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1、Four Strategies To Bring Out The Best in Your Distributed TeamGetting AgileThe idea of“going to work”has changed significantly over the past 18+months.Gone is the belief that employees and managers must be in the same physical space each day to be productive.Now,with the right tools,teams can delive

2、r exceptional results while working remotely.All of these changes present us with a new challenge:how do we work in ways that benefit both the employee and the organization?With this kind of empowered approach to work,everyone can easily focus on the work,collaborating easily even if their team is f

3、ully distributed(or works in a hybrid system).For these organiza-tions,change isnt something to be fearedits the secret to their success.But to bring about this new era of work,well need to find a new way to think about how we do what we doand the resources we use to do it.Thats why the team at Mura

4、l partnered with Scrum Inc.,the global authority on the most widely used Agile framework,and Ministry of Supply,a high-tech work-leisure brand,to create this training man-ual.Our objective is to help you,your team,and your organization find a path to success in this new world of work.Introduction101

5、:Gaining perspective:process and culture02:Learning from 202003:Addressing the issues:collaboration,connection,intentionality,and sustainability04:Making it work for your context2Gaining perspective:process and culture01301:Gaining perspective:process and cultureEvery organization should see this mo

6、ment for what it is:a tremendous opportunity for a culture reboot.Leaders and employees alike have the chance to think intentionally about the future of work and to create or evolve a corporate culture that serves everyone equally.The pandemic forced so many of us to work fully remote for nearly two

7、 years.It wasnt easy for anyone,but the abrupt and forced changes that teams navigated introduced new ideas about howand wherework happens.It raised provoc-ative questions about what it takes for teams to do their best work.Not every change was positive.For exam-ple,nonexistent commutes meant longer

8、 working days for many and an increase in burnout for some.Still,it revealed more was possible than anyone imagined,even when teams couldnt work together in the same place for months on end.More than anything,it gave everyone an opportunity to examine and recommit to the true purpose of an“office,”a

9、 place supporting collaboration,communication,and a sense of belonging.Agile is a philosophy that helps teams deliver high-value features to their cus-tomers without waiting for a full launch.It started as a reaction against the traditional waterfall methodology of delivering soft-ware,which favors

10、long release cycles over incremental iterations.Rather than waiting months or years to deliver a full suite of software products,for example,an Agile team delivers work in smaller chunks.This enables teams to collaborate closely with their customers,develop a product plan and strategy in real time,a

11、nd make adjustments as needed.Process and culture its time for a reboot.Our take:Its time for a new perspective;close your eyes,take a deep breath,and get ready to embrace new solutions.Agile is a philosophy that helps teams deliver high-value features to their customers without waiting for a full l

12、aunch.401:Gaining perspective:process and cultureWhether the endpoint for your organization looks like co-location,fully remote,hybrid,or some completely new thing,embracing an Agile mindset will start you on the track to success.Why Agile?The four values and 12 principles at the heart of Agile were

13、 originally created by and for software engineers.Over the past 20 years,though,Agile has successfully spread to just about every industry and function,thanks in large part to the Scrum Guide,which enables teams and organiza-tions to operationalize Agile concepts.Thats where Scrum,the most widely us

14、ed Agile framework,comes in.If youre new to Scrum(or want a refresher)this short video will help get you started.Scrum is a lightweight framework that accelerates productivity and innovation,improves communication,removes the things that slow work down(known as impediments),and forces clear prioriti

15、zation.Perhaps most importantly,Scrum empow-ers teams to decide exactly how they do the work to achieve the Sprint goal and Product goal(more on these later).This alone can greatly improve an organiza-tions culture from the ground up.With Scrum,teams can conquer the biggest challenges raised by the

16、new era of work:collaboration,intentionality,and sustainability.5Learning from 202002602:Learning from 2020While 2020 is now(thankfully)behind us,the lessons teams and organizations learned during the pandemic remain front and center.It is crucial that leaders capture insights from these experiences

17、 before they are lost in the rush to return to some new normal.Now is the time to sit down with teams and individuals and listen to what they have to say.Start by asking what worked and what didnt work about remote work.Be ready for some tough conversations with teams and individual team members.But

18、 dont Capture lessons from 2020.Our take:Look back to the early days of the pandemic for key insights on remote work.What did and didnt work about remote work?702:Learning from 2020shy away from asking the hard questions.Ask them directly about the pros and cons of working from home vs.being in the

19、office.Listen actively.Take notes.Ask them what theyd like to see moving forward.Once you have this feedback,you can make informed decisions about what workplace model works for your organiza-tion.It doesnt matter whether you decide to keep your teams fully remote or adopt a hybrid approach,all that

20、 matters is that you decidekeeping your teams in limbo will only lead to speculation,anxiety,and frustration.Know that whatever you choose to do,the Scrum framework can help your teams and organization navigate through the transi-tion and beyond.Lets dig into the biggest challenges distributed teams

21、 face and look at how Scrum can provide solutions.8Addressing the issues:collaboration,connection,intentionality,and sustainability03903:Addressing the issues:collaboration,connection,intentionality,and sustainabilityIssue 1:Collaboration Effective collaboration is as close as it gets to a universal

22、 characteristic of a successful team.Accomplishing something together that could not be achieved by an individual is the whole point.Before the pandemic,co-location was seen as the best way to create an environment where effective collaboration flourished.Then everything changed.It had to.Strategies

23、 for collaboration,connection,intentionality,and sustainability.Our take:Assembling a team is just the first step it takes an intentional collaboration strategy to really bring members together.These days,it seems that shared work-spacemore than workplaceis the defining characteristic that supports

24、effec-tive collaboration,especially when it comes to distributed or hybrid teams.However,emphasizing the workspace over the work-place does come with challenges.“Often when people talk about great teams,they only talk about that transcendent sense of purpose.Just as critical,but perhaps less celebra

25、ted,is the freedom to do your job in the way that you think best to have autonomy.”Dr.Jeff Sutherland,co-creator of Scrum,founder of Scrum Inc.,Agile Manifesto signatory1003:Addressing the issues:collaboration,connection,intentionality,and sustainabilitySOLUTION:Embrace a digital-first infrastructur

26、eHighly productive distributed and hybrid teams rely on an infrastructure that is accessible from any location.Developing these systems is relatively easy when you embrace a digital-first mentality.Digital common spaces and platforms like Slack,Mural,Jira,Microsoft Teams,and Zoom have revolutionized

27、 work by allowing real-time and asynchronous collaboration to efficiently take place.Brainstorming sessions and Scrum events that once took place on physical whiteboards are now being held in virtual workspaces(youll even find some new and helpful Mural templates for these sessions below).When you c

28、ommit to digital-first,youre committing to a philosophy that shifts from thinking of the workplace as a phys-ical space to thinking of the workplace as digitally defined.Read on for some of the ways you can embrace this new way of thinking in your team.Create or update your team working agreement ca

29、nvasEver consider the difference between a team and a workgroup?Workgroups are focused on individual contributions.Teams are focused on shared goals,collaboration,and cohesion.Getting to that state can be contentious and takes time.This is why your teams should be launched(or relaunched)using our Te

30、am Working Agreement Canvas template.Team working agreements accelerate cohesion and collectively set the behav-ioral norms,expectations,commitments,and shared purpose that lead to high performance.Whether your team is newly formed or has been working together for a while,make time to co-design agre

31、ements using the steps in this template:Come up with a team name,motto,and mission Assign roles and responsibilities Choose metrics and KPIs Discuss strengths and skills as well as gaps and growth opportunities for your team Co-create values and norms as a team Look ahead to events and key datesEsta

32、blishing these team working agreements will help you lead your team regardless of where theyre working from.Going through this exercise is a great way to make sure the deliberate changes you make to your workplace/workspace culture are baked into how your team works together.Prioritize swarmingEffec

33、tive collaboration rarely just happens,regardless of whether the team is hybrid,co-located,or distributed.It has to be prioritized to make it a team norm.As its known to many practitioners of Scrum,swarming is a simple but often overlooked way to immediately boost the performance of any team.And it

34、is so sim-ple to implement that even teams new to Scrum can begin using it right away.Swarming occurs when as many team members as possible work simultaneously on the same prioritized piece of work exclusively until theyve finished.The exact nature of what this entails is dependent on the work being

35、 done.But the goal remains the same.Once that prioritized piece of work is completed,the team then swarms on the next item until it too is completed.And so on.Give it a try.1103:Addressing the issues:collaboration,connection,intentionality,and sustainabilityIssue 2:Connection Connection can be chall

36、enging for any team(and is key to high-impact collabo-ration).Throw in a distributed workforce spread across time zones and cultures and you could be facing some serious obsta-cles to success.If some team members are working together in the office while others are connecting digitally,the team could

37、 end up with a“here and there”dichotomy.Connec-tion will suffer.Compounding this is whats known as proximity biasthe misguided perception that those working in close proximity to you(or leadership)are more reliable and better at what they do.Left unchecked,this bias can leave distributed or hybrid t

38、eam members feeling disconnected,unmoti-vated,or worse.Now,the connection challenge wont magically disappear because of the post-pandemic culture reboot.No,leaders and teams will have to develop strategies to help their teams connect.Fortunately,digital workspaces built for collaboration(like Mural)

39、and frameworks(like Scrum)have never been more available and easy to adopt.Lets look at how digital can help your team evolve and connect better than ever before.“Remember:its not the documentation that needs to be kept in sync,but the people.”George Dinwiddie,Owner of iDIA Computing,Software Develo

40、pment Coach and Consultant1203:Addressing the issues:collaboration,connection,intentionality,and sustainabilitySOLUTION The Scrum framework at workA feature of the Scrum framework is the lightweight structure it provides teams.The framework creates regularity,a rhythm,or cadence that gives just enou

41、gh structure to boost connection,productivity,and innovation without bogging individuals down in never-ending meetings.With this structure,its very clear what the purpose of each meeting is and where a Scrum team is in the processboth extremely helpful for distributed teams.Lets walk through the fiv

42、e Scrum events and the impact they have,and how they are even more powerful in a distributed situ-ation.Youll also find Mural templates for many of these events to help accelerate your team.1-4 WeeksSprintBacklog refinement Input from end-users,customers,team and other stakeholdersSprint reviewSprin

43、t retrospectiveProduct ownerSprint backlogDaily scrumBacklogSprint planningCustomer-ready product incrementIncremental releaseKaizen1303:Addressing the issues:collaboration,connection,intentionality,and sustainabilitySprint PlanningAs we stated above,the Sprint is the sum,it is the cycle,the rhythm

44、of work.The consistency and dependability of a Sprint,over and over,give us a predictable and knowable schedule.It removes uncertainty.It provides structure.That is especially valuable in distributed or hybrid situations.The first event in the Scrum framework gives shape and structure to the coming

45、week or two.It sets a clear goal.The Team commits to a body of work they think they can complete and provides a strong Definition of Done that gives the Team specific and actionable things they need to accomplish to successfully finish the Sprint and meet the Sprint Goal.Sprint Planning helps distri

46、buted teams ensure that they are in agreement and alignment on the“why and what”of the work to be done.You can find a Mural Sprint Planning template here.A clear Sprint Backlog coming out of Sprint Planning gives every member of the Team a shared understanding of what needs to be accomplished.This f

47、ocus is critically important,especially in a time of disruption.Otherwise,it is far too easy for a Team to splinter.A clear Sprint Goal and Sprint Backlog gives them that focus.Daily ScrumLimited to just fifteen minutes each day,this is a critical touchpoint for team members working far from each ot

48、her.The Daily Scrum is where Scrum teams give clarity on where the work stands and identify any surface impediments.It is also a daily chance to replan based on the latest feedback,information,impediments,or emergent changes.Replanning at the Daily Scrum is always important.It gives the Scrum Team t

49、he ability to quickly pivot as needed.And that is invaluable in situations where unpredict-ability can be the norm.There is another benefit of the Daily Scrum,one that is often overlooked:It gives people a reliable touchpoint of connection.You can find a Mural Daily Scrum template here.The SprintSpr

50、int ReviewThis is where stakeholders and customers give feedback on what the Scrum Team has accom-plished each Sprint.These feedback loops can still exist with distributed teams.And feedback is always key.For a team working virtually,this touchpoint reminds them that there is a world outside of thei

51、r Team.That they are delivering value and pleasing customers.That their work has meaning.You can find a Mural Sprint Review template here.Sprint RetrospectiveHere is our chance to get better by identifying what worked,what didnt,and what we can do better.No matter what,the process needs to be examin

52、ed,iterated on,and improved.When things work well,they should be celebrated and replicated wherever possible.The Sprint Retrospective provides teams with a predictable and safe space to be heard in regards to how happy and engaged they are in relation to their role,the team,and the company.The ultim

53、ate purpose of the Sprint Retrospec-tive is for the team to have a chance to identify and implement a process improvement that will lead them to be happier in how they do their work,allowing them to achieve more.1403:Addressing the issues:collaboration,connection,intentionality,and sustainability Ke

54、ep it digitalOnce your team begins sharing informa-tion exclusively in digital forms,youll see how they are more connected.Scrum teams,for example,can shift their entire PI planning(program increment planning)sessions to digital.Encourage them to use a digital thinking canvas like Mural to record an

55、d share important information,plan and track work,and facilitate sprint events.Keep it equalAs touched on earlier,connection chal-lenges can leave some team members feeling out of the loop.This is about more than a bad Wi-Fi connection or microphone.Instead of placing the burden on individu-als to f

56、igure out how to insert themselves into a conversation,make it a team norm that everyone is responsible for making sure all feel equally welcome and able to contribute.One way to ensure everyone is on equal footing is to give everyone a seat at the table(in digital terms).If one person needs to call

57、 in,have everyone call in,even if some team members are in the office and could meet in person.This helps to avoid proximity biasthe“here or there”dichot-omy we mentioned earlierand helps keep things equal.Host virtual social eventsFinally,while its important for teams to feel connected while workin

58、g together,its also important to encourage team members to connect outside of work.This is reportedly the one aspect of our pre-pandemic work lives that workers miss the most.Teams miss the classic watercooler or coffee break conversations,hallway chats,and celebrating with their co-workers.Distribu

59、ted teams need to find time to build the camaraderie that came so natu-rally pre-pandemic.Hosting virtual social events either asyn-chronously or in real-time(e.g.,happy hours,online games,or meetings to talk about something other than work)goes a long way toward helping teams feel more connected.Cr

60、eate a virtual watercooler in Mural to build spontaneous,light-hearted connections.Make sure you surface these watercooler activities in Slack or the preferred digital tool your team uses to communicate on a daily basis.Want to take things to the next level?Host an entire virtual event to bring ever

61、yone together digitally for a common,fun experience.1503:Addressing the issues:collaboration,connection,intentionality,and sustainabilityIssue 3:Intentionality Another challenge that arises for teams is that they can get tunnel vision around their goals and strategies.This can lead to a situation wh

62、ere theres less of a team environment than a group of individuals working adjacent to one another.Unless teams are regularly taking stock of where they are in relation to the organizations purpose,vision,and values,they can find themselves going through the motions and easily fall into a rut.To avoi

63、d this challenge,teams need to get intentional.“Work is not a place.Its what you accomplish together.”Jim Kalbach,Chief Evangelist,MuralSOLUTION:Build your culture with the new model in mindA cultural reboot takes more than simply taking a traditional team environment and translating it for a digita

64、l space.Instead,you must intentionally build systems and processes around the new reality of work.In an intentionally designed workplace cul-ture,processes and tools empower teams to get work done.So what does this mean in practice?For distributed teams,this means that the processes and tools allow

65、teams to connect in a sustainable way.They give team members the ability to be as productive at home or from the road as they were in a traditional workplace like the office.When leaders ensure that their teams have the right processes and resources,employ-ees feel confident they can accomplish ever

66、ything,regardless of how challenging or complex.An intentional workplace culture has pro-cesses that:Enable individuals and interactions Focus,alignment,and collaboration dont just happen on their own.They require information,communication,and understanding of what work needs to be done and why.Crea

67、te a Minimum Viable Bureau-cracy Provide just enough guardrails to carry out the function(s)required with-out impeding creativity and the delivery of value to customers.Work as well remotely as in the office As obvious as this point is,it is still a problem for many distributed teams.An intentional

68、workplace culture has resources that:Make the teams work visible to each other There are many digital backlog tools to help highlight what work needs to be done and how far youve pro-gressed.Find one that fits your work-flow,not one that requires you to fit it.Foster effective communication Both syn

69、chronous and asynchronous com-munication have a place and should be thoughtfully supported with technology(software)and other resources(like the office!).Enable effective collaboration and swarming This is a well-established pattern for success for any team,including distributed and hybrid ones.For

70、a distributed work environment,the right processes and tools are especially complicated.A reservation system for team spaces and webcams on office whiteboards wont cut it.You need infra-structure that is as accessible and effective virtually as it is in the office.1603:Addressing the issues:collabor

71、ation,connection,intentionality,and sustainabilitySOLUTION:Remember the purpose of the officeTo intentionally build your workplace culture with the new model of work in mind,you need to take a step back and think about the purpose of the office.The pandemic helped us reconceive work and showed us wh

72、at can be done remotely.Now its time to apply these learnings to a world where the office is,again,an option.Ask two fundamental questions:What does having employees report daily to a particular building accomplish?Does the office provide a return on investment(ROI)for both the business and the empl

73、oyees?These days,when so much time is spent communicating,building,and connecting through digital platforms,the office looks more like one of many resources for teams to leverage when needed.Because physical spaces are a high-cost tool for businesses,ask if the value of maintaining an office outweig

74、hs the overhead for your team?If your answer is“yes,”then it makes sense to co-locate.If“no”or if you dont knowconsider if there might be other ways(and moments)to bring people together in a common physical space for collaboration,ways that dont require main-taining a permanent physical workplace.17

75、03:Addressing the issues:collaboration,connection,intentionality,and sustainabilityIssue 4:Sustainability The fourth challenge faced by distributed teams is sustainability(you might think about this as staying far away from“burnout”).When working from home is an option or the normative behavior of t

76、he team,there is a very real danger that employees will set unsustainable sched-ules for themselves.It is always difficult to shut off after a long day of work,and when your office is your dining room table,sliding into working 12 and 14 hour days can happen almost without notice.This is especially

77、true if you have team members who work in different time zones.With workspaces like Slack or Microsoft Teams serving the function of a digital headquarters,its all too easy to not know when most folks have called it a day.In organizations with employees spread across time zones,a common quitting tim

78、e norm may be impossible to achieve.“You know youre doing the Heart of Scrum if everyone involved with the project is always confident that they know as much as they need to,about whats going on,whats done,and whats coming up.”Ron Jeffries,one of the founders of Extreme Programming(XP),Agile Manifes

79、to signatoryIts time to look at your workplace culture:Are you speaking out of both sides of your mouth when it comes to taking self-care breaks?Is your organization sending mixed messages about what sustainability means?Is sustainability a value that you com-municate on a regular basis?What was onc

80、e a simmering problem wait-ing to boil over became a full-blown crisis in the pandemic age.Your team needs you to support them as they learn how to prior-itize happiness and maintain a sustainable pace of work.Weve come up with three solutions to achieve this goal.1803:Addressing the issues:collabor

81、ation,connection,intentionality,and sustainabilitySOLUTION:Maximize the most of time together and apartTeams need to make the most of both their synchronous and asynchronous time to succeed.Not only do you want to stick to carefully thought-through agendas whenever possible,its also important to tra

82、ck all your work and make it visible to everyone so people know who needs to do what,when.In Scrum,this is done with a Sprint Backlog or Product Backlog.If you already have a backlog,make sure youre embracing a digital first mentality and theres an easily accessible virtual version available.Using a

83、 digital workspace like Mural that can be accessed anywhere,Scrum teams automatically have an inventory of work to be done(user stories).Transitioning from an analog tool,like a physical whiteboard,saves time and prevents the need for people to waste mental energy scribbling notes or figuring out wh

84、ats next.Use the right metricsMetrics can be a scary word,but if you learn to love your metrics,you can reduce confusion and highlight a teams progress(and setbacks)through the product devel-opment process.You can use Agile metrics to streamline your delivery process and help workflow operate at a m

85、ore sustain-able pace.Here are a few metrics Scrum can help teams optimize for sustainability:Sprint burndown:Teams organize work to be completed into time-boxed sprints.Teams that consistently meet their fore-casts look really great but dont let this tempt you into fudging the numbers and marking a

86、 task complete before its ready.Velocity:Velocity is the average amount of work teams complete during a sprint,usually measured in story points.Its very useful for forecasting and its important to monitor velocity evolution to ensure sus-tainability.Use the Scrum Pattern“Yester-days Weather”to help

87、your Scrum teams quickly calculate how much work they will likely complete in the upcoming Sprint.Control charts:Control charts focus on the cycle of time for work in progress,tracking total time from“in progress”to“done.”Measuring this is an efficient way to improve a teams processes because the ch

88、anges are evident and adjustments can be made almost immediately.Track feelings of burnout in retrospectives and act on the feedbackScrum retrospectives are a great oppor-tunity to not only reflect on the past Sprint,but also on how the team is feeling(if youre already doing regular Retros,start tra

89、cking feelings of burnout and react to the feedback if the team or team members are feeling overworked).Identify and tackle negative trends in happiness before they become a problem.Empower your teams to ensure they are keeping a sustainable pace.Ask for ways to improve work-life balance and listen

90、to the answers.There are countless ways an organization can prioritize the well-being of its employees.19Making it work for your context042004:Making it work for your contextStrategies are little more than theories unless you can see how they will help you and your organization achieve its greater g

91、oals.Real-world results should be weighed before major changes take place.That is where Ministry of Supply comes in.The high-tech clothing company used the strategies described above to do some-thing their deep-pocketed legacy compet-itors couldnt dothrive in a complex and quickly changing market.Ho

92、w Ministry of Supply Uses Scrum to Stay Productive in a Distributed Environment“Scrum is best learned through implement-ing it.So we said lets commit to it.We didnt have clarity around what the worlds going to look like in much more than two to three month increments.Lets make sure were able to adap

93、t quickly to whatever lies ahead.”Gihan Amarasiriwardena,President,Co-founder of Ministry of SupplyBackground Looking back,2020 was a breakout year for clothing startup Ministry of Supply.Just not in the ways they expected.A New York Times profile of the company published on March 4,2021,perfectly e

94、xplains the dilemma the company faced:“Ministry of Supply is one of millions of small businesses that were blindsided by the pandemic,though it was hit especially hard as a company that sold work clothing when almost everyone stopped going to the office.”That is where the story of Ministry of Sup-pl

95、y could have ended.Thankfully,it didnt,and today,Ministry of Supply thrives.Make it work for you.Our take:Connect the right dots at the right time.COVID-19 and an existential threat Like all of us,Ministry of Supplys leadership hoped the pandemic and its restrictions would be short-lived.Unfortunate

96、ly,they werent.Demand for office apparel evaporated almost overnight.Ministry of Supply started selling(and donating)masks to help fill an urgent need in the market.While this generated much-needed cash flow,it was not enough to sustain the company.Still,they held on.“We dont need an accurate docume

97、nt.We need a shared understanding.”Jeff Patton,author of User Story Mapping2104:Making it work for your contextBy the end of summer 2020,CEO of Ministry of Supply Gihan Amarasiriwardena and his team came to a realization:“People werent wearing belts and they werent wearing brown shoes.”And they woul

98、dnt be in the foreseeable future.Belts and brown shoes are accessories that complement their products.This represented an existential threat to the company.“We couldnt just wait this out and hope to sell dress shirts and blazers again in six months,”explains Amarasiriwardena.“We had to redevelop our

99、 product.We had to reposition our brand.”The threat was compounded by the calendar.It was now August,and pandemic or not,the holidays were effectively right around the corner.Ministry of Supply had to have relevant clothing to sell,and quickly,or they would lose out on the biggest shopping time of t

100、he year.Scrum and Ministry of Supply Amarasiriwardena and his co-founder,Aman Advani,were already acquainted with the fundamentals of Scrum.They had read both Scrum:The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time and The Scrum Fieldbook.“We couldnt just wait this out and hope to sell dress shirts a

101、nd blazers again in six months.We had to redevelop our product.We had to reposition our brand.”Gihan Amarasiriwardena,President,Co-founder of Ministry of SupplySome Scrum elements,like the Daily Scrum,had long been a part of their workflow.But given the situation they now faced,they knew they needed

102、 more.So they partnered with Scrum Inc.to ensure they fully implemented both frameworks and not just their component parts.Creating a cross-functional adaptive organization Like many organizations,Ministry of Supplys original structure was defined by expertise,with specifically established silos of

103、design:make and sell.“I think the great part of Scrum,”Amarasiriwardena says,“was it gave us a reason to work cross-functionally.”2204:Making it work for your contextAmarasiriwardena shared how the original structure was good for function work,“but not the important cross-functional work of moving t

104、he business forward particularly in a remote and now hybrid environment.”So,teams were reorganized into cross-functional Scrum Teams.Backlogs were used so that work was visible to all.Ministry of Supply works in two-week Sprints and they incorporated their own customized innovation.Aligning on visio

105、n and value Leadership had a vision:recreate and relaunch products and have the brand transform from office apparel to high-per-formance work-leisure clothing that allowed customers to be comfortable while still looking professional.The kind of apparel that allows customers to hop on their Peloton i

106、n between Zoom meetings without missing a beat.“We had this dream board in July and August,”remembers Amarasiriwardena.“We knew where we needed to go.What we didnt have prior to Scrum was an efficient way to break down that vision into segments to get them done fast.”Ministry of Supply also needed a

107、lignment across the board and prioritization based on delivering business value in the optimal order.“We had to delineate what was important now versus what can we do later,”which,as Amarasiriwardena states,“is exactly what the grooming of the back-log is all about.”Using the Scrum framework kept th

108、e teams aligned.Results When demand evaporates,most retailers deeply discount their products as a last-ditch effort to sell what they can.Amara-siriwardena and Ministry of Supply decided to take another approach;they pivoted all of their affected products and their entire brand identity.Take the cou

109、ple million dollars worth of slacks they had in inventory.Amarasiri-wardena and the Ministry of Supply team thought,“Could we change the fit?”Customer research highlighted the fact that work from home professionals were not tucking in their shirts,“so they dont care about their belts.”The new design

110、 incorporated a drawstring waistband.Sneakers had also replaced dress shoes.“With sneakers,”Amarasiriwardena notes,“you typically want a bit shorter length and a more tailored fit.”So the new design altered the cut of the leg accordingly.Overall,it took Ministry of Supply just 45 days to pivot their

111、 products and their entire brand.Industry norms for such a dramatic change are around 18 months.Scrum helped this organization respond faster than others thought possible.Ministry of Supply was able to rapidly adapt to change and completely pivot its entire product line in record time,becoming a rec

112、ognized market leader in the“work leisure”or“hybrid clothing lines.”Gihan Amarasiriwardena says Scrum is a big reason the startup succeeded where so many established,deep-pocketed brands failed.45number of days it took Ministry of Supply to pivot their products and entire brand.2304:Making it work f

113、or your contextBoosting productivity by cutting time spent in meetings by 50%Unlike other frameworks,Scrum is not overly prescriptive.This allows for custom-ized adaptations that improve outcomes for both teams and the organization as a whole.Such a customization greatly increased productivity at Mi

114、nistry of Supply.“One of our team members said everyone was experiencing Zoom fatigue,”remem-bers Amarasiriwardena.“We were just hav-ing so many meetings trying to replicate our office environment.”So leadership decided to try to incorporate the concept of“Maker/Manager”work-weeks within their two-w

115、eek Sprints.One week is designated as“Manager Week.”All meetings and Scrum Events are contained in this week.The other week is“Maker Week.Its all about getting the backlog done.The only exception is the 15-minute Daily Scrum,which takes place every work-day throughout the Sprint.As Amarasiriwardena

116、describes in this Fast Company profile,before this innova-tion,“The average Ministry of Supply team member had 31.5 meetings per week.One year later,we cut that number almost in half to 17.6.”The future of Scrum at Ministry of Supply Sally Schultz is the Scrum Master at Minis-try of Supply.After att

117、ending a Scrum Inc.training course in June 2020,she has been a driving force behind the implementation according to Amarasiriwardena.Schultz is pleased to see“how weve evolved as a team and how weve really grown in terms of efficiency.Weve cut down our meetings and are driving business value.”Scrum,

118、she says,has helped Ministry of Supply deliver tangible outputs and success.The highlight to her however is,“how the team has rallied around it.”Working well and achieving in a crisis is always laudable.But working in a way that allows you to adapt to complex situations before they become a crisis i

119、s one way to measure true business agility.24One of the greatest advantages of using Scrum is that the system is iterative.This means teams are always encouraged to inspect,adapt,and improve.No system or process is ever a“one-and-done”proposition.There is always more to learn!In todays working world

120、,the way teams adapt and move forward is constantly changing.Work is evolving to embrace better processes and make use of resources in ways that drive results.The teams at Mural,Scrum Inc.,and Ministry of Supply hope you have found this explo-ration into strategies to ignite distributed teams helpfu

121、l.If you want to learn more about practices from Scrum,Scrum Inc.is the global authority.For teams looking to collaborate visually using templated practices for Scrum,create a free forever Mural workspace and look for Scrum templates.Finally,if you want to be dressed for motion and comfort,ready for

122、 whatever the new world of work throws your way,head over to Ministry of Supplytheir Agile teams have been designing new styles just for you.Whats next?Inspect,adapt,improve.25Mural is the leading provider of digital workspaces for guided visual collaboration in the enterprise,Different from online

123、whiteboarding and design software,the Mural platform transforms teamwork by making meetings and workshops interactive experiences designed for problem solving,play,and imagination.Tens of thousands of teams at companies such as SAP,IBM,Microsoft,Facebook,USAA,Procter&Gamble,and Thoughtworks,as well

124、as Murals other customers,use the platform to foster inclusive,imaginative teamwork and turn shared ideas into a shared realityat any time and from anywhere.Create your free workspace.Scrum Inc.is the global authority on Scrum,the most widely used Agile framework.Founded by Dr.Jeff Sutherland,the co

125、-creator of Scrum,creator of ScrumScale,and co-signer of the Agile Manifesto,Scrum Inc.has helped hundreds of organizations and more than ten thousand teams achieve better results by successfully transforming the way they work.Through private and public training courses to lead-ership workshops,team

126、 launches,coaching,organizational transformations,and a comprehensive Agile Education Program,we offer Scrum and Agile solutions to partners large and small.All of our consulting and training solutions are also available virtually.Learn more.Ministry of Supply is based out of Boston and born in the labs of MIT,Ministry of Supply engineers clothing for motion,comfort,easy care,and the planet.Think:breathable,stretchy,sweat proof,and machine washable.Learn more.26