Just the other day, we were asked the million-dollar question that we get asked regularly: “Where do I start? And how do I start?”

 

Starting something is very different than learning about it, and for some, it could be scary, receive pushback, or just be overwhelming. 

 

An Agile way of working doesn’t have to be hard. Take Scrum for instance. 

 

You have the 3 roles, 5 events, and 3 artifacts. 

 

Let’s take the 3 roles – 

 

Who is your Product Owner (the person who has the vision of the organization and works with the stakeholders to help understand the priorities of the work)?

1 (enter their name here)

 

Who is your Scrum Master (the person who protects the team, keeps them motivated, and helps remove any impediments)?

1 (enter their name here)

 

Who are your team members?

1 (enter their name here)

2 (enter their name here)

3 (enter their name here)

4 (enter their name here)

 

GREAT! You’ve started. 

 

Now, decide how long your Sprint will be (1-4 weeks). This is the amount of time that you finish a piece of work that you would like feedback on. Maybe you break your grant into versions. If you can finish version 1 of the draft within 1 week, then 1-week Sprints can work for your team. The shorter the sprint, the more feedback you will receive.  

 

Now, choose the next event that will be “easy” for your team to adapt to. Many teams start with a backlog, simply creating a list of “all the things.” Sit down as a team and write out everything you know that is coming up, now, soon, and later. Remember, anyone can add to this at any time. 

If you are starting with a backlog, the artifact that you would want to start with is backlog refinement. Take time with your team to go over your list of items that you need to get done, break those down into bite-sized pieces, and give them all they need to have to be ready for any team member to grab and take action. 

 

Next, maybe you implement a daily Scrum. Add one 15-minute team meeting a day to check in on progress towards the Sprint goal. This also allows the Scrum Master to be notified if there are any impediments that need to be addressed or if a team member has a question about a piece of work that another team member may know. 

 

Do you see how these easy steps start allowing everything to fall into place without the whiplash of trying something new all at once? Slowly introducing and parts of the Scrum framework allows your team to see the benefits. 

 

Don’t let the stress of getting started deter you from actually starting.  

 

What was/will be your first step? Comment below, we would love to know. Have a question about getting started? Ask! Our team would love to help.