A deeper understanding on…
The Scrum Master
Road to PSM III — Episode 7, part 1.
(Revised for the 2020 Scrum Guide)
“The Scrum Master is accountable for establishing Scrum as defined in the Scrum Guide.” — The Scrum Guide
Where to start
Understanding and explaining the role of the Scrum Master should be simple. Surprisingly, I find it difficult to explain to others exactly what a Scrum Master does and what makes a good Scrum Master.
Even though the Scrum Guide has a short and simple list explaining the accountability of a Scrum Master, I know how hard it can be to fulfill them. I imagine every Scrum Master struggles with this.
Trainers and coaches may point out various stances a Scrum Master can, should, or shouldn’t take. Perhaps the best stance to take is an authentic one. The Scrum Master is not a role to be played — it’s accountability to fulfill. Inspect and adapt. Find your way.
I believe many Scrum Masters are insecure about their role. I know I am. It helps to be working with other Scrum Masters.
Servant Leadership
“Scrum Masters are true leaders who serve the Scrum Team and the larger organization.” — The Scrum Guide.
Developers do not report to a Scrum Master, yet I’ve witnessed such cases. There may not be a hierarchy within the Scrum Team. It is common for traditional managers, lead developers, or project managers to take on the accountabilities of a Scrum Master. If they choose to do so, they must embrace they are not hierarchical or superior to their peers.
Being a Scrum Master inadvertently puts a person in a potential position of power. Micromanaging is tempting because one might feel responsible for the team and its productivity. If a Scrum Master behaves like this, Scrum falls apart completely.
I hear Scrum Masters argue “the team is not mature enough”. I usually respond by asking them why they are working with children— they immediately get my point. When you believe your team is not mature enough — it’s time to stop parenting them.
Well, by interfering, controlling, or directing the team, it absolves the team from its responsibility to self-manage, and it steals opportunities from the team to learn how to. Hold each other accountable as professionals — but don’t do this by telling others what to do.
False responsibilities
Recently I was in a bit of a squabble with Atlassian over their definition on what a Scrum Master is. Read it and cringe.
This illustrates just how persistent people are misinformed about the accountability of a Scrum Master.
So, before I explain the actual responsibilities of a Scrum Master, I’d like to point out what ISN’T!
Board administration
Against popular claim, it is NOT the responsibility of a Scrum Master to get status updates from the team during a Daily Scrum. Neither is it the responsibility of a Scrum Master to make sure the ‘Scrum Board’ is kept up to date and do board administration.
On the contrary, it is the Scrum Master’s duty to back-off and let the Developers manage this. But sure, when the team struggles with this, the Scrum Master may help the team.
Performance analysis and reporting
It is also not the Scrum Master’s job to manage reporting or do team performance analysis, nor to dictate how the team should do this. You also DO NOT determine which tools the team should be using.
1on1s.
A popular coaching practice is to have 1-on-1s. This may or may not be a good practice, and this very much depends on the level of trust and coaching qualities a Scrum Master has. It does, however, increase the chance for backroom politics. A Scrum Master, during personal conversations, may learn much that it can act upon. Much of what will be said during these sessions will be said in confidence.
If a Scrum Master errs in dealing with sensitive information, it could be devastating to the level of trust that team members build in each other, including the Scrum Master. Having 1on1s will, inadvertently, put the Scrum Master in a position of power that may not be fitting to the role. Remember, Scrum is teamwork. Though some members might be more comfortable being open with a trusted coach than a group, not all Scrum Masters have the right background to deal with this level of personal coaching professionally!
The retrospective serves for the team to align, and a Scrum Master can work with the team to make that safe enough so whatever needs to be said can be said respectably.
Helpful interactions
The Scrum Master helps team members and stakeholders understand which of their interactions are helpful and which aren’t.
The Guide doesn’t provide examples of what interactions are helpful and which aren’t. I’ll try to share a few:
- Asking the Scrum Team for status or performance reports is not a helpful interaction. Joining a Sprint Review, inspecting actual progress, and providing direct feedback is.
- Being frustrated with a Scrum Team about changes in the plan, because of newly discovered complexities and changing conditions, is not a helpful interaction. These changes are valuable. Value the team’s adaptability.
- Ping-ponging spaghetti e-mail discussions are a terrible form of discussion/communication. A brief, personal, face-to-face conversation can save a lot of time and frustration.
- Those that say “This is not my problem” are part of the problem.
- Telling the team to work overtime when the team struggles to meet a goal is a terrible interaction. Though the team ‘commits’ to achieving Sprint Goals, commitment means that the team will reasonably do its best effort.
- Telling the team to postpone a Sprint Review because not all work is ready for review, impedes empiricism. Don’t create a precedence for postponing or abandoning the opportunities that are there for the team to inspect and adapt.
In the next part of this episode, I will cover the services of a Scrum Master towards the Product Owner, the Developers, and the wider organization.
