Rules are powerful and dangerous. We are all familiar with how excessive bureaucracy is killing for innovation and effective results. Basically, the more rules you have, the more problems you create.
Rules take on a life of their own, often beyond their original intended purpose. Sometimes the rules even become more important than their purpose, which can be incredibly frustrating. This can cause the rules to backfire and undermine our efforts.
We can observe the powerful effect of rules in our daily lives and jobs. Here are some concrete examples of rules:
“We can only help you with a valid account.”
“We cannot release something unless it meets the Definition of Done.”
“Every team must have an OKR assigned to them.”
The most important rule to keep in mind is that rules serve a purpose. We don’t serve the rules, they’re supposed to serve us. They are supposed to help us achieve an intended outcome. If the rules don’t help us, why follow them?
As long as the rules serve their purpose, it makes sense to follow them. But the real goal is never to follow the rules, but to achieve the purpose they are meant to serve.
Dogma: Ruled by Rules
What happens if you have many rules without a solid explanation behind the “why”? You get dogma.
This is exactly what has happened in the Agile and Scrum community: dogma all over the place.
“You’re not doing Scrum.”
“That’s not Agile.”
“You’re not doing Story Points the right way.”
The most important thing to remember is that there is rarely a single “right way”. The right way is the one that works for you, given your situation and context. The right way is the one that pays off, not the one that best adheres to the rules.
Whenever someone tells you a rule for example, that the Daily Scrum must be 15 minutes, you should ask yourself:
When would it be acceptable to go over the 15 minutes?
When would the timebox of 15 minutes not make sense?
Why is the timebox 15 minutes, why not 10 minutes?
A concrete example, let’s say the conversations are useful and productive, and the whole team is effectively involved beyond the timebox of 15 minutes. Should you end the conversation because the timebox says so to only later have exactly the same discussion after losing time due to an interruption?
Of course not. Basically, you should try to follow the principle of inversion. When would this rule not work and actually backfire. If you receive the following answers to the questions above:
No matter the situation, you should always respect the timebox.
I don’t know why it’s 15 minutes and not 10 minutes.
These answers are not satisfying, and this means you shouldn’t take that rule all too seriously. Rules should only be taken as seriously as the reasoning, which serves a real-world application, behind them.
Inversion: Stop Being Ruled by Rules
Whenever someone teaches you a rule, keep the following in mind:
“The moment a rule hinders the purpose behind the rule, it deserves to broken.”
Of course, this doesn’t apply to the laws of your country or other laws you must respect as an individual. If you don’t respect legislation, even if the laws suck, you can get in terrible trouble.
That’s why, whenever you learn a rule, instead of memorizing the rule and understanding why it works, try to apply the principle of inversion and figure out when it doesn’t work or apply. That’s far more valuable than rote memorization.
You should only take rules as seriously as the extent you understand their intended purpose and when they don’t work or apply. Otherwise your blindly placing your trust in a rule that doesn’t know anything about your context or situation. Which is incredibly foolish and wasteful.
The problem with the Scrum and Agile community and all their certifications, is the excessive focus on rules. When you do an exam for any of the certification providers, they never ask any questions about when does this rule not work, or in what kind of situations could it actually backfire.
That’s because it’s not in their interest to do so. They want to cultivate the illusion that it always works everywhere. Doubt about the effectiveness of their framework in certain situations is not something they’re willing to entertain.
Rules without purpose are dogma and one of the biggest reasons why many people have disconnected from the Scrum and Agile community. Whenever you learn a new rule, ask yourself the following questions:
In what kind of situation and context would this rule not work, or even backfire?
When should you amend this rule?
If you can answer these questions, then you’re safe. If you can’t answer these questions, then you usually lack knowledge and understanding. Make note of it and try to develop it over time.
And no matter what you do: don’t blindly follow the rules. Experiment and see for yourself. You’re more reliable and trustworthy than a rule that purports to be effective in any kind of situation.
Don’t be ruled by rules and make sure the rules serve you and not the other way around.
I've worked with people who insist on doing everything from first principles: never accepting a rule for what it is, always asking about the underlying reasons behind it, and questioning everything all the time.
It is enlightening... and infuriating 😂 the worst ones lack the social norms of when it is acceptable to question and take ages to get anywhere. Time and place!
Before asking whether a standup should not be 10 minutes, one should consider whether this is a relevant issue in the grand scheme of things. Don't we have more important things to discuss?
Dogma is a form of efficiency.