9 Agile Halloween Costumes for Scrum Groups

It’s time to begin desirous about an acceptable costume you’ll be able to put on to the various agile-themed Halloween events you’ll attend. On this submit I’ll share some last-minute costume concepts you’ll be able to pull collectively whether or not you’re a Scrum Grasp, product proprietor, or perhaps a stakeholder on an agile undertaking.

This run-down of Halloween costumes for agile groups began out only for enjoyable. However then I obtained to considering, it is also a artistic (and informative) option to run a Halloween retrospective: Agile crew members might come dressed to signify the position they performed prior to now dash.

Or you might attempt a Halloween agile retrospective for the undertaking as a complete: and invite stakeholders, administration, and crew members to decorate because the roles they’ve skilled, or want they may expertise, to this point. Or you’ll be able to simply take pleasure in some light-hearted insights into the Scrum roles.

Auto Mechanic

Let’s begin with a Scrum Grasp costume. An auto mechanic costume could be nice for a Scrum Grasp. Like a mechanic, a Scrum Grasp troubleshoots and fixes issues. A talented and skilled mechanic can usually determine points earlier than they turn out to be issues (“your brake pads are getting skinny”). A Scrum Grasp will be considered tuning up a crew to attain its absolute best efficiency.

Costume: Seize some coveralls, perhaps smear some grease on them, and both carry some instruments or put on a toolbelt.

Ghost

Stakeholders can generally act like ghosts.

Some individuals say ghosts don’t exist. My buddy Jim Harold says in any other case on his podcast. However the kind of ghost I’m referring to is the stakeholder who doesn’t present up at dash evaluations.

Generally stakeholders inform us the undertaking is essential and get pissed off if the crew misses a objective. However by by no means attending iteration evaluations, successfully being as invisible as a ghost, these stakeholders’ actions point out the undertaking should not be that essential in spite of everything.

Costume: A easy white sheet with two eye holes.

Tightrope Walker

Product house owners are sometimes pressured to prioritize competing wants from totally different stakeholders. Stakeholders might signify totally different geographic areas, departments inside a company, or they could simply have totally different views of a product’s future.

Whatever the cause, stakeholders search to affect a product proprietor into constructing what they want, which is likely to be very totally different from what the shopper or different stakeholders are searching for.

In these conditions, the product proprietor is a tightrope walker balancing competing calls for and striving to not fall by leaning too far to both aspect. A technique to assist keep stability is for product house owners to deal with stakeholders as a second crew, reasonably than as people.

Costume: So long as you carry an extended pole for stability, you’ll be able to in all probability put on no matter you need, however some spandex is likely to be acceptable.

Golf Caddy

Scrum Grasp is sort of a golf caddy. Every thing a caddy does is to assist the participant—recommending golf equipment, carrying the golf equipment, observing different gamers—all these aids assist a golfer concentrate on hitting the ball nicely. Scrum Masters emulate this by equally eradicating all impediments to a crew’s progress.

After the ultimate putt is made, cheers go up for the profitable golfer because the caddy stands by, unnoticed by most. The identical is true of Scrum Masters. When their groups succeed, reward is heaped on the crew. However astute observers know the way a lot the Scrum Grasp did behind the scenes to assist the crew succeed.

Costume: Channel Rodney Dangerfield from Caddyshack, or put on your loudest polyester pants and borrow your brother-in-law’s outdated golf golf equipment.

Bartender

Scrum Grasp listens to detect when a crew is having an issue, after which fixes that drawback. A bartender listens to patrons’ issues and…OK, provides solace at greatest, however doesn’t repair the issue. So put on a bartender costume if you wish to gown up like a foul Scrum Grasp.

Costume: A white apron maybe with a holster belt that holds a bottle on either side will work properly. If you wish to transcend the minimal, add a vest or suspenders with aptitude. 

Ted Lasso

As a substitute of dressing like a foul Scrum Grasp, although, think about dressing as an excellent agile coach: Ted Lasso. As a coach, Lasso reveals many traits we’d all do nicely to emulate: empathy for his crew members, nice listening abilities, willingness to experiment, lack of an outsized ego, looking for to make his crew the very best it may be, and extra.

Costume: A blue tracksuit or pullover with sun shades. Don’t neglect to both develop a mustache or purchase a stick-on one. Nearer to Halloween, you would possibly want to purchase the mustache.

Alfred Pennyworth

Batman could be misplaced with out his trusted butler, Alfred. A retired actor and former particular agent of the British authorities, Alfred does no matter Batman wants, often with out Batman even having to ask. Alfred stands out as the truest instance potential of a true servant chief.

Costume: This can be a nice DIY costume. Alfred is all the time impeccably dressed, so put in your greatest swimsuit and tie a full Windsor knot—and rapidly rehearse your English accent.

A Couple’s Costume: A Hen and a Pig

A narrative from the early days of Scrum concerned a hen and a pig who needed to open a breakfast restaurant. The pig declined the chance, figuring out that in producing a ham-and-egg breakfast he’d be dedicated, the hen could be merely concerned.

The story was advised way back to say that product house owners had been merely concerned in sprints. They weren’t dedicated like Scrum Masters and crew members. I by no means agreed with that view, as a result of in my expertise probably the most profitable groups have product house owners who act each bit as dedicated because the builders.

However, in all probability as a result of the joke is a minimum of barely amusing, chickens and pigs nonetheless often come up in Scrum discussions. This makes them the right couple’s or group Halloween costume.

Costume: Go all out and make (or purchase) hen and pig costumes. Or maintain it easy and get a pig snout on an elastic band. Complement it with a pink hoodie if you’d like. The hen can put on a white or yellow hoodie and a plastic beak.

What Are You Carrying This Yr?

I hope I’ve given you a couple of crew costume concepts for work, and a few group costume concepts for all the Halloween events, costume contests, and treat-or-treating outings you’re certain to be invited to. And I hope that I’ve additionally given you some new issues to consider with the assorted Scrum roles or planted the seeds for some new holiday-themed retrospective concepts.

What different concepts do you’ve? What costume would you put on to an agile Halloween occasion? Please share your ideas within the feedback beneath.