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I'm currently working with a couple of students on an course project (2x8h per week).

At the last sprint planning we have taken one main backlog story to implement, and I was expected to be the primary implementer of it, besides a helping hand.

Now on day one I had to do a couple of backend tasks (for which I'm currently responsible for) and my helping hand, let's call him Jerry goes exploring the technology. Once I came back to the actual task Jerry found a good library to help the implementation and tried it out already, and I agreed on the library.

But when I tried to collaborate on how to implement the feature, Jerry informed me that he wishes to implement the feature by himself, to which I agreed since I wanted to give him the chance to prove himself (not much code is written by him yet). Later he asked me to write tests for the feature, which I did, but he does not use them and he does not write any tests himself (aside I had difficulty writing tests since I am not supposed to change anything in his code).

Problem is 1) I don't believe he can do it in time (we got a 5 days sprint, two days left). 2) I fear this will reflect badly on me since I was intended to write the feature. Should I say he took over the feature in the next daily?

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  • Probably a better fit for Workplace SE.
    – Sarov
    Commented Jun 19, 2019 at 19:19
  • @Sarov would you recommend changing the question somehow to better fit, or does the nature if the question not fit on pm? I thought it should be on pm since it's about a project and Workplace more for actually real work where you make money.
    – Purpose
    Commented Jun 19, 2019 at 19:25
  • Hmmh. On a second look, I guess I can see both aspects. I'll write an Answer.
    – Sarov
    Commented Jun 19, 2019 at 19:27
  • I would suggest removing the personal grievances you have with the coworker, though - those have nothing to do with the project. Ask about those on Workplace.
    – Sarov
    Commented Jun 19, 2019 at 19:34
  • @Sarov I tried to remove the part you suggested, I hope it's clearer now. Thank you
    – Purpose
    Commented Jun 19, 2019 at 19:43

2 Answers 2

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Your processes look broken.

The Sprint is not meant to be a commitment the business can use to punish developers for not meeting.

I fear this will reflect badly on me since I was intended to write the feature.

...Who says this feature was intended for you? In Scrum, work is assigned to the Team, not to individuals. If it was assigned to the Team, then why would it reflect badly on you specifically? If it was assigned to you specifically, then why is another developer working on it?

Should I say he took over the feature in the next daily?

The Daily Scrum is not meant to be a status pull. Who would you be reporting this to? Why do they need to know? The Team should be empowered to deal with these issues by themselves.

Your process is broken. You don't appear to be following Scrum, despite mentioning Sprints. You should look into fixing your process. That being said...

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

Just talk to the guy. You're both (presumably) reasonable, professional adults. Talk to him, tell him how you feel (try to use 'I', not 'you'), and then ask him for input and listen.

For how to go about doing that, you'd do better to ask on Workplace or ipse.

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  • I didn't realize that the specific assignment to me doesn't matter at all, since it's only assigned to the team from the Scrum Master's point of view. So the Scrum Master wouldn't care in the first place. To clarify, the team assigned me at the sprint planning. Thank you.
    – Purpose
    Commented Jun 19, 2019 at 19:54
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    @Purpose You're saying the above like the scrum master is somehow in charge of things, which is even less Scrum than the other things you mentioned. If anything, your Scrum Master is the one who is supposed to tell you things like the above and help you be better at Scrum, not make you feel bad about doing it wrong. It's their job to make sure you do Scrum right, it's not their job to make sure you complete your work.
    – Erik
    Commented Jun 19, 2019 at 21:39
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1) I don't believe he can do it in time (we got a 5 days sprint, two days left).

If this is the case, just raise the issue with him. Tell him: "Jerry, if you work alone on this I think we will not deliver it in the time left. Please let me help you". If he refuses, raise it with the Scrum Master (it's an impediment). This is a topic for the Sprint Retrospective.

2) I fear this will reflect badly on me since I was intended to write the feature. Should I say he took over the feature in the next daily?

The whole Development Team is responsible for delivering the items in the Sprint Backlog, including you two. So, have the discussion with Jerry the moment you realize you (as a team) won't deliver the item. If it doesn't help, raise the issue in the Daily Scrum.

This is not about shaming or (avoiding) responsibility. It's about transparency. Be kind and talk about the problem itself ("I think we won't deliver it if only one developer works on it") and don't point fingers.

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