The Slippery Slope — How Small Compromises Lead Teams to Abandon Scrum Entirely | Juliana Stepanova

Juliana Stepanova: The Slippery Slope — How Small Compromises Lead Teams to Abandon Scrum Entirely

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"If you have it like once, you think it's okay. But it starts to change our mindset in the way that these rules, these frameworks could be changed. And with the small stuff that it's not correct, within half a year, Scrum will not work at all." - Juliana Stepanova

Juliana describes a pattern she witnessed in an experienced seven-person development team that had practiced Scrum for years. It began innocuously: the daily standup stretched from 15 to 30 minutes because the team was larger. Then came the skipped retrospectives during release phases—"we don't have time today." Each compromise seemed reasonable in isolation, but together they formed a slippery slope that eventually dismantled the entire framework. The root cause often lies outside the team: misaligned Scrum rituals across multiple teams, company-wide meetings that override sprint events, and pressure from management to prioritize immediate fires over process discipline.

Once the brain accepts that "we can skip it for a good reason," finding the next good reason becomes easier and easier. Juliana emphasizes a crucial distinction: teams that actively choose Scrum—those who approach management saying "we want to try this"—naturally protect the framework. They understand its value from personal conviction. When Scrum is imposed rather than chosen, the team lacks the intrinsic motivation to defend it against organizational pressure, making the slippery slope almost inevitable.

In this segment, we talk about the challenges of organizational alignment and protecting Scrum events.

Self-reflection Question: What small compromises has your team made to the Scrum framework, and are they leading you toward a slippery slope where the entire process may eventually be abandoned?

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About Juliana Stepanova

Juliana is an Agile coach and Scrum master, with a focus in her work on transformation through people and processes rather than the other way round. She helps teams and leaders to create clarity, build trust and create value with purpose. Her work combines structure with empathy and is always focused on real collaboration and meaningful results.

You can link with Juliana Stepanova on LinkedIn.

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