Summary

The article discusses the challenges and misconceptions surrounding the role of Scrum Masters, including their perceived lack of necessity, the risk of self-destruction, and the importance of their contribution to team success.

Abstract

The article "How Scrum Masters are destroying themselves" delves into the contentious role of Scrum Masters within Agile teams. It questions whether Scrum Masters are becoming obsolete due to their limited contributions, often reduced to administrative tasks such as conducting Scrum events, updating boards, and sending status updates, rather than focusing on enhancing team productivity and effectiveness. The piece also examines the idea that the need for a Scrum Master diminishes over time, especially as teams become more self-sufficient. However, it emphasizes that a true Scrum Master should be accountable for the team's success, facilitate effective communication, and manage impediments, rather than acting as a mere delivery boy or project coordinator. The article further criticizes weak Scrum Masters who avoid confrontation and fail to manage risks and issues effectively. It concludes by outlining the responsibilities of a Scrum Master, such as coaching, removing impediments, and ensuring the effectiveness of Scrum events, and questions the practice of Scrum Masters handling multiple teams, suggesting that this can dilute the quality of their work.

Opinions

The author agrees with the notion that Scrum Masters may be contributing to their own irrelevance by not adding value to the team.
Scrum Masters are often perceived as unnecessary because their responsibilities, such as conducting Scrum events and updating boards, can be performed by any team member.
A true Scrum Master should focus on optimizing the team's environment for productivity and effectively managing Scrum events, rather than just being an administrator.
The need for a Scrum Master may decrease as a team matures, but this does not negate the value of a skilled Scrum Master.
Scrum Masters who act as delivery boys or project coordinators are undermining their role and can be replaced by project management tools or coordinators at a lower cost.
A weak Scrum Master is characterized by an aversion to confrontation and a lack of effective risk and issue management.
The Scrum Master's role is to serve the team by facilitating self-management, focusing on high-value increments, removing impediments, and ensuring productive Scrum events.
The article suggests that handling multiple teams can compromise a Scrum Master's effectiveness and that the value they bring should be quantifiable.

How Scrum Masters are destroying themselves.

In this article I am going to talk about:

How Scrum Masters are destroying themselves.
Why people think Scrum Masters are not necessary?
Who needs a Scrum Master anyway and for what?
Scrum Master being a delivery boy.
Who is a weak Scrum Master?
My take on Scrum Masters handling multiple teams.

Today I want to ask you a question. How do you feel about the idea that Scrum Masters are self-destructing? I agree with this notion, but what is your opinion?

I want to discuss the hypothesis that Scrum Masters are harming their peers. Before I start explaining, I recommend you read the article “Let’s get rid of Scrum Master.” and its comment.

One of the comments was.

Why people think Scrum Master are not necessary?

Do you have an opinion on this? Please share.

My conjecture is that Scrum Masters are failing to contribute to the team’s success, and they are not adding any value to the team. Let me explain what I mean by this.

What typically Scrum Masters do in the team:

Conduct Scrum events
Update Jira Board
Send Status updates.

To name a few, all this can be done by anyone, you don’t need to be a Scrum Master to do that. In those 3 points I mentioned only one is actually what Scrum Masters are expected to do according to Scrum Guide, above opinion by Ravi Kunapareddy holds good. Definitely we don’t need a Scrum Masters whose responsibility is to conduct meetings and circulate MOM and action items.

We need a Scrum Master who conduct Scrum events effectively by optimizing environment for teams’ productivity.

Who needs a Scrum Master anyway and for what?

This comment by Yann Armelin also make sense, the requirement of the Scrum Master diminishes after certain time, have you ever asked why does it diminishes or does it actually diminishes?

Many people who take on the Scrum Master role may lack the mindset, or the expertise needed to perform it well. Above all Scrum doesn’t specify any boundaries, according to Scrum Guide.

Scrum Teams are cross-functional, meaning the members have all the skills necessary to create value each Sprint. They are also self-managing, meaning they internally decide who does what, when, and how. (Ref. Scrum Guide 2020. Page 5)

Remember Scrum Master is part of Scrum team, there is nothing wrong if one of the team members becomes a Scrum Master.

But… Ya there is always a BUT. We should also remember about the bandwidth of a person. If the primary role is not compromised to fulfil the secondary role, then no issues, else delivery will take a hit and if a person wearing two hats, then content switching will make him/her counterproductive.

Do you like to gamble, definitely you can find someone who can do both effectively or not.

Do remember:

The Scrum Master is accountable for the Scrum Team’s effectiveness. They do this by enabling the Scrum Team to improve its practices, within the Scrum framework. (Ref. Scrum Guide 2020. Page 6)

A TRUE Scrum Master will value those words and be accountable for the Team.

Scrum Master being a delivery boy.

This is an industry wide issue, and as mentioned by Ramanuj Chattopadhyay Scrum Masters are working for 20% of their capacity, this is one of the reasons I think Scrum Masters are destroying themselves. If a Scrum Master is working as a Postman who delivers messages from one Stakeholder to another, why can’t the team do it themselves, and how the Scrum master is different from a Project Manager?

Now you have the technology and tools to better communicate and share the updates. Who needs a middleman.

Being a delivery boy, Scrum Masters are actually undermining themselves and making everyone else to think who need a Scrum Master? A Project Coordinator can do a better job for less pay.

Many communication tools nowadays use AI to generate summaries and action items from meetings.

A weak Scrum Master.

Cosmin Vladutu This is a classic example of a weak Scrum Master. The person who doesn’t like any confrontation, because we are nice people you see, and we don’t want any conflicts. What an excuse isn’t it.

Scrum Master is responsible to manage RAID (Risks, Assumptions, Issues, Dependencies) processes and conduct regular RAID Review meetings, documenting decisions, actions, and outcomes.

The Scrum Master serves the Scrum Team by helping them to find the root cause of an impediment/issue by implementing proper RAID process.

Scrum Master need to negotiates with Stakeholders and confront them, if need be, to mitigate the issues and resolve impediments.

As a Scrum Master he/she shepherd the team as a servant leader by creating a positive and safe environment to do this he/she should be good at conflict resolution. If the person is scared to do any of these, and definitely they are not a Scrum Masters.

What exactly the Scrum Master does?

To all the Scrum Masters out there, before you claim yourself as a Scrum Master, understand the roles and responsibilities of the Scrum Master and go above and beyond to fulfil those responsibility, because no one needs a bad apple.

The Scrum Master serves the Scrum Team in several ways, including:

Coaching the team members in self-management and cross-functionality;
Helping the Scrum Team focus on creating high-value Increments that meet the Definition of Done;
Causing the removal of impediments to the Scrum Team’s progress; and,
Ensuring that all Scrum events take place and are positive, productive, and kept within the timebox. (Ref. Scrum Guide 2020. Page 6)

What else the Scrum Master does?

The Scrum Master serves in several ways, including:

Removing barriers between stakeholders and Scrum Teams.
Helping find techniques for effective Product Goal definition and Product Backlog management;
Helping the Scrum Team understand the need for clear and concise Product Backlog items;
Helping establish empirical product planning for a complex environment; and,
Facilitating stakeholder collaboration as requested or needed.
Planning and advising Scrum implementations within the organization; (Ref. Scrum Guide 2020. Page 6)

If you are looking to make Scrum Successful, have a look into this article, “How to make Scrum Successful?”

I like to end this article with this Question asked by Caroline L. and my response to it.

Scrum Masters handling multiple teams?

It depends on the size of the team and organization, having Scrum Master handle multiple teams is not uncommon, it depends how organizations see the role of a Scrum Master, and also how much they are invested in the framework.

How many teams Scrum Masters should handle is debatable, if Scrum Masters have too much on their plate, the quality of the work will suffer.

On the surface the Scrum Masters role may look simple, actually it is not, but how do you quantify the contribution. What matrix do you use to show the value you are bringing to the team.

All these make difference in how people/organizations see the role of a Scrum Master.