If you are a Scrum Master or coach you might sometimes wonder why people act and react the way they do.
The SCARF model can help you to understand which factors are driving peoples reactions.
The model lists factors that cause a reaction of either approach or avoid. The factors are:
Status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness and fairness
Here are some ideas what you can do to minimize reactions of avoidance in your Scrum team:
- Increase status by praising sprint results as well as team improvements, ideally in public.
- Increase certainty by protecting the sprint from outside disturbances. Make sure the expectations are stable and understood.
- Increase autonomy by letting the team take decisions.
- Increase relationship by colocating the team members. Select team members by personal interests as well as technical expertise.
- Increase fairness by treating yourself and the team members equally.
Keeping those factors in mind can help to better understand peoples reactions and adapt your own behavior so that it minimizes reactions of avoidance.