A conversation with a Scrum Master!
"I want to do release planning! I need to give details to our Top Management first thing next week!!", said a panic stricken Scrum Master to her Agile Coach!
The next day the team assembles in a conference room. The Agile Coach asks, "What's your goal for the release?" There is eerie silence! Ten exhausting minutes later the team comes up with a goal.
The Agile Coach asks, "What's your current sprints goal?" There is eerie silence! Fifteen exhausting minutes later the team comes up with a sprint goal.
The Scrum Master is getting edgy! With all her frustration she interjects, "I need tasks and estimates! Can we do all this later and identify the tasks and efforts needed?"
The Agile Coach explains to her that before stories and tasks and estimates, team needs to focus on alignment of goals. With heightened frustration she retorts, "All that is great. But, you are not understanding my problem and our context!"
The Agile Coach replies, "I am not here to understand your context and then resign to it! I am here to change it!"
Where is the PO? and why are the Coach and SM driving this conversation?
Since the goal conversation never happened before but just a list of tasks and more tasks, this is ought to happen:-). What is more important that the sprint backlog looks busy with full capacity :-)