of each role's responsibilities and behaviors.

[06:49] Ville Reijonen: “Scrumbook.org has all the patterns you need. I send the relevant pattern to someone, ask them to read it, and then we discuss it together, much like a flipped classroom.”

This method fosters a shared understanding and encourages team members to engage with the material actively, leading to more productive and informed discussions during coaching sessions.

Developing a Shared Language Through Patterns

Vasco elaborates on the concept of pattern languages, drawing parallels to the evolution of Scrum itself. He emphasizes that patterns, when combined, form a comprehensive language that facilitates clear and effective communication within teams.

[08:59] Vasco Duarte: “When you put several patterns together, it becomes a language. It’s not just a collection of patterns anymore; it’s a language that helps us talk about something we share.”

This shared language is crucial for creating alignment and understanding across the organization. It ensures that terms and concepts are uniformly interpreted, reducing the likelihood of miscommunication and fostering a cohesive approach to Agile practices.

Preventing Misunderstandings with Shared Definitions

A significant portion of the discussion focuses on the pitfalls of ambiguous terminology within teams. Vasco and Ville highlight examples where differing interpretations of roles, such as "tester," can lead to strategic missteps, such as relocating teams based on incorrect assumptions about their work.

[14:03] Ville Reijonen: “Creating a common understanding of words and definitions is essential. Without it, the same term can mean different things to different people, leading to confusion and ineffective decisions.”

By leveraging patterns to establish clear definitions and expected behaviors, Agile Coaches and Scrum Masters can prevent such misunderstandings, ensuring that all team members are aligned in their roles and responsibilities.

Practical Application of Patterns in Daily Scrum

Ville underscores the importance of applying patterns to daily Scrum practices to ensure their effectiveness and purpose.

[11:35] Ville Reijonen: “A daily stand-up isn’t about reporting; it’s about thinking ahead. Going through the daily pattern with the team helps them understand why they are doing it.”

This approach ensures that daily meetings are not just routine check-ins but serve a strategic purpose in fostering forward-thinking and collaboration among team members.

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Concluding Insights

The episode wraps up with a reaffirmation of the vital role that organizational and Scrum patterns play in leading change. Vasco and Ville agree that patterns provide a structured yet flexible framework that enables teams to navigate changes effectively, fostering a shared understanding and cohesive language that drives successful Agile transformations.

[14:22] Vasco Duarte: “Never underestimate how the same words can be understood in so many different ways. A shared language through patterns is essential for effective change.”

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Notable Quotes

• Ville Reijonen [03:33]: “Before COVID, I’d often park myself in a cafeteria to catch up with people during their downtime. When COVID hit and cafeterias became obsolete, I had to find new ways to create meaningful interactions in a landscape dominated by virtual meetings.”

• Ville Reijonen [06:49]: “Scrumbook.org has all the patterns you need. I send the relevant pattern to someone, ask them to read it, and then we discuss it together, much like a flipped classroom.”

• Vasco Duarte [08:59]: “When you put several patterns together, it becomes a language. It’s not just a collection of patterns anymore; it’s a language that helps us talk about something we share.”

• Ville Reijonen [14:03]: “Creating a common understanding of words and definitions is essential. Without it, the same term can mean different things to different people, leading to confusion and ineffective decisions.”

• Vasco Duarte [14:22]: “Never underestimate how the same words can be understood in so many different ways. A shared language through patterns is essential for effective change.”

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Conclusion

This episode of the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast offers invaluable insights into the strategic use of organizational and Scrum patterns in leading change. By establishing a shared language and clear definitions, Agile Coaches and Scrum Masters can navigate the complexities of organizational transformation more effectively, ensuring alignment and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

For Scrum Masters and Agile practitioners seeking to enhance their change management skills, Ville Reijonen’s expertise and practical approaches provide actionable strategies to apply patterns meaningfully within their teams and organizations.

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Transcript

[A]

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, 20th of 2025 in Tallinn, Estonia. We're gonna have a transformative experience. We're putting together an event that is 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, we'll 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, onto the episode. Hello everybody. Welcome to our Wednesday the Change Leadership episode this week with Vile Reonen. Hey, Vile. Welcome back.

[B]

Thank you, Vasco.

[A]

So vile. It really is an important part of our job. In fact, we're doing it all the time. That is change leadership. And therefore. And now I'm curious because you are A patterns enthusiast. We need to figure out what patterns usually work and of course also what patterns don't work in change. I don't know what story you have to share with us. Maybe there are patterns, maybe there aren't. In the end, it doesn't matter because we want to learn, but one of those change processes that you were involved with, and we want to learn about what worked. So the tools, the tips, the tricks and the techniques from that story that you have to share that we can take on and apply ourselves. So tell us that story, Ville.

[B]

So back back in 2000, before the COVID started, my. My way of working usually was that I parked myself in some cafeteria and I knew that people who come in, they usually are not busy. They come, they have some time to discuss. I can ask them questions and then it can lead to discussions or meetings or whatever. So it was excellent place always to be in. Kind of have your antennas up. And then the COVID happened and there was no cafeteria anymore. I was like, how I can do my job anymore? And well, everybody has meetings. So how I can create the context for meeting. So people feel that it's also helpful for them themselves. Usually earlier, if people came with some issue or we're discussing, I know this, and they have something. Often the case was that they were lacking information or it was not so much a problem of I will think this through, but they were truly missing some piece of information or some method how to do things, maybe a pattern. So I could teach them this. Okay, how about I will run this kind of regular meeting with the people, which I like to see, and I will have part of the coaching in there. So I will ask how it's going, what problems you have. And then I will. Based on what we have discussed earlier, I would have them do some homework and I would discuss on this topic with them and then I would go from there. But okay, based on this one, how you will change your behavior, how you. What do you do differently? And. And what I used to teach people were patterns. And I would say, because I've been repeating this, maybe it's a pattern itself to do this kind of meetings. I don't know. I've been doing them.

[A]

So tell me a bit more. So you. You met people and. And you try to explain ideas, concepts, changes through the use of patterns. Can you give an example of that? What could that look like?

[B]

Really basic case would be what is a product owner? There's a pattern for that one. So what are the behaviors and doings of a product owner? So if there's a person who would work with product owners, it would be helpful for them to understand what a product owner is. So then I could go through this pattern with them and ah, they were ah, this interesting. And then we, so what, what kind.

[A]

Of let, let's explore that question. So what is a product owner? Let's assume that I am let's say a tester. Right. Like how would you then start explaining the concept of a product owner using patterns to a tester.

[B]

So, so if I would do this the way I, I would send you a homework, I would send you the pattern. So I would ask you, could you read this first? So it will take some 15 minutes and we will.

[A]

Where would we find that pattern? Is that what's published in the Scrum guide or is that something else from book?

[B]

So scrumbook.org you can find all the patterns from there. So I would send a link to that certain pattern to the person and ask them to read it. And then this kind of flipped classroom way of you do the first studying at home and then you go with a teacher and do the further studying with the teacher. So the same way.

[A]

So then you would expect people to come to you with questions. So I read this, but I don't really know what it means or what if. Right, like that kind of questions.

[B]

Yeah. And over time that kind of, you can try to explain the same thing again and again. But sometimes actually it's more beneficial to find good material which the people can check YouTube videos, short YouTube videos or articles or patterns, whichever is about on topic. So and if you accredit trust with the people with connection, they will do the homework and then you will have good discussion with them and you will see the people change because they learn more.

[A]

Absolutely. One of the things that I like about the use of patterns is that of course, and this is how Scrum emerged, when you put several patterns together, it kind of becomes a language, right? It's not just a collection of patterns anymore, it's actually a language. It helps us to talk about something in something we share. For example, if we talk about product owner, product owner is only one pattern, but the product owner makes sense when we talk about other patterns. Like for example, who makes decisions? What is a backlog? How does a team get helped in understanding the customer? Like all of those things are then coming into in some way into the product owner pattern, but then other patterns around it. Like for example the sprint planning, which is itself also a pattern, and the sprint review, which is itself also a pattern. So we kind of create this language of patterns that helps us to then figure out, in the case of Scrum, how the whole system works, right?

[B]

Yes. And definitely the good part, the good thing in the pattern is that they are quite short to read. So you can read a pattern in 15 minutes, but you might end up kind of thinking, so it might actually take longer than 15 minutes when you start thinking about the thing and exactly, you said that the backlog items, sprint planning, all of those are patterns which you can then go through and explain with the pattern what this is about. And most often the pattern is better written than you can explain on the spot the same topic, because you don't remember all the forces, all the context, all the things which are in the pattern.

[A]

And you can learn through conversation how to improve the pattern description as well. And in fact, that is how Scrum came about, right? Because the people that were designing Scrum, they were literally going to conferences presenting patterns and getting feedback and improving the design description of Scrum through the improvement of the description of the patterns, Right? So it becomes, I very often think about that one of our biggest jobs as Scrum masters and agile coaches is to create a productive language with the organization. So what is a productive language? It's a language so set of terms and concepts and ideas that we can use to create agreement, right? Like for example, in a retrospective, it's not enough to discuss the problems, we need to reach an agreement of what to try next. If we have a shared language, then we all understand things in similar ways and we can build a system like the Scrum system with those different patterns. But for example, when we don't have a shared understanding of what a pattern is, you and I, we might be talking about a tester, but you are talking about a manual script following tester and I'm talking about a highly creative exploratory tester. We both call it tester, but they are not the same. And that creates a very difficult understanding. Because if you want script following testers, then the next question is, hey, what can we automate or even, you know, move to a cheaper country? That has happened to me where a whole team of testers was moved from one country to another because they were cheaper and they were just following scripts. While when you have an exploratory tester, which is a completely different pattern for the same function or skill set tester, then obviously you can't do that because exploratory testing requires direct contact with the team, an in depth understanding of why the system is being Developed, maybe even customer connections and so on and so forth.

[B]

Yes, definitely. You have to create common understanding of words, definitions and typical case for is for example, daily. What is a daily, why you have them? It's not about reporting, it's about thinking future. And when you go through the daily pattern with the whole team, they understand why they are doing it.

[A]

Yeah. I remember Finnish business philosopher Esko Kilpi, who used to talk a lot, I mean, rest in peace, who used to talk a lot about the importance of understanding businesses as this influx conversations. Right. The business is not a static concept. And of course when we talk about business, we talk about organizations, companies and teams and so on, on. And they are in constant flux. And the way that flux develops is through conversation. So he talks about the creation through conversation. So we start the conversation about whatever a new product or a new team or a new way of working and that conversation then has a life of its own and it creates change in the organization, whether we like it or not. But change is happening. And one of the things that really struck me from that idea is this concept that we as SCRUM masters and agile coaches are really the facilitators of that conversation. And I look at patterns as kind of a tool set that helps us to make sure that when we are having that conversation, we are starting from the same base. Right. And a very common problem, Ville, I'm sure you're familiar with that is in the early days of Scrum, people said, oh, we're doing Scrum, but we're not having the daily meeting. Oh, we're doing Scrum, but we don't actually have retrospective. Right. Everybody knows the Scrum, but anti pattern. And that is a fundamental misunderstanding of what SCRUM was and is at the time. Because SCRUM is a system of patterns together, working together. So it's a dynamic system that you can build on top of that. But we can't start without that system of patterns. Right. And for me, that pattern language or the ability to use patterns allow us to create this concise understanding that we can then build from. And it helps with change because that's the initial kind of impetus for the change. Right. We need to have the same language of what the end game looks like.

[B]

And this came back to the thing I think the main issue in many organizations not so much about making decisions, making informal, informed decisions based on actual same language, same kind of understanding of things.

[A]

Yeah. Never underestimate how same words will be understood in so many different ways. That's definitely something to be aware of. Till that was a great story. Thank you for sharing that.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

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