Why Developers Hate Scrum And How To Fix It?
How to make your team fall in love with your process?
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Here's a scenario every Scrum Master dreads:
You're running what you think is a perfectly good Daily Standup when a senior developer says:
"Can we just cancel these meetings and use Slack updates instead? We're wasting time here."
The rest of the team nods in agreement.
Your heart sinks because:
you know these events are crucial for team collaboration
you've already tried making the meetings shorter
you've read every article about making Scrum events "fun"
nothing seems to work
You're stuck!
If you force the events, you risk creating resentment and damaging team morale.
If you give in, you're essentially letting the team abandon core Scrum practices that you know are valuable.
The challenge isn't just about meeting efficiency. It's about navigating the “balance.”
Balance between:
developers' need for uninterrupted focus time
the team's need for collaboration
the organization's need for transparency
your responsibility as a Scrum Master
So what should you do?
This post gets into the root of the problem and discusses a “software developer’s” psychology behind this type of resistance.
Let’s get started.
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Why are most developers so against “Scrum Events.”
Let's start with a truth that might be hard to swallow:
Your team doesn't actually hate Scrum events specifically. What they really hate is “disruption.”
Any kind of disruption.
I’ve been a developer before, and believe me when I say this: Software developers are artists.
Their code is their craft, their creation, their art. And like any artist, they need to be "in the zone" to produce their best work.
You know… that state where you're SO DEEPLY FOCUSED that time seems to disappear? Where everything flows naturally and solutions come effortlessly?
Developers call this the "flow state," and it's precious.
Really precious!
I highly recommend watching Diane’s Ted Talk on the subject as well.
Here's what happens when a developer is in flow:
problems that seemed complex become clear
code writes itself almost effortlessly
creativity and problem-solving are at their peak
hours pass like minutes
And then...
"Hey, time for Refinement…"
And, just like that, the spell is broken. The flow is gone. The zone has vanished.
They DON’T hate the event.
They hate:
the mental preparation before the meeting
the context switch from deep coding to communication mode
the time needed to get back into that precious flow state afterward
When developers resist Scrum events, they're not being difficult. They're protecting their most valuable resource: their FOCUS TIME.
Understanding this is important because it changes how you, as a “process innovator,” approach the problem.
It's not about making meetings more fun or shorter (though that can help). It's about recognizing and respecting the deep work cycles that make developers productive.
Don’t get me wrong!
This doesn't mean Scrum events aren't valuable.
They absolutely are.
The challenge is finding the “sweet spot” where collaboration and individual flow can coexist.
How do we do that?