Andrey Agibalov Sutherland writes that Scrum boosts team productivity. The proof, he says, is in the story points — teams deliver more of them over time. Sounds scientific, but I’ve always wondered: what exactly do these points measure?
Imagine two teams, A and B, working for the same customer on the same project. In one, the programmers are strong; in the other, not so much. How would you tell which team is better? In Scrum, you can’t. Each team defines its own story points, its own velocity, its own version of happiness. As long as the business, the product owner, and the team itself feel good — everything’s fine. Scrum quietly turns the question of quality into a question of satisfaction.
Now imagine another pair of teams, again equal in size: five developers each. Team A has five solid mid-level engineers. Team B has four mids and one senior. Which team will perform better? My bet is on A. The work will be more uniform, less dramatic. There won’t be that quiet tension when the senior rolls their eyes at mediocre code or tries to “fix the process.” Everything will move at the same steady, unexciting pace — and everyone will be happier for it.
Developers are happy when reality aligns with their values. For a junior, it might be enough that they get to write any code at all. For a senior, happiness comes from seeing clarity, quality, and craftsmanship around them. That’s why juniors can thrive almost anywhere, while seniors burn out in chaotic environments. Ironically, companies often invite seniors to “raise the bar,” but that act of raising it can make the whole team less comfortable — at least for a while.
So when Scrum says productivity improves, maybe it just means that everyone has finally agreed to be happy with what they have.