Can Virtual Scrum Training Help A Non-IT Team Learn About Scrum

Table of Contents

Introduction

While HR or finance employees may have a picture of programmers using sticky notes when they hear the word ‘Scrum,’ that image doesn’t tell the whole story. Now, marketing, HR, finance and operations teams are using Scrum to plan work and identify issues early, and deliver work in smaller, steady steps. The difficult part, for many, is learning Scrum, due to the fact that most Scrum-related materials are geared towards software engineers.

CSM (Certified ScrumMaster) training, for example, is online and less software engineering-centric, making it easier for other professional fields to learn Scrum. For a guided start, Simpliaxis runs live online sessions you can explore here: Join CSM Certification Training.

What Is Scrum and Why Is It Not Limited to IT?

As per The Scrum Guide, Scrum is a simple and easy to use framework that helps people and teams work collaboratively to achieve a goal, solve complex problems and create value. Scrum is not about code.

Scrum has three pillars. Transparency means that all the work and its progress is visible to all. Inspection means that the team checks the progress regularly and acknowledges it. Adaptation means that the team adjusts or changes work based on progress. All this work happens in smaller units of time called a Sprint. A Sprint can be of one month or less and each Sprint must deliver an incremental value to the end product.

All of the above elements are not specific to IT and can be adopted in other domains. Any work, which is ever changing and improves with feedback, can use these elements.

Can Non-IT Teams Actually Use Scrum?

Scrum works especially well when plan-do-check-act cycles help adjust the plan. This is typical of product or service development but can also describe some aspects of sales, accounting, or any other function. It can also be useful for coordinating and tracking work to be done by contractors and external service providers.

Scrum in Marketing Teams

Use of a marketing team product backlog in the context of Scrum can yield significant advantages in both ad and campaign development. For instance, a two-week marketing team goal might be to “develop a webinar campaign.” As part of that goal, the team might break off to write different emails to be used in the campaign. Members of the sales and marketing team can participate as stakeholders in the process by giving formative feedback to the marketing team and help them shape the next marketing sprint.

Scrum in HR and Recruitment

Scrum can also be beneficial for recruiting, HR, and related functions. For example, the backlog for the hiring process can represent the delays, mishaps, and snags in the process, and a 15-minute Scrum can identify process improvements.

Scrum in Finance and Operations

There is little Scrum can add to routine and predictable processes, like closing the books at the end of the month. Scrum can be beneficial, however, when new and unfamiliar processes are being implemented, like consolidating the number of vendors used by the company.

How Virtual Scrum Training Helps Non-IT Professionals

Flexible Learning and Accessibility

Non-IT teams, by their very nature, are often regionally dispersed. When Virtual Scrum Training eliminates the need for teams to travel to a central location for training, it can often be more convenient and flexible to attend courses online.

Practical Understanding Through Real-World Examples

Because there are participants from a variety of professions in a virtual cohort, an HR manager may be breakout room partners with a marketing lead and an operations analyst as they each build a backlog for their own work. Seeing Scrum used to solve their problems clicks quicker with them than with a software example they may not be used with.

Better Collaboration and Team Communication

Online training uses the same tools as remote work: video calls, virtual whiteboards, and digital task boards. Practicing these tools helps employees run virtual work meetings and events.

Learning Scrum Events, Roles, and Principles

Scrum training focuses on the five events (the Sprint, Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review and Sprint Retrospective). The course may also cover the three accountabilities. The Product Owner is responsible for determining the best way to add value to the work of the team. The Developers, in a marketing team for example, may be writers and designers, and the Scrum Master is accountable for the effectiveness of the team. In Scrum, the team determines how best to achieve its goal; the Scrum Master isn’t a traditional project manager.

Common Challenges Non-IT Teams May Face When Learning Scrum

Lack of familiar terminology: “Increment” and “Definition of Done” may feel foreign until related examples are provided. These examples give terminology a clear meaning and help participants understand the foundation of Scrum.
Recognizing: “done” is easier for features than strategies, so teams agree on criteria for finishing a brand strategy.
Meeting fatigue: Events that feel like extra meetings lose people. Each one must be time boxed and have a clear purpose.
Constant interruptions: Urgent requests come daily to HR and finance. Leaving extra capacity in the Sprint helps the team reach the Sprint goal.
Forcing the fit: Applying Scrum to every task creates resentment. Use Scrum for complex work and leave other work unmanaged.

How to Get Started with Scrum Training

Pick a project that has a clear outcome and some level of uncertainty, for example an improvement or redesign of a campaign or process.
Train key people. It is beneficial for the Scrum Master to have a CSM. The rest of the team should get basic training.
Run a few Scrums. Use Retrospectives to make changes to Scrum practices.
Build on what works. As more teams adopt Scrum and need to coordinate, scaled approaches matter. SSM Certification Course covers how the Scrum Master role works within the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), where several teams plan and deliver together.

Conclusion

Scrum’s ideas are valuable for all teams, not just software. A marketing campaign, for example, has the same need for transparency, frequent check-ins, and improvements as software development. The ideas are valuable for all teams; the key is to adapt Scrum and use it for the right reasons.