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10 Questions   for your  Scrum Master  Interview David J Bland  [email_address]
[object Object]
[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],Just how Agile is this position?
[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],(Agile) – 2 weeks max (Agile?) – Over 1 month (Red Flag!) – What’s an iteration?
[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],(Agile) – Small & cross functional (Red Flag!) – 20+ members in vertical silos (Agile?) – Large but collaborative
[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],(Agile) – Yes & often (Agile?) – Yes about once a week (Red Flag!) – They weigh in after launch
[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],(Agile) – Automated continuous integration (Agile?) – Frequent manual deployments (Red Flag!) – Very large, infrequent batches
[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],(Agile) – Yes & Behavior Driven Development (Agile?) – Yes on the important bits (Red Flag!) – We have QA for testing
[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],(Agile) – User Stories with INVEST model (Agile?) – Small paragraphs of requirements (Red Flag!) – Large SRS documents
[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],(Agile) – Story Points for Release Planning (Agile?) – We estimate most of our tasks (Red Flag!) – Only use MS Project with Gantt
[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],(Agile) – Daily Stand Ups (Agile?) – A couple times a week (Red Flag!) – Only monthly status meetings
[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],(Agile) – Yes and we’ve trained our teams  (Agile?) – They suggested we try it out (Red Flag!) – My boss thinks it is a fad
[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],(Agile) – Mentor, Tester, Coder, Designer  (Agile?) – Also Project Manager (Red Flag!) – Also the Product Owner
Good luck future  Scrum Masters! David J Bland  [email_address]

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10 Questions For Your Scrum Master Interview

  • 1. 10 Questions for your Scrum Master Interview David J Bland [email_address]
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  • 14. Good luck future Scrum Masters! David J Bland [email_address]

Editor's Notes

  1. Indeed.com job trend data can be found: http://www.indeed.com/jobtrends Google.com search volume data can be found: http://google.com/trends
  2. You need to ask precise questions to determine agility. The Interviewer may not offer up these insights with a bit of prodding from your side.
  3. Ideally this is 2 weeks, but if it is close within reason it is a positive sign. Be wary of extremely long answers that slip into months, as these are not agile characteristics.
  4. Small, cross functional teams are important. Take note of any answers that lean towards large silos of developers. You may also want to follow up on whether or not the team is distributed or co-located.
  5. A non-existent Product Owner can wreak havoc on an agile team. This could be why the Scrum Master position is vacant!
  6. It is difficult to remain true to the tenets of agile with a clunky batch process for code deployment. Try to pin them down on what tools they use here to prevent them from sidestepping the question.
  7. Similar to CI above, TDD is another indicator of agility. Again try to find out the tool set they use for this process, as it will vary by technology stack.
  8. There is no one perfect answer for this, but they should touch on small excerpts of functionality that are on a task board or in project management software. Lengthy SRS or functional specifications should raise a red flag.
  9. Points or hours should be sufficient. I’d pay attention on whether or not their fibonnacci scale goes to extremes. Measuring actuals vs estimates can lead the conversation to some interesting areas. Try to determine whether or not actuals are used against team members.
  10. This should be every day if you are playing the role of a true Scrum Master. This can be more challenging with distributed teams in different time zones.
  11. Agile isn’t only bottom, it is also top down. Try to determine if the person selling you on this agile position actually has any say within the company.
  12. Depending on the organization this can vary, but it is worth asking especially if they responsibilities do not interest you in the least. It is better to know about them now!