ScrumMastered

🔴 🎥 NEW VIDEO!

No Scrum team in a medium to big organization would be fully self-sufficient. How do we manage work in highly cross-dependent environments?

In this video, I talked about:

✅ How to run a Sprint Planning when there're dependencies
✅ Questions to ask your team to identify dependencies
✅ What's the role of a Scrum Master in managing dependencies
✅ How to remove internal dependencies between team members

and much more.

Watch the full video: https://youtu.be/nqCp-Paza5E

🔴 How to manage DEPENDENCIES in Scrum teams 👉 No Scrum team in a medium to big organization would be fully self-sufficient. How do we manage work in highly cross-dependent environments?In this video, ...

Let's talk about 👉 Changing Priorities in the middle of the Sprint.

In the latest episode of the Agile Audit Podcast, I was talking with Diva ✨

She has been working on an ambitious project with a tight deadline and a small team. Recently, their investors decided to expand the scope of the project, bringing new tasks and priorities.

As Scrum Masters, helping the team to deal with additional tasks while also maintaining focus within sprints can be a real challenge but just go back to the basics with a constructive approach.

👉 Ask the product owner to prioritize the new tasks by choosing which existing tasks of the same size should be removed. Yes, yes, removed! This will allow us to maintain focus and ensure we don't overload our team.

Yes, the team probably can squeeze in more work into their busy schedule, work overtime, etc. But eventually, it will affect the quality of their work and their morale, and long term it's not worth it!

As a Scrum Master, you should spend some time with your stakeholders to learn these concepts and set the right expectations around what's possible.

If any of you have experienced similar situations, I'd love to hear your insights and learn from your experiences. Share some in the comments 👇

Listen to the whole episode here: scrummastered.com/podcast

Podcast - ScrumMastered Learn how other Agile professionals just like you find solutions to common  challenges.

🔵 NEW WORKSHOP! ✨ Writing User Stories ✨

Teach your team how to ⬇️
👏 Create great user stories and organize the Product Backlog
👏 Split work in an Agile way
👏 Deliver high-value functionality

Writing User Stories Workshop This is a step-by-step facilitation guide with Miro and PowerPoint templates to run a workshop on the topic of "Writing User Stories" for Agile teams. Teach your team how to create great user stories and organize the Product Backlog, how to split work in an Agile way, and deliver high-value function...

📌 Scrum Master vs. Product Manager

They play distinct and crucial parts in steering projects toward success. Let's dive into the differences between the two:

🔹 The Scrum Master 🔹
As a Scrum Master, one serves as a coach and facilitator for the team. The primary goal is to ensure the seamless implementation of Scrum practices and principles. Responsibilities include:

✅ Guiding the team in understanding and adopting Scrum methodologies
✅ Facilitating ceremonies such as Daily Scrum, Sprint Planning, and Retrospectives
✅ Identifying and removing impediments that hinder the team's progress
✅ Empowering the team to deliver a "done" increment of the product

🔹 Product Manager 🔹
Their focus is on ensuring the product meets market demands and aligns with the business objectives. Key responsibilities include:

✅ Overseeing the product's development and delivery
✅ Collaborating with stakeholders to establish budgets and financial planning
✅ Building roadmaps
✅ Emphasizing product value, market fit, and customer satisfaction

In some cases, the Product Manager might also function as a Product Owner. Nonetheless, their primary focus remains on delivering a successful product.

💡 Thoughts
In essence, while the Scrum Master facilitates the team to adhere to Agile methodologies, the Product Manager takes charge of the product's vision and its efficient realization. Both roles are vital in their own right, working in harmony to achieve project success.

Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences on these roles in the comments below! ⬇️

📌Complexity in Project Estimation

Estimating project tasks accurately can be quite a challenge, especially when dealing with complex work. As professionals, we often find ourselves seeking that perfect level of precision, but the reality is that absolute accuracy is rarely attainable.

🎙️ In the recent episode of the Agile Audit Podcast, I’m talking with Diva ✨ [a Scrum Master from Mozambique living in Malaysia], we delved into the concept of relative estimation, a technique that helps us navigate the complexities and uncertainties of project planning.

Instead of isolated estimations, we strive for consistency by comparing new tasks to those we have already completed. This approach allows us to establish a baseline for future projects and enables better planning and decision-making.

Diva’s team is currently using a simple but effective system, where they rate tasks on a scale of 1 to 10, considering their level of difficulty. By averaging these ratings, they gauge the overall effort required for the project.

However, I do recommend other valuable methods like Planning Poker and User Story Estimations.

✍️ So, whether you're using user story points, a 1 to 10 scale, or any other system, the focus should be on collaborative estimation and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

Fragment of The Agile Audit’s Episode #2

Listen to the full episode on scrummastered.com/podcast

Podcast - ScrumMastered Learn how other Agile professionals just like you find solutions to common  challenges.

As we promised 🥳 the 2nd episode of The Agile Audit Podcast is now LIVE! ✨👏
🎥 You can watch the full video on my Youtube channel or 👂 listen to it at scrummastered.com/podcast or any of your favorite apps!

Podcast - ScrumMastered Learn how other Agile professionals just like you find solutions to common  challenges.

Who Facilitates the Sprint Planning Event? 🤔
The short answer is ANYONE.
Anyone in the team can technically take up this role. However, there're some considerations to guide us ⬇️

🔵 Scrum Masters are typically the main facilitators, given their inherent role as facilitators and their expertise in organizing and guiding teams. They help new teams:
▪️ Get organized
▪️ Ensure everyone understands the purpose and agenda
▪️ Keep track of time.

🔵 For mature teams, the facilitator role often shifts to the Product Owner. They bring the sprint goal to the table, initiating discussions with the team to evaluate the feasibility, negotiate if necessary, and make adjustments if needed.

Sprint planning has three (3) parts:
▪️ Defining the sprint goal (led by the Product Owner)
▪️ Creating the sprint backlog (a collaborative conversation between the Product Owner and the team)
▪️ Delving into technical details (facilitated by the developers).

As teams gain experience, the Scrum Master's role transitions to a supportive one:
🔸 Ensuring critical items are discussed
🔸 Avoiding over-commitment or under-commitment
🔸 Maintaining focus.

Time management becomes crucial.

Adaptability is ✨ KEY ✨ choosing the facilitator based on team maturity, process familiarity, and specific focus areas within the event.

Embrace the opportunity to foster collaboration, alignment, and successful sprint ex*****on, whether you're a Scrum Master or a Product Owner. It's a team effort toward achieving the sprint goal! 💪🏼

Have you ever heard of it? As Scrum Masters, we need to be PRESENT, but if you don’t know what I’m talking about, let’s read some REAL LIFE examples of what it means to be present ⬇️

Fragment of the Agile Audit Podcast - Episode #1

"When I first started with this company that I’m currently working with, I used to join the meetings just because. But then I understood that every meeting has a PURPOSE. We should not make anybody's wasting their time.

So I thought that If I'm joining a meeting, I need to get something out of it, so first of all I started working on my skills.

⚫ I started taking courses on project management (I'm not a project manager, but I need to have these skills)

So I started joining meetings with this mindset:
👉 What's the goal of this meeting?
👉 What are we trying to get out of it?
I just started to listen carefully and I would have questions cause I wanna understand what's the point of this meeting that we're having. "

In conclusion ➝ your whole role is not to just be sitting in meetings. But if you are there, you need to have a goal in mind.
If it's 📌sprint planning - how can you help your team plan better?
If it's a product discussion - what can you take from it to be able to help your team deliver higher value?
If it's a technical review - how can this help you understand the team dynamics and identify potential improvement opportunities?

Sign up for the podcast to listen to the full episode here: Scrummastered.com/podcast

Podcast - ScrumMastered Learn how other Agile professionals just like you find solutions to common  challenges.

📌 Can someone with zero IT or project management knowledge become a Scrum Master?

It may be tricky. But there's a way.

If you're starting from scratch.. I mean, like, zero experience, becoming a Scrum Master will be tough.
It's not an entry-level position. You need some kind of experience working in an organization and in a team.

🤔 Why?
Because you need to know how to navigate organizations, how to communicate with people in the organization, who to reach out to, and have a basic understanding of those organizational processes and how they work.

So, if you don't know anything about these things, it will be hard.

Ok, can you land a Scrum Master job without any corporate experience? Technically, yes. But I wouldn't recommend it cause it's gonna suck (for both you and the people working with you).

If you're completely new to Scrum, you can take on more of a role that is an easier entry position in an IT or project management team. This way, you'll learn how things work and gain experience.

Remember, learning Scrum takes time and effort. So, join a team, work on projects, and soak up the knowledge first before jumping into the role of coach (cause that's who you'll need to be as a Scrum Master).

You've been asking and we've delivered 🥳🎉🎉

🔵 The full JIRA Course for Scrum Masters, Product Owners, and just Scrum teams! 🔵

Scrum Masters are NOT Jira admins, but you still need to know how to navigate the tool!
And once you know how one tool works - it's gonna be so much easier to learn new ones (like Azure Devops).

Ok, I hear you say: "Daria, there are millions of courses on Jira already!"
But it all depends on how relevant the courses are to YOU specifically. And how easy it is to follow through.

📌 Here's what people said on my Jira videos:
"to be honest, this is the first time am really understanding how jira works. thanks very much."
"Definitely one of the most helpful and concise Jira videos I've watched. Well done. "
"Extremely informative and helpful. Thank you for the time you put into this. 10/10 video."
"This here, is a well detailed information on how to use JIRA for SCRUM. Excellent TUTORIAL 100%"

✅ If you want to feel confident in using Jira without having to become an admin expert.
✅ If you want to get the information you need from Jira without spending hours.
✅ If you want to set it up for your team so it helps them work (not hinders them).

Then Jira for Scrum Masters and Agile Teams is for you.

👉👉👉 Enrol here

Jira for Scrum Masters and Agile Teams In this online course, we cover the essential functionality you need to know as a non-admin Jira user. It's not about learning every single nitty-gritty detail of Jira. Instead, it's about getting familiar and comfortable using Jira on a day-to-day as a Scrum Master, Product Owner, or an Agile team....

If you don't ask, you won't know!

Last week on the Agile Audit Podcast, I had an enlightening conversation with Zahava 🤓 She shared with us an interesting story about her new job that got me thinking about self-improvement.

👉 Always ask yourself: How can I become a better Scrum Master?

Here's what Zahava shared:

"I started to go to meetings that they were expecting me to lead, but you know, I’m supposed to work with my team as a coach and guide, together, we aim to improve and achieve our sprint goals, and it's my responsibility as a Scrum Master to make it happen. But also, it's essential to understand their broader perspective.

To tackle this challenge head-on, I initiated meetings with the leadership and directors. I took the proactive approach of reaching out to them first and asked, "What are your expectations for me as a Scrum Master?" I asked them to be open and honest with me about their expectations because there were some layoffs of Scrum Masters in the company already.

Rather than waiting for the same to happen to me, I took the initiative to proactively seek feedback. I approached them first, expressing my willingness to understand their requirements and expectations."

Thanks, Zahava for sharing some wise words! 👏

Be proactive! Because "you miss 100 percent of the shots you never take".
And you miss the expectations of other people you've never asked about.

💯 So, don't miss on your success as a Scrum Master by waiting for someone to tell you what they expect of you.

It's incredible how our professional growth often requires us to step outside our comfort zones and acquire new skills!

This brings me to leverage Zahava's story. One such challenge she shared in the Agile Audiot Podcast was PUBLIC SPEAKING 🥵 an essential aspect of being a Scrum Master in her current company.

Zahava needed to facilitate meetings and lead crucial conversations right off the bat. This was a personal and professional breakthrough moment. She immediately understood that she needed to sharpen her communication skills to effectively fulfill her responsibilities. 👏

CONFIDENCE and BELIEF in herself became paramount. She believes that if she presented herself with confidence and conviction, her team would reciprocate that respect.

Zahava’s journey teaches us that the success of a Scrum Master extends beyond Scrum expertise. It's essential to develop these additional skills that might not immediately come to mind such as ➡️ Public speaking ➡️ Effective communication ➡️ Negotiation and more.

📌 Your personal and professional growth lies just beyond the boundaries of your comfort zone.

Join us at scrummastered.com/podcast

Podcast - ScrumMastered Learn how other Agile professionals just like you find solutions to common  challenges.