Impact of human resources changes on performance and productivity of Scrum teams

Abstract

This paper presents results of an analysis of the impact of the human resources changes in Scrum teams. Four Scrum teams were tracked (two developments and two quality assurance) along with their productivity and performance. Analysis showed that human resources changes have a significant impact on the entire team and its behavior. Their effort increased by adding overtime hours. In the same time, their performance and effective work decreased, which is reflected on the quantity of work that can be billed to the client. The analysis shows that it takes, in average, three sprints (each lasting fourteen days) for new team members to fully adjust to the team development process and acquire a business knowledge needed for maximum productivity. Teams whose members have been working together longer period and who have more senior members can adjust to team shifts more quickly. The analysis also showed a correlation between quality assurance and development team - when development team had extra utilization due to overtime, quality assurance team had an increase in overtime hours almost proportionately.