August 21, 2024
Hi! Let me self introduce myself, I am Alok Kashyap a tech professional with a vivid career as a program manager in The United States. Previously I was a Scrum Master. You might have come across my introduction somewhere and have seen Scrum Master quite many times.
Born in India, living in the USA. A Project manager/ Scrum master at United Airlines with expertise as a Lead Business Analyst focusing on leading projects with single or multiple stakeholders to elicit requirements, prioritize needs and deliver solutions.
1:1s: As needed, hold one-on-one meetings with stakeholders and team members. Solve team disputes on workflow and methods of operation. A lot of scrum practitioners are against one-on-one meetings because they think these discussions belong in standups. On the other hand, new teams frequently favor these frequent in-person meetings with particular team members. The scrum master may determine that these one-on-one encounters are essential to the growth of the team and to get to know one another.
The scrum guide outlines the various functions that scrum masters can fulfill within the scrum team, although it does not include a comprehensive list of all possible duties. Scrum masters frequently carry out a number of the following tasks.
For example:
Standups: As needed, lead the daily scrum or standups.
Meetings for sprint/iteration planning: Guard against scope creep and over commitment on the part of the team. support the establishment of subtasks and estimation.
Sprint reviews: Attend the meeting and record the comments.
Retrospectives: Make a list of things to work on and things to improve for upcoming sprints.
Board administration: Take up the role of the scrum board administrator. Make that the scrum tools, such as Jira, are functioning properly and that the cards are current.
Internal Consulting: Before deciding how to best collaborate with the scrum team, scrum masters should speak with team members and internal stakeholders.
Reporting: To determine what is built and at what cadence, regular monitoring of burndown charts and other tools for portfolio planning is necessary.
Obstacles: By removing external obstacles and overseeing internal barriers, the scrum master helps the team.
These were some of the responsibilities and well they align with the workflow when working on a daily basis.
For scrum masters to perform the job well, we need a certain set of soft skills. Over time I have realised these traits would help in the long run:
Leadership: Scrum masters need to demonstrate their leadership abilities without coming across as bossy. Serving the group and encouraging self-organization are two ways they lead.
Effective communication: It’s essential to communicate in an open and clear manner. Scrum masters ensure that all team members and interested parties are aware of the objectives, challenges, and state of the project.
Empathy: It’s critical to comprehend and feel the team’s difficulties. Scrum masters must encourage and assist their teams when things get tough.
Problem-solving: Scrum masters frequently resolve disputes and obstacles. To keep the team on course, they need to be skilled at addressing problems and coming up with solutions.
Adaptability: Scrum masters ought to be flexible and receptive to new ideas. They must adapt to the project’s and the team’s changing needs.
Time management: In order to keep the team on track and achieve sprint goals, scrum masters need to be skilled time managers.
Having someone in the role who has experience with scrum before can be quite beneficial when implementing scrum. Scrum masters are therefore frequently employed as consultants or part-timers rather than as full-time employees. Every scrum team is unique, though.
A lot of seasoned teams take delight in delegating management tasks to one another and work together to accomplish the tasks mentioned above. The team may elect to cycle the scrum master position, with various team members leading standups and retrospectives in turn.
Product owners can focus on strategy, developers can write amazing code, and members of the team can achieve more success. This is the foundation of an efficient scrum.
Got a question or need clarity? I’m just a message away. Whether it’s about my work, collaborations, or general inquiries, I’m here to provide the answers you need.