In SAFe environments, Scrum Masters play an important role in guiding a team to finish work effectively. This means choosing the right work methods, which can help improve collaboration, remove hindrances, and help teams continuously adapt based on changing work circumstances. Frameworks like Scrum and Kanban help teams work more efficiently towards their goals.
This article explores what Scrum Masters should take into consideration while deciding on a method to implement in their team’s workflow.
Understand the Nature of the Work
Before a Scrum Master selects the right method for a team to follow, they should be aware of the type of work that the team does in the first place. Not all methods suit different work natures.
For example, teams developing new products or delivering complex features would find the incrementality of the Scrum framework best suited for their work since it allows space for regular planning, development, review, and refinement.
But for a team that handles operational work, unpredictable questions, and maintenance, the Kanban framework is a lot easier to adopt. Its flow-based approach lets work transition smoothly into the system.
Therefore, before choosing a method for their team, a Scrum Master should ask the following questions:
- Is the team's work predictable or unpredictable?
- Does the team benefit from doing work incrementally?
- How often do priorities change?
- Are urgent and last-minute requests common?
- Is the primary challenge frequency or workflow?
Scrum Masters looking to deepen their knowledge on how to facilitate complex Agile teams can consider enrolling in the SASM Certification Training to advance their approach to facilitating and supporting teams in scaled agile environments.
Choose Scrum When Iteration and Cadence Matter
The Scrum framework is suitable when teams are developing products with evolving and changing requirements. Its structured system with spaced-out sprint cadences helps teams to plan out their work, analyze results, collect feedback, and constantly improve.
Through events like sprint planning, daily scrum stand-ups, sprint reviews, and sprint retrospectives, Scrum Masters can create frequent and regular feedback loops. Such actions help foster transparency evaluation, implementation, and adaptation rather than just creating more meetings. Scrum may be particularly effective when:
- The team has a clear product backlog.
- Work can be divided into multiple iterations.
- Feedback from stakeholders helps improve the product.
- The team is developing or improving a product.
Choose Kanban When Flow Is the Priority
The Kanban method helps when work arrives continuously and priorities rapidly change. Unlike in Scrums, where work organizes itself around fixed sprints, Kanban lets teams visualize workflows and limit the number of active work items to help reduce blockages, identify bottlenecks, and improve the workflow.
This is especially useful for service, maintenance, support, and operational teams where last-minute and urgent requests can occur throughout the week.
Consider a Hybrid Approach
Sometimes Scrum and Kanban can both be implemented at the same time.
A team can have a regular planning and review cadence while using Kanban practices to visualize work and manage the work actively being done. In this way, teams retain useful Scrum structures while still being able to address workflow problems.
It is important that Scrum Masters focus on the team’s challenges and needs rather than forcing teams to adopt specific operating models with no room to adjust based on the problems present.
Evaluate Team Maturity
The experience of a team also plays an important role in choosing the type of work method they adopt.
Newly formed or inexperienced Agile teams can benefit from the Scrum framework since it provides more structure, defines responsibilities, and provides coaching. By adopting this framework, teams can learn how to inculcate these habits, which can be beneficial for future projects.
More experienced teams already equipped with self-management skills may require less active facilitation. Scrum masters can instead utilize the Kanban method to help them focus on optimizing their flow, address hindrances in the system, and continually improve their products.
Look Beyond the Team
The Scaled Agile Framework operates across multiple teams, meaning that a Scrum Master ought to consider how the method they have chosen for their team affects their alignment with the overall Agile Release Train.
While a team can use Scrum and Kanban methods at a team level and still participate in common SAFe activities and synchronizations, the Scrum Master should also examine dependencies, shared milestones, PI planning needs, and coordination with other teams.
The SAFe Scrum Master performs an array of activities, including facilitating team events, removing hindrances, and coaching Lean-Agile practices.
Professionals looking to grow their knowledge as SAFe Scrum Masters should register for the SSM Certification Training to learn the skills required to support Agile teams in scaled environments.
Use Data to Make Decisions
Scrum teams should keep in mind that when a method is chosen, a team does not necessarily need to stick to it throughout the duration of the product or service lifecycle. It is important to keep these indicators in mind.
- Cycle time
- Lead time
- Work-in-progress levels
- Predictability
- Defect trends
- Blocked work
- Delivery frequency
- Team and stakeholder feedback
If the method selected creates hindrances and does not support delivery value, the Scrum master and team should analyze the indicators and experiment with improvements.
Conclusion
Selecting the right team method in SAFe depends heavily on what the team needs for the delivery of considerable value effectively. Scrum gives cadence, adaptability, and regular inspections, whereas Kanban can strengthen workflow and improve responsiveness. Sometimes, in certain situations, combining both practices can be the most effective solution for a team.
An effective Scrum Master analyzes the nature of a team’s work, their maturity, the type of dependency, their workflow, and their goals before suggesting an approach. In SAFe, the best method is the one that helps teams achieve their goals through effective workflow management and collaboration.
