Do Scrums cross-functional feature teams discourage technical excellence?
Michael: The best way I know to encourage technical excellence is to lead by example, closely collaborating with people I’m mentoring using techniques such as pair programming. Scrum shifts the emphasis from individual performance to team performance. People who are technically strong have more reasons to act as mentors in this environment. DZone: The Refcard doesn’t discuss metrics. What measurements and metrics do Scrum teams find valuable? Michael: Instead of traditional metrics and milestones, Scrum teams use tools like the Sprint burndown chart (for their internal self organization) and the converging release burndown chart for keeping release expectations aligned with empirical measurements. These are summarized in the “Artifacts” section of the RefCard. More details are available in a short paper I wrote called “Macromeasurements.” And Mike Cohn wrote a whole book called _Agile Estimation and Planning_. DZone: Can you describe how Scrum might scale for large development teams? M
