I’m on a scrum team. In sprint retrospective many members of the team share a concern that the team isn’t moving as fast as it could. Things seem to have slowed down. We brain storm as a team. We look closer at the coming sprint’s plan. The Product Owner considers the team’s concerns and throws some stories overboard. One of them looks like an Easy Story. The product owner is getting business pressure to ship it. To give the team time to address concerns they raised in retro he throws it overboard.
“But wait,” one optimistic developer says. “That’s an easy story. We can still do that.”
“I’m not going to tell you guys everything to work on. Use your judgment. If it only takes a quick conversation then I’d love to have it. But I’m not committing you to it.”
All my dreams have come true. A Product Owner that gives clear direction, latitude, and cares about craftsmanship.
The next day. Stand-up. Will the Product Owner’s generosity be rewarded?
Optimistic developer reports that doing the “Easy Story” the right way isn’t really supported now. Someone suggests a quick-and-dirty workaround. Another raises a practical issue with the workaround. Seems like it’s definitely dirty but not necessarily quick.
What happens next?
Developers Want to Please
Coming off a taxing retrospective many developers are eager to make immediate progress. Gratified by the Product Owner’s trust developers want to pay back that trust by delivering stuff the Owner cares about. After investing time into something you think is an easy win the sunk-cost effect kicks in. Even when the data says this thing is harder than you thought you don’t see it. Instead you figure that success is just around the corner.
All of this pushes the development team to invest in the Easy Story even though it isn’t part of the planned work. Delivering this story will gratify your product owner. But what about the work you signed up for?
Stick to the Plan
At times like this you really should honor the process. You have a raft of work you’ve already signed up for. You know the Product Owner cares about it. Going for a quick target of opportunity is like carefully stooping to pick up a nickel while balancing a heavy crown. You can do it. Yet take care: don’t jeopardize the crown jewels for a nickel.
Plans Serve You
I don’t recommend that a plan become inviolable. You made it. You can change it. If a plan no longer serves its purpose then it has to go.
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.
Remember not to ditch the plan all on your own. Involve the stakeholders that first approved that plan.
To avoid the more common pitfall: don’t let the tantalizing stream of small steps forward disorient you. You may be getting little rushes of success while wandering far from the effective path.
When in Doubt Honor Intent
If the plan is no longer viable in the specific and you can’t contact the stakeholders then at least take a moment to mentally step back and recall the plan’s intent. If you’re lucky then the plan came with a stated intent. If not, you may have to guess. Be sure that you don’t over-simplify.
In this scenario the optimistic developer could assume the plan’s intent is “deliver as much stuff as we can.” In this mode it is very hard to stop pursuing the Easy Story. But that guessed intent is an oversimplification that doesn’t account for the context of the plan.
In this case the plan’s intent was not so ambiguous. The retrospective had focused on increasing velocity. The Owner intentionally threw away the Easy Story to clear the way for addressing some hard concerns. Pursuing the Easy Story is the wrong choice.
