The grass is not always greener

[SueEllen]

As a new joiner I don't want to rock the boat but this affecting my productivity and that of the entire team.

Has anyone else faced similar issues?

Doesn't happen because after a few days I speak up after checking with a couple of others that I'm not going crazy.

What then tends to happen as a self-organising team other people then speak up.

(It does help that I have a scrum master certificate and it isn't rare to find others doing other roles who have one as well.)

[Guy Incognito]

Agile is just a framework, a scrum can be whatever you say it is.

[Paralytic]

Agile is just a framework, a scrum can be whatever you say it is.

Not exactly. There's core activities in that framework, and if you're not doing them, or doing them differently to a large degree, you're not doing Scrum. Call it Agile if you wish, but you might as well call it pumpkinary as, at that point, you're just making things up as you go along.

To the OP, I'd be guiding the Scrum Master to take the discussions offline, if it doesn't fit into the what i did yesterday, what i'll do today, blockers pattern (or in your case, what i did today, what i'll do tomorrow, blockers). I'd also call out that i need to head off at 5:15 (or 5:30 or whatever you deem your cut-off time at).

[Cookielove]

I’m dealing with a micro manager too! Rang me Friday end of the day with a list of stuff to do...annoying and he’s clueless. He’s a piece of work and has lost a few people. Similar to your situation end of day meetings my one arranges 8.30 meetings when I start at 9am he knows that but does it to be irritating...think we’ll be parting company soon too old for nonsense ...

[escapeUK]

I jumped ship for a 40% rate rise and the opportunity to work with some cutting edge tech.

I can just about handle commuting to London twice a week but it turns out I have been lumbered with a micro managing scrum master based in the US with a fondness for scheduling meetings around 5pm UK time which always overrun. I am used to giving a 1 minute max talk during standups but the scum master has a tendency to discuss the most tedious technical details at length.?

Why not just say "Many of us need to get off to catch our trains at 5pm, how about we schedule for 4pm in future?" If the answer is no, just leave at 5pm and don't take part in any out of hours meetings.

[jmo21]

Why not just say "Many of us need to get off to catch our trains at 5pm, how about we schedule for 4pm in future?" If the answer is no, just leave at 5pm and don't take part in any out of hours meetings.

This.

If you will probably hand in your notice, just decline meetings, or firmly shut done discussions as and when eg on end time "I have another meeting/need to catch my train/there are 10 people on this call, lets take it offline, I don't want to waste their time and the companies money" etc

I really enjoy saying "lets take this offline" during a stand up, really winds people up, both because they want to talk at length, and it's cheesy american lingo

[d000hg]

Making sure you always have another meeting lined up at the time your standup is due to finish is a way to escape

[PCTNN]

Had one scrum master who tried to set up the daily stand up at lunch time because "you can always do the stand up and eat your lunch in the background".

I nipped that right in the bud, said that's the time I would normally have lunch and take the dog for a walk (which was true) and I started giving a daily written update via email to the whole team. By the end of the first week, most of the team started doing the same so the scrum master got the message and moved it to a more agreeable time.

[d000hg]

Using a stand-up as a time to get some fresh air sounds nice though. Do it on your earpiece while you walk the dog and get paid for it

[SussexSeagull]

I had a contract where I had a two hour commute and the manager decided to hold a team meeting at 1730 on a Friday. Being a digital media agency he was used to dealing with graduates whose career he held in his hand as opposed to grizzled old contractors. I declined the invite and after a debate it got moved to 1700 and I went to one and avoided the rest without further comment.

You have to nip this sort of thing in the bud.