{"id":59,"date":"2021-05-23T22:55:26","date_gmt":"2021-05-23T22:55:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pragmatic-pm.com\/?p=59"},"modified":"2021-05-23T22:55:31","modified_gmt":"2021-05-23T22:55:31","slug":"pro-forma-rituals-vs-deep-understanding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pragmatic-pm.com\/?p=59","title":{"rendered":"Pro forma rituals vs. deep understanding"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Photo by Hulki Okan Tabak<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When Scrum rituals are used without a deep understanding of their purpose, they can degenerate into hollow activities done for the purpose of following the form, but without creating their expected benefits. For example, I have seen many sprint retrospectives following the form precisely that produced nothing more substantive than \u201cthe team communicated really well this sprint\u201d or \u201cwe rolled over too many tasks from this sprint to the next [AGAIN].\u201d  The issue was that the team wasn\u2019t thinking about what the purpose is of the rituals and how to assure that they produce value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our team\u2019s use of Scrum, I\u2019ve promoted the principle<\/a> that for every tool and each element of a tool, the team must know its purpose. By knowing each element\u2019s purpose then for its application to the project being considered you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n