In this blog, we will look at how Scrum is related to the science of goal achievement.
Clarity
Human beings are more motivated to work towards achieving a goal if they have Crystal clear picture of the goal to be achieved. – Ewa Pietrzak
Clarity breeds Mastery – Robin Sharma
With Scrum the Backlog Grooming sessions are part of the planning for the next Sprint. During this session, the team gets together and discusses on the tasks to be performed for the next Sprint.
An important role is played by the Platform Analyst/Business Analyst to bring in clarity on the requirements for each task to be considered for the next Sprint .
At the end of this session each team member should have complete clarity on the requirements for the tasks to be considered for the next Sprint.
Planning and Preparation
Human Beings are more likely to work towards accomplishing a goal if they are prepared and have identified the required steps. – Brendon Burchard
If the Mind cannot see the steps required for the completion of a task the Heart will ask to pause. -Brendon Burchard
During the Sprint planning session the team goes through the tasks identified during the Backlog Grooming session .
With the clarity received from the Backlog Grooming session the team is well equipped to provide estimates for the tasks Team members provide estimates in terms of Story points and work hours for each of the tasks .
The Scrum Master looks the overall workload for each team member, discusses the priority of each task and plans the works for the next Sprint .
At the end of the Sprint planning session each team member has complete clarity on the goals and expectations set for him for the next Sprint.
Reduce Overwhelm
If the Human brain is overwhelmed it tends to freeze and shifts to inaction .
Having the picture of the bigger project is important but it can be quite overwhelming for the human brain to continuously look at all the pieces at all the time . Also a lot of Overwhelm comes from being continuously distracted . Human beings tend to be more productive if they are completely focused on a few tasks at a given point of time.
Software projects are quite dynamic in nature , there are lots of moving pieces , unclear areas and feedback to be gathered from the Product Owners/Customers. With Scrum a bigger project is broken into smaller Sprints. Although there is a view of the entire project , tasks are prioritized and grouped into smaller Sprints, the tasks which require more clarity/discussions are moved to later Sprints.
During the execution of a Sprint the team is completely focused on the tasks identified for the Sprint and they are not continuously looking at all the tasks for the complete project.
There is very less distractions as new or unplanned activities don’t chip in. They are moved to the backlog where they are prioritized and considered for the later Sprints.
Momentum and Small Wins
Many times the difference between winning and losing is momentum .Positive Momentum creates an environment of wining and high morale .
Momentum is the great exaggerator . Momentum has the capability to exaggerate things than they really are.With Momentum the team performs more than their capabilities . – John Maxwell
Scrum naturally brings momentum to the project as the bigger project is broken down into smaller Sprints. Each Sprint is a mini project in itself. Completion of a Sprint brings a feeling of accomplishment and winning and it naturally builds the overall momentum in the project
Social Accountability
Human beings are less likely to procrastinate if they socialize their agenda with other people. It’s harder to procrastinate when your name, your integrity and your relationships are on the line . Human beings need to speak about their goals with other people who can hold them accountable.
Speaking out your goals makes it more likely that you will take action on your goals. -Brendon Burchard
With daily standups each team member share the status and the challenges of their tasks with the entire team.Since they have shared their work agenda with other team members they more likely to strive towards completion of their tasks .
Feedback and Celebration
So many people deserve to feel so much better about themselves, they deserve to feel stronger and capable and confident but they are waiting for the achievement of the bigger goal. However from a goal achievement perspective unless people take small steps and give credit for those steps they will not be motivated to take bigger steps. – Brendon Burchard
It is very important that we celebrate the small wins and provide timely feedback to keep the team motivated
Retrospective meetings provide an excellent opportunity to provide feedback about the overall progress and individual team members. It provides an opportunity to celebrate and appreciate the work done by the team. If used effectively it can be a great tool to motivate the team to achieve higher goals.