The Shower Shenanigans: A Communication Wake-Up Call

This morning, an unexpected visitor joined me during my shower—our small dog, who just had surgery decided to jump in!

At first, I thought she just missed her Mommy and needed some support in her pain med fog. But nope, this little escapade was actually the result of a communication mix-up between my wife and me. She assumed I had the dog, and I assumed the dog was with her; and the next thing you know, we've got a soggy, post-op pup trying to share my shampoo.

This got me thinking about how easily communication can go off the rails at work, especially in Agile and Scrum, where our ability to release high-quality updates that delight customers is 100% contingent on the level of trust we have in our team members to understand and follow through with their respective tasks. Just like the misunderstanding that led to our wet dog, we can miss crucial details if we don't take a moment to clarify and confirm our mutual understanding of the problem we are trying to solve and the solution we are working to develop.

Here's the thing: Every player collaborating to move through the stages of the Product & Software Development Lifecycle (PDLC & SDLC), sees the problem and their respective roles through varying lenses.

*Follow the links above for additional resources on the Product & Software Development Lifecycle.*

Scrum Roles in Agile

Scrum framework

Scrum Framework

• UX team members are laser-focused on Accessibility, Compliance, and the overall 'look and feel' of the User Experience.
• Engineers focus on code coverage, build efficacy, regression, and merge tasks required to get to 'dev complete' and successful release.
• Product Owners and Product Managers (PO/PM) are the guiding hands of the 'big picture'. They are the voice of the Customer and Stakeholder, and must be aware of all moving parts of a feature or enhancement - from design to Engineering, to documentation, and release readiness. As a whole, Product team members ensure that solution enhancements provide value and align with the company roadmaps necessary to achieve the 'Definition of Done' and overall business objectives.
• Scrum Masters (PSM): These days, many Product Owners also double as both PO and Scrum Masters (PSM). They work with teams and ensure adherence to the values and principles of Scrum, to remove barriers for Engineering, and to connect teams with the necessary resources on the road to deployment. Overall Scrum Masters are key players who empower the team to meet the Definition of Done needed to deploy or release updates to the user base that meet expectation and streamline user experience.

How we get to Definition of Done in Scrum

How we get to the Definition of Done in Scrum

Throughout scrum software development, we're all trusting each other to fulfill tasks and keep one another informed. Most especially, we all need to accept, buy into, and fulfill our tasks with the same Definition of Done in mind.

Our success as a team is wholly contingent upon our ability to see the work through each other's eyes so that we can ask the right questions and obtain the correct information to move production forward. What is obvious to one person might not even cross someone else's mind, and that's where things can get tricky. Just like my surprise shower guest, assuming we mean the same thing without checking can lead to some unexpected—and sometimes messy—outcomes.

The takeaway? Clear communication isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s a must. We need to recognize and respect the different perspectives each team member brings to the table because while it might take a village to build a great product, it also takes serious effort to ensure that village isn’t just running in circles. Check often what is meant by the Definition of Done. Clarify the work remaining to get to dev complete. Restate the task scope needed to get release-ready, and keep each other informed. As a pillar of Scrum, Transparency in software development is essential to ensure we deliver value. After all, nobody wants a surprise visitor in the shower—or in the middle of a sprint.

Cathrin is a Professional Scrum Master and Scrum Product Owner (PSM, PSPO) certified through scrum.org, who leads teams and initiatives to build enhancements and accessibility compliant IoT solutions in the healthcare industry. Please see her LinkedIn to connect.

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In product development, this is particularly important. Each team member views the project through a different lens:UX designers focus on accessibility, compliance, and the overall look and feel.Engineers are concerned with code quality, ensuring that the builds are green and ready to merge.Product Owners and Managers prioritize whether we're ready to deploy, if documentation is complete, if regression testing is thorough, and how our deliverables align with the strategic roadmap and business objectives.We all trust that our teammates are handling their parts of the project. However, what might be obvious to one role may not even cross the mind of another, leading to those small (or sometimes not so small) surprises down the line.