WHAT CAN A SCRUM MASTER DO WHEN A NEW TEAM IS FORMED?
More and more often, we encounter situations where a person who previously had a completely different role (e.g. project manager or team leader) is promoted to the position of Scrum Master. Such a change is not easy even with proper internal organisational knowledge sharing. In this post, we try to help newcomers to the Scrum Master role with some advice and to collect the necessary tasks for the Scrum Master when starting a new team.
WHO IS A SCRUM MASTER?
Unfortunately, the meaning of Scrum Master is not always clear, the role is often - wrongly - called "pizza delivery person", "table holder" or "scribe". Our experience is that those who call Scrum Masters by such adjectives either do not know the basics of Scrum or do not understand and apply it well. A good Scrum Master can be worth his/her weight in gold during the project, who, among other things, can help the team to overcome problems and stuck points as a coach and process expert. A good Scrum Master can be an agile/lean expert, a coach, a facilitator, a teacher or even a mentor, depending on the direction needed. Achieving this is not a short, simple process, it takes experience and time. A newly appointed Scrum Master may therefore face serious challenges, which an agile coach or expert can provide considerable support in overcoming.
What is the role of a Scrum Master?
The primary task of the Scrum Master is to make sure that Scrum works properly, i.e. to enforce the Scrum principles. But what does that mean?
The Scrum Master:
- operate and support the mechanisms, and
- eliminates any problems that could jeopardise the success of the project.
In practice, he will participate in sprint planning, daily standup sessions, backlog refinement, demos and retrospectives. Facilitates, coaches and supports the overall workflow to meet business objectives and achieve team effectiveness.
So what can you do as a new or even experienced Scrum Master with a new team?
1. Assess the agile skills of the team, if necessary, hold a quick training session - If team members do not know the framework, they cannot keep to it. Understanding the ceremonies, roles, products and, perhaps more importantly, the basics of an agile approach is the foundation for this type of operation.
2. Clarify expectations! - Dare we ask the question, how can I support you? In addition to this, let's formulate our own expectations of the team, let's flag up any surreal expectations (!!!), without partnership we are not going to do much good.
3. Find out what the organisation wants to achieve by having a team - It is not only for traditional projects that it is important that the project is based on real business needs. It is best to be able to identify how the objectives fit in with the strategy, and no, the creation or development of a product is not a strategic objective in itself, it can only be a tool.
4. Agree with the Product Owner (PO) on how to collaborate and what is expected - The PO plays an important role in the life of the project and deserves a separate post. A good PO lives with the team and is able to represent the business and its needs. We clearly define how far his and the SM's responsibilities and competences extend, how the cooperation can be optimised and how we can support the cooperation between PO and team.
5. Assess the competences needed and covered by the team, support the team in preparing a development plan - Do not expect that the competences of the team members do not need to be developed, such super teams do not or rarely exist! Together with the team, identify what is needed for successful delivery and then identify which team member has which competences. Try to help with the bottlenecks, identify which team members are open to development and which team member is able to contribute. If done skilfully, this can be of great value beyond the project to the organisation and the individual!
6. Lay down the ground rules for the team - It's basic, yet often forgotten. Defining team norms, ground rules, operational frameworks, speeds up processes and makes operations more efficient.
7. Visualise our workflows, which will help us in our work - Whether it's a telecommunication or IT tool, it's critical that the team can track the progress and status of the work. Daily standups will be short if they can be done efficiently in a pre-defined format and not spent looking for answers to the question "What was I doing yesterday?
8. Help the team to get to know each other better - Let's go out for a beer with the team, sprints are stressful for the team and the members, direct communication, relationships and close cooperation are needed. Let's try to 'stretch' the team outside the formal framework, remember the agile manifesto for motivation, self-organisation and communication principles!
9. Clarify with the TOE when a task is considered complete - It should be clear what the TOE considers to be delivered functionality. Define what exactly this means, how it can be verified, how it can be achieved, through what flow. It is important that the team is clear on this, no "It's done, but..." situations!
10. Hold a mirror up to ourselves, not just to talk about agility, but to act on it, to set an example for the team - A good Scrum Master is also a role model for the team, who can be credible if he not only talks about agility, but can also act accordingly. Let's set an example, be value-driven and stick to the predefined framework ourselves.
Contact
If you need help, our agile coaches, trainers and consultants with an active development background as certified Scrum Masters and Product Owners can provide practical solutions and support.
Do you want an internationally recognised agile certification (PMI Agile Certified Practitioner)?
Looking for a hands-on programme where you can experience the most common challenges of the Scrum Master role?
Contact us for more information!
info@promanconsulting.hu
Finally, we conclude with a classic video, prepare face paint and protective gear!
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