Scrum Health Check

The Scrum Health Check is a diagnostic tool that allows Scrum teams to evaluate the health of their practices. By examining ceremonies, artifacts, and roles, teams can identify strengths and areas for improvement. This game promotes transparency and encourages a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration.

Walkthrough

1. 1

   Introduction and Objectives

   10 min

   The facilitator explains the objective of the Scrum Health Check: to assess the health of the team's Scrum practices. They emphasise the importance of honesty and transparency to achieve useful results. Participants are invited to share their expectations for this workshop.

   Tip — Establish a framework of psychological safety to encourage honest participation.

2. 2

   Presentation of Evaluation Axes

   15 min

   The facilitator presents the different evaluation axes: ceremonies, artifacts, roles, and other Scrum practices. Each axis is briefly explained, with concrete examples to illustrate what is expected. Participants can ask questions to clarify the criteria.

   Tip — Use visual posters to represent each axis and facilitate understanding.

3. 3

   Individual Evaluation

   20 min

   Each team member individually evaluates each axis on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 means 'needs improvement' and 5 means 'excellent'. Participants write down their scores on post-its that they will keep for group sharing.

   Tip — Encourage participants to base their evaluations on factual observations rather than impressions.

4. 4

   Sharing and Discussion

   30 min

   Participants share their evaluations and discuss the scores. The facilitator facilitates the discussion to identify trends and divergences. The goal is to understand the reasons behind the evaluations and discuss possible improvements.

   Tip — Be attentive to disagreements and use facilitation techniques to turn conflicts into constructive discussions.

5. 5

   Action Plan

   25 min

   Based on the discussions, the team develops an action plan to improve the Scrum practices identified as weak. Each action is assigned to a responsible person and a follow-up date is set.

   Tip — Ensure that actions are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).

6. 6

   Closure

   10 min

   The facilitator thanks the participants for their engagement and summarises the agreed actions. They remind everyone that the Scrum Health Check is a regular tool to support continuous improvement. Participants are invited to share their impressions of the workshop.

   Tip — Conclude with a round where everyone shares a positive point from the session.

Variants

• Use smileys to make the evaluation more playful and visual.
• Incorporate anonymous feedback to encourage total honesty.
• Conduct a Scrum Health Check at the beginning and end of a sprint to track progress.