Virtual Scrumming

Scrum is a technique for enabling high performance teams. Its typically used in software development, which can take advantage of all of the components of it (its a subset of Agile), but really some of the concepts are universal teaming concepts which can be applied any any group endeavor. A Scrum - which comes from the sport of rugby - in Agile parlance is typically done standing up, facing each other in a circle. The act of standing up and facing each other does something very primal to the human brain - Ive seen people engage with each other in a Scrum that they would never have done sitting at a conference table. The other advantage is that people dont generally like to stand for hours at a time, so it keeps things sharp and to the point, which anyone who has been at a multi hour conference room discussion will appreciate.

So how then do you practice Scrum properly when you are thousands of miles apart? Virtual scrumming relies on good tools, and while its not as ideal as being colocated, there are some basic rules of thumb to follow:

- Pick a good product. I used to think GoToMeeting was a gimmick, mostly because it was promoted on talk and sports radio. However having used it for many years now I can assure you it is a mature and full featured tool for virtual work. Screen sharing, voice over IP (the computer), dial in, and video make it simple to use. Webex was always the gold standard, but after participating in a call today where the audio didnt work (the moderator gave out a separate dial in code, but the meeting room still had a dial in option, which didnt match ... grrr) - the simplicity of a single tool that can do all of these things in a simple way is very compelling.

- Dont use video. As cool as it sounds, people dont like to show their faces to a group like this virtually. Its really unnecessary, as the tactile nature of being in a real Scrum just doesnt transfer to talking heads virtually.

- Dont dominate the conversation. As a Scrum leader one of the first things you are taught is that you are a facilitator, not a participant. A good team leaders job is to encourage the team to solve problems, and motivate them to do so. Talking at them and dishing out instructions doesnt do this - it creates a set of automatons that wont do anything unless told to. You want thinkers, self organizing motivated leaders. The way you get them is to facilitate them, solve problems for them, and generally let them do the driving. So the opening line I use in a Scrum call is "So Jason, youre up, go ahead" and encourage Jason to talk about what he's been doing, what he intends to do next, and what issues we needs help with. Same goes for the rest, encouraging them to talk to each other and not to me.

- Instant Messaging is a great way to keep connected during the day, but dont overuse it otherwise people will feel nagged. General rule is chat with one person only once a day. If you need to go twice or work together on something, create a virtual meeting (using goto or webex or whatever) and do it interactively.

Id encourage you to read more about Scrum - its a set of techniques that really do work, and you dont have to use all of them to make the method worthwhile. And if you have to scrum virtually, pick a tool like go to meeting that really does work well.