(English) Scrum Roles and Responsibilities Game

Liked it, awesome fun way to understand the roles and responsibilities.

I like this. I’ll use it in the next Scrum training I run. Previously I did something like this when the question of the role of the Project Manager came up. In that case I asked the class to brainstorm all the rings that a Project Manager did and write one thing per post-it note. While they did that I created four spaces on a wall or whiteboard each labelled with one of the three Scrum roles and the fourth as Organisation. We then went through and placed almost all post-its into one of the three roles. Occasionally a boundary case would come up – generally these were things that the Scrum Team would not do but then in most organisations the Project Manager probably wouldn’t do either. We’d talk the item through and it would either be discarded, placed into «Organisation» or sometimes we’d find a fit in the Scrum roles.
To that end I may add in to your list a few things that people often specifically associate with Project Managers such as risk and assumption registers/logs, managing budget, etc.
Cheers
Richard

Thanks Andrew, I have been thinking aloud on games for Scrum roles and responsibilities. This has come at the right time. I will for sure try in my next training.

I recently did this across two Scrum teams with my fellow Scrum Master and it worked really well. Although we slightly adapted it.

1) We created a Venn diagram to avoid having duplicates amongst single coloured items; with the Scrum Team in the middle.
2) We also created four extra areas for each of the four Scrum events and had different coloured items for those events.
NB I did want to have a True/False section but felt it was too much, i.e. «The Scrum Guide advocates the use of post-it notes : FALSE’

3) The format was as follows:
– Silent placement
– Discussion and move (any disagreements as to placement go with the majority but mark the card)
– Leave a couple of representatives behind and otherwise switch groups.
– Have further discussion but don’t move anything.
– Switch back to original groups for further discussion (any disagreements as to placement go with the majority but mark the card)
– Teams come together for a debrief with the SMs

By the way the following are the cards we used (sorry for the long list) for the roles:

Ensure Quality
Attend Daily Stand Up
Design
Build
Test
Integrate Software
Deploy
Improve Technical Practices
Track Progress of the Sprint
Resolve Technical Challenges
Create Sprint Backlog
Decides which tasks the DT members should work on during the Sprint
Decides how to turn the Sprint Backlog into an increment of potentially releasable functionality
Determines the number of PBIs to take into the Sprint
Responsible for conducting the Daily Scrum
Can modify the Sprint Backlog during a Sprint
Estimate the size of a PBI
Estimate the size of a task (Sprint Backlog Item)
Demonstrates in the Sprint Review work ‘Done’ during the Sprint
Attend Sprint Planning
Attend Sprint Review
Attend Sprint Retrospective
Attend Backlog Grooming
Accountable For Not Meeting The Sprint Goal
Decides how & when refinement is done
Prioritise Product Backlog
Accountable for the Product Backlog
Decides whether to release the increment of potentially releasable functionality
Has authority to cancel a Sprint
Prioritise Product Backlog
Make Product Backlog Visible to All
Create Product Backlog Items
Track Progress of the Release
Defines the AC for each PBI
Answers questions about PBIs
Explains during the Sprint Review what has and has not been ‘Done’ during the Sprint
Ensures that Scrum Events take place
Resolve Organisational Impediments
Facilitate Scrum Events
Ensure Scrum Rules Are Followed
Finds techniques for effective Product Backlog management
Coach Team
Improve Process
Acts as a leader, not a manager
Talk to Stakeholders
Ensure Quality
Attend Daily Stand-up
Create Product Backlog Items

Hey Andrew, many thanks for the game! I’m gonna use it to increase my team’s ownership consciousness. We currently have many issues, which can’t be solved by PO or SM. This game is perfect as an illustration.