Scrum Master Natalia about Project Team Communication

Today, as a scrum master at ROCKETECH I want to share my opinion about the key points of successful communication and our tips on how to organize it in a development team.

Team processes, as the core factor

We use the classical SCRUM-process, where everyone is connected and interacts with each other.

• before start the development process we work closely with our client, who is the Product Owner at the same time;
• the team and Scrum Master estimate the tasks in the project;
• then they plan the duration of iterations and the conditions for the tasks’ readiness;
• the Sprint starts (its duration is 1-2 weeks, depending on the project-specific conditions);
• during this collaboration we focus on product goal understanding;
• during the Sprint, the team develops a part of the product (an Increment);
• when we have at least a few features we are ready to start the sprint and refine the remaining scope based on feedback from users and stakeholders

Meanwhile, during the Sprint our team has daily calls with every member for synchronization. During the sprint, the team in collaboration with the client works on breaking down “big peace of future work” into smaller parts, which can be developed within 1 sprint and can bring value to the end-user. If the necessary team can involve real users and stakeholders in this process.

Each task has the following stages:

• the discussion and choice of the implementation method;
• development;
• testing;
• result presentation to the client.

There are the entire team, the client, and the stakeholders from the client’s side on the review of the Sprint results.

After the product demonstration, there is a Sprint retrospective. Our team discusses the development process and team interaction for creating an improvement plan.

Meetings matter

Meetings are the part of team routine, but they always need to have a structure. Let’s see, how we organize them in Rocketech.

• Planning

The Planning meeting is organized once per Sprint to determine the focus (Sprint Goal) and a set of tasks for the Sprint (Sprint Backlog).

• Daily

It is important to start the day with a daily synchronization meeting to track how we move towards our sprint goals, which blockers do we have and how can we change our plan for the next 24 hours in order to achieve the Sprint Goal.

• PBR (Product Backlog Refinement or Grooming)

PBR is held on average 1-2 times a week or more often to clarify requirements and discuss ways to implement tasks.

• Sprint Review

At the end of each Sprint we inspect developed Increment on the sprint Review meeting. At this meeting, we collect feedback from stakeholders and users in order to adjust our backlog and make our product more useful.

• Retro

It is essential to have a Retro meeting once per Sprint to inspect internal processes and develop an improvement plan.

The main principles of building successful communication in a team

In my opinion, it is transparency, honesty, the ability to give and receive feedback, the team’s responsibility for the result of their work, mutual help, individual professionalism and respect for each other, the principle of partnership.

With this structure of team processes, we create the best version of the products for users.