I’m really interested in helping people work together. I’m blow away by how much time and money is wasted on technology. More often than not, like in every industry, friendship / gender & race create road blocks.

I found the following very private email a friend wrote to their manager…

If a task has a high joy factor, does that mean the effort involved is reduced?

Hi Boss,

I’m picking up some interesting SCRUM vibes.
I’m also really interested in the process of sharing knowledge and sharing ‘joy’ tasks.

Interesting question.

Does a joy task affect the effort quantity? E.g. if a task has a high joy factor, does that mean the effort involved is reduced?

Here are some interesting questions..
1. How are tasks allocated?
2. How is ability taken into account?
3. How do we encourage knowledge sharing?
4. How do we share the interesting tasks?
5. Is it ok to race down after the scrum planning meeting and snatch up the best task?
6. How is task progression monitored and account for at the end of the year? If I do more tasks, does that mean I’ll be rewarded?

Interesting ideas. Would be great to get more insight into this.

Also. Might be interesting to ensure that people pick one task at a time? Rules of engagement?

I’ve been in a situation a number of time where I’ve had to wait for someone to complete a set of tasks. Holding back progress – which does equate to a loss of time rather than collaboration.

It’s an interesting challenge!

Regards,
Your passionate team member.

This conversation is fascinating. It’s interesting to think about team dynamics. About sharing and collaboration. About ability and confidence. About power and information. About knowing where all the keys to the castle are hidden.

A “first in best dress policy” might sound like a productive competitive model. Is it sustainable? Is it fair? Does it provide a progressive social framework in which a team of skilled professionals can engage with a business and it’s goals?

I have an opinion. I think 80% of projects fail because developers exist within frameworks that disable collaboration. Collaboration and open knowledge => businesses saving money.

Really looking forward to being a scrum master one day.