The concept of Shu Ha Ri comes from the Japanese martial art of Aikido. I spent some years in an Aikido dojo in Denver (Sensei was in Ha state) and in Cambridge (Sensei in Ri state). The student enters in the Shu state and must exactly follows the instructions of the Sensei. By the time the student gets a black belt, s/he has achieved the Ha state and can execute the practice with excellent form, inspecting and adapting constantly to improve. The Ri state is different. The Sensei moves his arms and people fly across the room without having to touch the opponent. Of course, if you haven't seen a master of the chi force, you may not believe this is possible.
The Shu Har Ri concept can be used to consider what qualities make a great ScrumMaster? And what does a ScrumMaster do in each state.
In the Shu state, the ScrumMaster sets up the process, helps the team get to a sustainable pace with known velocity and uses the Retrospective to introduce change that improves velocity.
In the Ha state, the ScrumMaster has a team that gets software done (all features tested and no bugs) at the end of the sprint and has a good product owner with ready backlog at the beginning of a sprint, has data that clearly show at least a doubling of productivity, and has strong management support. The team is positioned to work on hyperproductivity, the design goal of Scrum.
In the Ri state, the team is hyperproductive. But what is the ScrumMaster doing and do you really need one? You need the ScrumMaster but they don't have to do much. Here is an example of the qualities to look for if you want a Ri state ScrumMaster.
SCRUM LOG JEFF SUTHERLAND - Jeff created the first Scrum team in 1993 and worked with Ken Schwaber to formalize Scrum at OOPSLA'95.
Together, they extended and enhanced Scrum at many software companies, helped write the Agile Manifesto in 2001, and authored the Scrum Guide.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Shu Ha Ri - What Makes a Great ScrumMaster?
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ShuHaRi ScrumMaster
Sunday, May 01, 2011
Home of Scrum, Inc. Implements Happiness Metric
How Happy Are You? In a Boston Suburb, It’s a Census Question

Rick Friedman for The New York Times
Residents of Somerville, Mass., like Jamie Thatcher and
Maddie Carlson, are being asked to rate their happiness
on a 1-to-10 scale.
Maddie Carlson, are being asked to rate their happiness
on a 1-to-10 scale.
By JOHN TIERNEY, New York Times
Published: April 30, 2011
SOMERVILLE, Mass. — When they filled out the city’s census forms this spring, the people of Somerville got a new question. On a scale of 1 to 10, they were asked, “How happy do you feel right now?”
Multimedia
Rick Friedman for The New York Times
Surveys are asking residents like Lee Simonds about their city, as well as questions that seem plucked from a personality test.
Officials here want this Boston suburb to become the first city in the United States to systematically track people’s happiness. Like leaders in Britain, France and a few other places, they want to move beyond the traditional measures of success — economic growth — to promote policies that produce more than just material well-being. More ...
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happiness metric scruminc
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