New masters in our Scrum domain

In Scrum, most describe the ScrumMaster as a referee, enforcing the rules and ensuring that the process is followed correctly. However, I believe the ScrumMaster is something more akin to a parent or guardian.

When you begin building a Scrum team, members do not know how to self manage. They don't know how to work cross-functionally, interact with the Product Owner, or work within time-boxes. The "parent" is responsible for showing them how to do these things—helping them to grow from an immature Scrum state into supporting members of a mature self-functioning team.

As my colleagues in Scrum are so fond of reminding me, on a truly self-managed Scrum team, it is inappropriate for the manager to lead individual work tasks. In other words, the parent has to stand aside, and let someone on the team graduate and move out. For both of my teams, that day has come.

Beginning tomorrow, two new ScrumMasters are responsible for:

• Cheering the team on, and being their guide when they steer off the main path.
• Improving the lives and productivity of the development team by facilitating creativity and empowerment and any other way possible.
• Enabling close cooperation across all roles and functions and removing barriers.
• Shielding the team from external interferences and removing "Impediments".
• Ensuring that the process is followed.
• Inviting appropriate people to the daily scrum, iteration review and planning meetings.
• Removing the barriers between development and the customer so that the customer directly drives the functionality developed.
• Teaching the customer representative how to maximize ROI and meet their objectives through Scrum.
• Improving the engineering practices and tools so each increment of functionality is potentially shippable.

Looking at the list, it is clear that a ScrumMaster alone cannot do all of these things. A supportive manager is still required, so I won't become obsolete just yet. The new ScrumMasters will meet with me at least once a week in a Scrum of Scrums. I will become the ScrumMaster's ScrumMaster. Hey—I kind of like that.

Joey Ebright (left) now guide the A Team—he loves it when a plan comes together—and Mark Harmon (right) has taken over as master of the B Team. Hence forth, he will be referred to as "Master B".

Like any good parent or guardian, I will stand in the shadows in case something goes wrong, and await the day when the grand-kids come along with some obscure Scrum question no one else knows the answer to.

All joking aside, Joey and Mark have shown solid leadership skills, and I have no concerns about them taking over the reins.

In addition to being the Scrum of Scrums Master, I will now have more time to focus on the leadership team's goals—helping to ensure that Decade continues to grow and advance, thus continuing to be the company our customers need and expect us to be. Like the year behind us, the one ahead promises to be an exciting one.

 

Photos by David Blanton