Team won't provide completion targets
I'm a SM for a dev team and I am on the struggle bus.
This team was tasked with onboarding a new business orchestration tool; they hated it ("we can't build with it, the UI sucks, etc.") so we are reverting to the previous tool (they hated that one, too, but suddenly it's better) and we are rebuilding the solution that was already 80% complete.
The biggest issue is that when I ask them to provide high-level target estimates, they complain that they can't be expected to estimate their work. Excuse me, but these devs have a combined work experience of 15 years, and the QAs have 24 years - how do they not know how long it takes them to get work done? They often push back with "well, we don't have a client that's going to use this feature" but when we DO have a client, they act like it's no big deal to tell said client that we missed the go live date by three months.
I'm not asking for exact drop dead dates, but seriously, if I had a builder building me a house, he should at least be able to tell me what month I can expect to move in!
The teams in this department only do demos sporadically - most sprints, there isn't enough completed work to demo and it gets canceled. Lots of carryover, and this attitude is endemic throughout the entire department. I know am only one person, but my fellow SMs and I do have support from our boss (also pressure, because he understands the current culture but supports us trying our best to be change agents).
I am really hitting a wall and it's costing me professionally because the team's lack of progress is being interpreted as a lack of leadership ability on my part (not wrong TBH since all team failures are rooted in leadership) and it's preventing me from moving on to other projects.
If you have experienced similar issues with a team, please offer suggestions for solutions that have worked for you. I appreciate theory, but I am seeking solid, proven examples of success.
Appreciate this sub so much.