let-us be blunt—if a Scrum Team isn’t delivering, is it effective

TL;DR; A Scrum Team is only effective if it consistently delivers usable product increments; without delivery, Scrum practices are just empty rituals. The Scrum Master is accountable for enabling the team to deliver by fixing any issues that block progress. If your team is not delivering, focus on identifying and removing obstacles to restore effectiveness.

Published on 7 March 2025

Written by Martin Hinshelwood

1 minute read

https://nkdagility.com/resources/CB56pgg1LmZ

Let’s be blunt—if a Scrum Team isn’t delivering, is it effective?

Scrum exists to deliver usable increments. Without that, everything else—standups, retros, sprints—is just theatre.

So if a team isn’t delivering, what happens? Who gets held accountable?

The Scrum Master.

Not because they write the code, but because their job is to enable the system that produces working product every sprint.

If a team is stuck, their job is to unstick it.
If delivery is failing, they must ensure the system is fixed to enable delivery.

No delivery? No effectiveness.

Disagree? Let’s talk.

Also published on: LinkedIn

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