Snake on the wall!

We found ourselves in a retrospective and there was a general feeling that there were a lot of interruptions in our day caused by "other people" outside the team. Nobody could put their finger on it and everyone had different unique examples. We couldn't easily say if we handle this problem or group of people then it will stop.

So how do you handle this?

Invoke the Snake on the Wall!

Every time a team member feels as though a task they are responsible for is delayed, they write it down on a post-it note. The note includes the time lost (compared to if they didn't have the delay), the thing affected, the cause, and their initials. They take the note and add it to the "end of the snake" which is a growing row of notes on the wall.

Over time the snake is monitored for repetitive patterns. The issues consuming the most productivity time are prioritized to the top of the list for the manager, scrum master, and team to focus on reducing or removing. Scrum masters look at it daily, managers look at it weekly (or when it grows suddenly), and the team reviews it right before retrospectives to trigger new topics. When an item is solved, those related stickies are removed from the snake and it is collapsed back down (you can't let it grow infinitely, otherwise you demoralize the team).

What does this accomplish?

• it validates real issues
  
• it kills false beliefs and misdirected complaints
  
• it quantifies the impact of impediments
• it creates transparency for managers who don't believe what you say
  
• it empowers the team
• it is immediate
• it self-prioritizes
• it uncovers surprises

On my last team we quantified for upper management how much time was lost EVERY DAY due to a bad source control system we were forced to use. It also provided insight into things we would never have thought were a problem. If used properly, it does a good job of quantifying the ongoing costs of certain types of technical debt.

So, I'm trying it a second time with my new group. We'll see how it goes.