How to be a great scrum master

A Warning
This is not an introduction to Scrum or Agile
I assume that you are familiar with the process, and know what this chart means

Scrum Master responsibilities
Responsible for
the process
the team
Continuous improvement of both
Not responsible for
Technical decisions
The business
The Scrum Master is
Remover of blocks
Unbreakable buffer
Champion of Agile
Chief connector
King of feedback
Not a “Team Leader”
Builder of individual ownership

Remover of blocks, impediments
The Scrum Master has to create an optimal working condition for the team and is responsible for maintaining this condition
Issues
Dependency on people outside the team.
Missing hardware or software
Cannot get a key decision from the business
Problems of individual Team Members
Need help with debugging
Cannot complete a task & needs help
Devs, BAs, POs all have this problem
Problems of organizational structure and expectations
The team or company is missing or deficient in key roles
Stakeholders not respecting the process
A Scrum Master shouldn’t solve these issues himself, but he is still responsible for getting them solved.
This takes a lot of time
Requires great authority and courage.

Buffer for the team
Handle management messing with the team
“just for a day”, “I need an estimate”, “answer some tech questions”, “need technical help”, “maintenance on an old project”
Actually, this stuff important to the business and have to get done
Notice I said ‘handle’ not ‘prevent’
Build time for interruptions into the iteration plan
Schedule interruptions and group them together.
Delay interruptions

Champion Agile Practices
Teams new to Agile often underapply their practices
Practices are mutually-reinforcing
Adopt as many as you can verify
Start as close to the “book” definition as possible
Make it easy and clear for Team Members to do their jobs
Walk new Product Owners and BAs through their job
Make sure devs know the Definition of Done
Prepare people to lead standups, planning meetings, and retrospectives

Chief Connector
You don’t solve problems yourself…you cause them to be solved by
Connecting the right people together
Getting the results and actions items documented
Following up
Retrospectives are good for this
ideally you follow up earlier

King of Feedback
Frequent feedback to all team members and stakeholders is the reason that Scrum and Agile work!
People don’t learn without thoughtful, helpful feedback
This takes a lot of time to do well
But it pays off, hugely, quickly
The Scrum Master is the lead for this, and retrospectives are the method
Is the PO doing his job well?
Are estimates good and improving?
Are we following the “Definition of Done”?

Not a “Team Leader”
Ensure that the team obeys the rules and realizes the method of Scrum
Should not assign tasks, own requirements, or make decisions
The SM is not responsible for task completion
This is very hard in practice
Interfere only when the process is not being followed
You are the team’s coach, representative, buffer, policeman
Not the team’s director, owner, or manager

Building individual ownership Scrum Master Team Member Team Member Team Member Team Member Team Member Team Member
Don’t ask Team Members questions, have them report
Prepare people ahead of time to lead their own discussions
Team Member Team Member Team Member Team Member Team Member Team Member Scrum Master

The Scrum Master Experience
“ On a small team with dedicated people who mostly know what they doing, the role of SM is almost invisible; on a larger team trying to cope with vague requirements and power struggles the SM will be highly visible and probably never have a moment to themselves, as they will become the lightning conductor for all the frustrations of the team (and stakeholders outside it).”
“ There's no substitute for knowing what you want to achieve and having a small team of people who know how to achieve it. If you have that, and you "adopt SCRUM", you will probably be convinced quickly that being a Scrum Master is easy. But if instead you have a big mess of a team, and an undefined goal, and a lot of political fighting going on, and you "adopt SCRUM", you will probably come away thinking that being a Scrum Master is a full-time (perhaps impossible) job requiring a combination of very rare talents. Most real teams are probably somewhere between these extremes.”
-From http://stackoverflow.com/questions/127807/what-does-a-scrum-master-do-all-day

End
Q&A!
Slightly nicer picture of a Rugby Scrum:

Agile Principles
Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.
Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer’s competitive advantage.
Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale.
Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.
Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.
The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.
Working software is the primary measure of progress.
Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.
Simplicity, the art of maximizing the amount of work not done, is essential.
The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.
At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.

How to be a great scrum master

by dshupp on Jul 17, 2010

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How to be a great scrum master — Presentation Transcript