Digital tools considered harmful - Jira

Digital tools considered harmful: Jira

At the time of this writing, Jira is probably the most widely used digital tool in Scrum and LeSS adoptions. Unfortunately, using Jira commonly leads to some predictable dysfunctions. Some of these are:

  • Scrum confusion and tool-owned processes
  • Micro-management due to integration of Product and Sprint Backlog
  • No shared team responsibility due to poor Sprint Backlog

Digital tools considered harmful - Sprint Backlog

Digital tools considered harmful: Sprint Backlog

It is unfortunately common to use a digital Sprint Backlog. I explicitly say ‘unfortunately’ because of the negative impact a digital Sprint Backlog tends to have on team dynamics and collaboration. Using a digital tool for a Product Backlog might also be common but is less harmful. Digital Sprint Backlogs should be avoided!

I’ve observed four causes of digital Sprint Backlog,

  1. The team is not co-located.
  2. Management mandates a tool for Sprint Backlog.
  3. The team uses a computer during Sprint Planning.
  4. The Scrum Master adds tasks to the Sprint Backlog.

Each cause is a reflection of a team or an organizational dysfunction.

Actively Doing Nothing

(this article is for a series of posts of which some might be published in the upcoming book “97 Things every Scrum practitioner should know” in the O’Reilly series, which will be edited by Gunther Verheyen)

Actively Doing Nothing (is actually hard work)

What do Scrum Masters actually do, all day long? This is a hard question as the behavior of a Scrum Master is very contextual. It depends greatly on the maturity of the team, the experience of the Product Owner, and the amount of dysfunction in the organization. I use the “five tools of Scrum Masters” for clarifying what a Scrum Master does, when he does that, and why,

  1. A Scrum Master asks questions.
  2. A Scrum Master educates.
  3. A Scrum Master facilitates.
  4. A Scrum Master actively does nothing.
  5. A Scrum Master interrupts (in exceptional cases).

These tools require little clarification, except probably the tool I probably use most: actively doing nothing.

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