Establishing Team Rules

Because the team must adapt quickly to changing requirements and a rapid development process, team members must have an environment that promotes cooperation. Establishing and publicizing team rules ensures that everyone has clear understanding of the team’s expectations.

The goal of these rules is not to dictate how work gets done but to emphasize the behaviors expected by the team members. The team rules reflect the culture and values of the team, so no two teams will have the same set of rules. The list of rules should be relatively short and should be modified as needed. The team members define the team’s rules and hold each other accountable to following them.

Examples of team goals are:

• Show respect for each team member by listening and not interrupting.
• Be open to giving and receiving feedback.
• Stay off of devices during meetings and scrum events.
• Make yourself available during core hours (9:00AM – 4:00PM).
• Prepare your talking points each day before standup, and update the status of your tasks on the scrum board.
• Be present for standup. When not available, provide status to the scrum master ahead of time.
• Put issues that require further discussion in the parking lot to be discussed after standup.
• Make sure to review the Definition of Done for your user stories.
• If you complete your tasks before the end of the sprint, make sure to reach out to your teammates and offer help.
• Make sure that developers have bandwidth before adding them to your code review.
• Get approval from the product owner before bringing in new tasks into the sprint.
• Cancel meetings, if key stakeholders are unable to attend.

The team as a whole should come together to establish the team rules. They should not be dictated by the product owner, scrum master, or team manager.

How does the team define their team rules?

During a working session, have each team member write down two or three rules that they would like to see the team follow. They can write these rules down on sticky notes or on a whiteboard. Once everyone has written down their ideas, they take turns reading their ideas out loud and provide an explanation of the rules, if necessary. Sticky notes (if used) are placed on the whiteboard. The team votes to keep a rule by placing a checkmark on the whiteboard next to the rule. The team looks at the number of votes for each item. They discuss why they did or didn’t vote for particular rules until they come to a consensus on the final list of team rules.

This list of rules should be made available to each team member and displayed in the common area where the team meets to conduct daily standups and other scrum events. The list of rules can be updated at any time with the consensus of the team.