How To Make A Smooth Transition

Summary

Making the transition to Scrum isn’t easy, but by being understanding some of your team’s feelings and needs, you can bring confidence and better ways of working together to make this change successful.

How To Make A Smooth Transition

So, we know making the big change and transitioning to Scrum is going to be hard, but there are some things we can do to ease that process. Some members of your team are going to find this transition harder than others and for some it will even feel like a grieving process for the way of working they have lost. Don’t try to force this change or be little their mourning, understand that this is hard and be by their side to smooth the way forward.

Acknowledge the past

If members of your team are still holding on to the past way of working, don’t dismiss this. Your past work needs to be respected because it’s got you to where you are now. In that way it has succeeded and some of your team will still be feeling attached to this. If you talk disparagingly about past practices you will alienate those who haven’t let go yet. They may feel attacked and their loyalty to the old ways compounded. Instead ,acknowledge all that has gone before and what has been achieved in a positive light.

Keep the team together

It’s important that you approach this change as a team, even though some members of your team will be sceptical and resistant. A respected leader can help to motivate your team and bring them together with confidence. Some members of your team will be more enthusiastic than others, but if you can foster the enthusiasm that exists in some you can spread it amongst the whole team. Get your sceptics involved by asking them what you can do to help them move forward, what they would like to experience and know more about at this stage.

Provide training

Training and teaching can’t be underestimated in these early days. You can’t expect your team to be totally on board with something they don’t understand. Scrum demands training to go side by side with mentoring and on-site coaching, and if you provide all this you stand a much greater chance of succeeding with your transition. Start with some initial training to foster a willingness to give Scrum a go. This can be followed by on-site coaching, giving your team a hands-on experience.

Share information and set targets

Allow your team to help and teach each other along the way. If one member of your team is getting to grips with something quicker than others, let that person train the others, sharing their experience and knowledge with the group. There’s a lot of early information to take in so encouraging your team to help each other will create a sense of togetherness and bond the team. The best way forward is though actually doing it, but don’t put too much pressure on your team to be up to speed too quickly. Set reasonable targets and listen to your team. If they feel this is putting pressure on them and they start to panic, scale this back and give them more time