SPONSORS

SPONSORS

The ideal scrum master

May 3, 2022 By

 

Sensemaking in the Agile Forest

SERIES ARTICLE

By Henny Portman

The Netherlands

Introduction

When are you the ideal scrum master? If the product owner is a five-legged sheep, what is a good description of the scrum master? In this compact article, you will find a few valuable insights and reading tips for further exploration.

The Scrum Guide

The Scrum Guide[1],  shows that the scrum master is accountable for establishing Scrum as defined in the Scrum Guide. They do this by helping everyone understand Scrum theory and practice, both within the Scrum Team and the organization. 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. Scrum Masters are true leaders who serve the Scrum Team and the larger organization.

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.

The Scrum Master serves the Product Owner in several ways, including:

  • 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.

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

  • Leading, training, and coaching the organization in its Scrum adoption
  • Planning and advising Scrum implementations within the organization
  • Helping employees and stakeholders understand and enact an empirical approach for complex work; and,
  • Removing barriers between stakeholders and Scrum Teams.

Scrum Mom’ syndrome

In a blog[2] by Stefan Wolpers, the ‘Scrum Mom’ syndrome was described. The ‘Scrum Mom’ syndrome is an anti-pattern that new or starting scrum masters sometimes fall into. This syndrome is characterized by the following aspects when you:

  • do everything yourself instead of coaching the team to do it themselves
  • keep negative feedback away from the team
  • pamper the team
  • are too accommodating and do not set the team enough boundaries
  • prevent the team from making mistakes and learning from them
  • are too quick to accept how the team functions
  • love all team members and have a favorite team member.

A scrum master is not a project manager

A scrum master is sometimes compared with a project manager. Unlike a scrum master, the project manager monitors the planning, budget and scope and reports on progress. The project manager also prioritizes and assigns tasks to teams or team members.

More…

To read entire article, click here

Editor’s note: This is the second article in a series by Henny Portman, one of the world’s leading authorities on “agile”. Based in The Netherlands, Henny coined the term “agile forest” in 2019 to describe the many agile frameworks that have emerged over the last 20 years.  This series is intended to help readers better understand the agile concept, navigate through the ‘underbrush’ and more successfully apply whichever framework is selected for their projects.

How to cite this article: Portman, H. (2022). The Ideal Scrum Master, Sensemaking in the Agile Forest series, PM World Journal, Vol. XI, Issue V, May. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/pmwj117-May2022-Portman-The-ideal-Scrum-Master.pdf

About the Author


Henny Portman

The Netherlands

 

 Henny Portman, owner of Portman PM[O] Consultancy and was partner of HWP Consulting, has 40 years of experience in the project management domain. He was the project management office (PMO) thought leader within NN Group and responsible for the introduction and application of the PMO methodologies (portfolio, program, and project management) across Europe and Asia. He trains, coaches, and directs (senior) programme, project and portfolio managers and project sponsors at all levels, and has built several professional (PM(O)) communities.

Henny Portman is accredited in a variety of qualifications, including P3O, PRINCE2, MSP, MoP, PRINCE2 Agile, AgilePM, AgilePgM and AgileSHIFT trainer and an SPC4 SAFe consultant and trainer. He is a P3M3 trainer and assessor and PMO Value Ring Certified Consultant (PMO Global Alliance). On behalf of IPMA, he assesses mega and large projects for the IPMA Project Excellence Award. In addition to this, he is an international speaker, author of many articles and books in the PM(O) field, and an active blogger at hennyportman.wordpress.com.

Henny can be contacted at henny.portman@gmail.com

To view other works by Henny Portman, visit his author showcase in the PM World Library at https://pmworldlibrary.net/authors/henny-portman/

[1] https://scrumguides.org/scrum-guide.html
[2] https://age-of-product.com/scrum-mom/

 

 

Filed Under: Portman - Sensemaking in the Agile Forest, Series Articles