7 Things to Known When You Start as a ScrumMaster
Utpal Vaishnav shares with us his experience as a new ScrumMaster in this article titled “Seven Things I Wish I’d Known When I Started out as a ScrumMaster“.
scrummaster
Running the Scrum-of-Scrums
The Scrum of Scrums is the key for scaling large, multidimensional projects that cross departments, teams, and traditional boundary lines so that can be managed using the same protocols and logic of a fundamental, small-team project. Bryan Zarnett explains that where most ScrumMasters fail in this large-scale environment is in the nuances of communicating and coordinating multiple teams. The same tool set used to run a small Scrum team cannot be used for a collective of teams. He defines the role of an Agile Program Manager (APM) that will coordinate the program portfolio and its dependencies and manage collective activities, issues, and risks. Regardless of design, the APM cannot operate 100 percent according to a Scrum textbook. Minor modifications to the tool set and the introduction of key new responsibilities will adapt and influence Scrum in minor ways that will allow the larger program context to be applied — and will allow teams to remain Agile even as size and interdependencies increase.
Are you a Good or an Effective ScrumMaster?
In this article, Elton Gao starts by giving us the definition of a good ScrumMaster: someone who knows Scrum well. He or she understands the do’s and don’ts and is familiar with related artifacts and tools. He or she knows how to run a daily Scrum, a planning/review/retrospective meeting and how to take advantages of related tools and so on. But is this enough?
ScrumMaster as a Servant Leader
The ScrumMaster is dealing daily to remove the issues that the team face. If he keeps in mind the role of the ScrumMaster as a servant leader, he will be better able to keep the team members motivated toward the goal, which will lead to better customer satisfaction in the end. On the other hand, if he follows the traditional role of a manager trying to ensure that he gets the work done, things may work out in the short term.
A Great ScrumMaster Can Handle One Team at a Time
“An adequate ScrumMaster can handle two or three teams at a time. If you’re content to limit your role to organizing meetings, enforcing timeboxes, and responding to the impediments people explicitly report, you can get by with part time attention to this role. The team will probably still exceed the baseline, pre-Scrum expectation at your organization, and probably nothing catastrophic will happen.
Full-time Scrum
in this blog post, John Piekos explains how the ScrumMaster and Product Owner roles in Scrum are much more demanding than the Project and Product Manager roles of traditional project approaches. With frequent “potentially shippable product increments”, he believes that full-time effort is required from all members in order to be successful.
The ScrumMaster as a Referee
In this blog post, Dewayne Washington make an interesting between the ScrumMaster role and the referee of a football game.