Symptoms of Maturity of a Scrum Team

In the Agile way of working and Scrum, we all talk about team's maturity. What are the characteristics of a maturing team? In this article, I am listing few of the characteristics of a maturing team.

1. Duration of Sprint Planning Meeting start reducing due to better and better refinement of PBIs
2. Refinement sessions start becoming shorter and shorter because DevTeam and Product Owner are refining Product Backlog on continuous basis
3. DevTeam starts ignoring presence or absence of Scrum Master during Daily Standup
4. Impromptu Retrospectives start happening
5. Fifteen minutes time box for Daily Standup starts feeling long
6. After Daily Standup, Scrum Master has shorter and shorter  To Do list w.r.t. impediment resolution  and DevTeam members are tackling impediments themselves
7. PBIs are of similar size
8. Burn Down chart is pretty smooth over many many Sprints
9. Product Backlog is DEEP enough and holding INVESTable PBIs for next one to two Sprints
10. In a truck hitting a DevTeam member thought  experiment, effect on velocity in short term start reducing
11. Technical debt has steady or downward trend
12. Scrum Master in getting more and more involved with organizational level impediments because DevTeam is tackling team level impediments
13. DevTeam is interacting with end users though work is routing via Product Owner

I am sure you have your own list. Let's share that list with the wider community.

We as a DevTeam

DevTeam consists of generalists specialists (T-shaped skill set) who can perform all work to create product increment as envisioned in the Sprint Goal. The size of DevTeam is 6±3. There is only one role in a DevTeam – Developer. Each member of DevTeam may have a specialization (say QA, front end, back end, database, etc.) but everyone is responsible to achieve the sprint goal. There are no sub-teams within DevTeam. DevTeam members follow good engineering practices. DevTeam members self-organize to achieve the sprint goal. DevTeam is a long running team and members are full time allocated to it. All of DevTeam members follow same norms and rules.

As a DevTeam, we own Sprint Backlog. During Sprint Planning Meeting, devTeam negotiates with Product Owner to keep its commitment for the sprint. Sprint Backlog represents the commitment of devTeam for a sprint. DevTeam members participate in Daily Standup and share their work and impediment if any. DevTeam is responsible to deliver product increment at the end of the sprint. DevTeam presents items to PO as soon as acceptance criteria is met. DevTeam members collaborate to complete the work. DevTeam only accepts the work as envisioned in the sprint backlog.

As a DevTeam, we participate in scrum ceremonies.  DevTeam actively participates in refinement activities to keep Product Backlog healthy. DevTeam estimates PBIs. DevTeam evaluates the technical feasibility of PBIs. DevTeam is responsible for all work to be done to deliver as committed in the Sprint Planning Meeting (in the form of Sprint Backlog). DevTeam participates in Sprint Review ceremony to collect feedback from stakeholders. DevTeam conducts Retrospective in the end of each Sprint with PO and SM to reflect on self. DevTeam helps PO to conduct Demo.

As a DevTeam, we strive for automation to keep effectiveness and productivity (velocity) curve upward. DevTeam adopts Agile engineering practices to keep the quality of product high. DevTeam members strive to learn new tools, techniques, technologies, and skills to develop T-shaped skill set. DevTeam members work closely with PO and SM to deliver consistently and effectively.

As a DevTeam we strive to deliver value with sustainable pace. DevTeam remains in conversation with PO throughout a sprint to get clarification on the Sprint Backlog Items. DevTeam has the clear understanding of Sprint Goal. DevTeam not only focuses on HOW but also knows WHY and WHAT. DevTeam is responsible for continuous delivery of valuable outcome. DevTeam is empowered to make the decision about the HOW part to complete the work as listed in Sprint Backlog. DevTeam manages information radiators. DevTeam continuously communicates with users.

As a DevTeam, we continuously educate ourselves and share learnings with technical, Lean, Agile and Scrum communities. We organize and participate in technical, Lean, Agile, and scrum oriented community events to facilitate understanding of technical, Lean, Agile, and scrum values and principles.