Communities

I am strong believer of communities. Whether you call it Community of Practice or Competence Network or Learning Network - there are elements of learning from each other, sharing with each other and social networking. 

I am a social person. I like to be close to my colleagues. I like to share my experiences and thoughts with others and likewise I love to hear from others about their experiences and their thoughts. What are the things to try, what are the learnings, what are my challenges, what are their challenges. Good long discussions in matters where we don't all agree and share our viewpoints and opinions. Place where it is okay to disagree and have tough discussions. 

While working as Agile Coach I utilized Scrum Master CoP for coaching sessions. Especially I remember our sessions where we discussed Scrum Values. All Scrum Masters had their first ever position and all teams had just started their Agile Journey. Personally I believe we need to understand principles and values in order to be able to be really Agile. Otherwise we just blindly repeat instructions given for us. 

The Scrum Guide lists five values that all Scrum teams share: commitment, courage, focus, openness, and respect. While discussing I learned so much about each individual. I saw how some of them struggled with these values. We worked in environment where they were not used to be open. Openness instead of hiding problems and issues until the very last moment to be told. That was maybe the most difficult journey they had to take. For me it was important to have these discussions with them

In my Scrum Master positions throughout the years I have participated many Scrum Master communities. When I am there as Scrum Master I feel much more comfortable as then I am one of them. I don't have to be anything else than myself - not a coach or a trainer who knows more. I can ask all the stupid questions or share all my concerns knowing that others are as curious as I am, that they want learn and share. Sharing is caring!

But it is not only learning aspect which make me want to be part of these communities. The social aspect, building relationships, sharing your feelings, getting peer support - all that is very important for me. I don't wanna be alone. I want colleagues around me. 

Today I had meeting with my current colleagues who are soon to be my ex-colleagues. I leave my current position and soon, after a short break, I start new adventure in totally different environment BUT all alone. I don't have any Scrum Master colleagues. Or I do kind of have. Those two guys who I am replacing as they concentrate on their other roles in their teams. I for sure will miss my colleagues and today they really surprised me by sharing their "one words" with me. This kind of community is one of the best. Not because they obviously appreciate me but because we care for each other. 

Reminder for me today is showing your appreciation. Not only when someone is leaving but in your daily life. Even when life is hard you can still find something good in everyone and boost others just by saying "well done". At least for me that brings some joy to myself also. 

Communities are not only for learning and sharing - there are also for caring.  

Talk, don't report!

English is not my native language. Even though I think I am pretty good in English I have my weak points. One of them is my ability to handle numbers. For some odd reason it takes time for me to translate in my head numbers from English to Finnish. And other way around - when I talk, I always think numbers in Finnish and translate them in my head into English. 

But at the same time when this is my weak point I can utilize it. Quite often when I have started to work with new Scrum Team I have noticed in Daily meetings team members are not talking what they are working. 

Instead of telling "I have started building database connection. I discussed with system team and we found out that ..." I hear "I continue with JIRA-123". 

Instead of "I have deployed code to test environment. All unit tests passed and this change can be tested further as soon as we have a connection to external test environment" I hear "JIRA-223 is now ready to be tested."

Every time when I ask them to start talking instead of reporting I hear WHY. Quite often team members have been totally fine with this approach and don't understand why they should be telling anything more than JIRA issue id. So, I have learned - I don't ask them talk or stop to report. I just ask them to stop using numbers and explain them why it is difficult for me to understand what it is going on. In the beginning they change they way of talking in daily to make me, their Scrum Master, happier but in the long run they have noticed and mentioned sometime later during Retrospective that actually Daily meetings give more value to them with this habit. Amazing! Specifically I remember how I struggled with teamV and how quickly they learned not to use numbers and if I ever referred something with JIRA issue id team reminded me all together "NO NUMBERS!"

Another antipattern I have seen with teams is to utilize JIRA board during meeting in the way that only those team members talk who have issues assigned to them. When Daily meeting starts team member who is assigned to top issue In Progress tells what he has been doing. In that way they have run through In Progress issues - only persons talking are the ones to whom issues are assigned. 

This happened also when I joined teamG. After a few Daily meetings I realized that there are many team members who don't ever say anything during the meeting. JIRA as tool allows issues to be assigned only one person at the time. Especially our business experts and qa specialist worked in pairs and also often issues were assigned to developers. They got totally surprised when I one morning said:

"Today we do this differently. I have this ball here. I now throw the ball and the one who catch it start talking. When you are ready you throw the ball the next one."

Silence. Then the person with ball said "I don't anything assigned to me in the board." 

"BINGO! Exactly. You don't have anything assigned to you but we are interested to hear what you have been doing, what you plan to do and is there anything preventing you to do so."

This was beginning for something amazing. This team started to talk and we started to get things done quicker, we found out impediments faster and team members started to support each other much more than earlier.  The impact was even bigger I ever imagined when introducing this practice to the team. 

Daily meeting is not a status meeting. Team members are not reporting anything to me. Daily meeting is the possibility to share and learn. When I hear any team member saying "I don't have anything to report" I put note to myself in my notebook. Next time I have 1:1 meeting with that team member I take this up and explain what is the purpose of the meeting and why they should never consider to be obligated report anything to me. 

 

 

How you fulfill your days?

Most of my friends don't work in IT. Therefor it is some time difficult explain what I do as a Scrum Master. And when tell about my daily work some of them say "so you are kind of a project manager".  What can you say?

Usually we don't talk so much work when I am with friends. We all have so different jobs and free time is not for talking about job. 

But some time ago I met a new person and we started discuss what it is we do beside having dogs of same breed. And when I told that I am a Scrum Master she suddenly said "so am I". For a short moment I was happy: finally someone who knows what I do. But then she continued "What else do you do?"

"What do you mean? I am full time Scrum Master." She looked, honestly, surprised and told that she has double role and in her company there is no full time Scrum Masters. 

Of course, I reflected after that discussion what it is that makes it possible for me work full time Scrum Master. What are my days like? How do I fulfill my days? What is my daily agenda?

First of all, I am perhaps little bit over-organized. I like to-do lists, I keep notes, I write down things. I feel more confident when having my notes with me. I always have my note book and pen with me. I feel naked without them. I am almost like addicted.

When I start planning next PI (Program Increment), 

first thing I do is write down Iterations time line. 

That helps me in planning coming 12-14 weeks. 

If SAFe terminology is not familiar to you, visit Scaled Agile Framework home page. 

Before each meeting I check what we have in agenda, is there anything I need prepare or any other action I should take. All my meetings have clear agenda and goal. I ask people to read my invitations. I want them to be ready as well. Efficient meetings in planned timebox are another addiction of mine.

I follow our team progress in JIRA by using different dashboards. At the same time I love and hate metrics. I am always careful what do I show to the teams. Not all metrics are our friends and almost everything can be misused or misread. So I don't spend so much time daily basis with metrics but I am on the top of them. From time to time I evaluate whether I should change something and try out different ways to show data. Data is our friend when used correctly.

I follow what is going on and if needed, I intervene. I participate meetings team members have and try to get on the top of the discussions and issues we face. I want people outside the team get to know me so that they more willingly contact me. 

I talk and chat with team members. I am currently in team where all team members are distributed in five different countries. Even without Covid-19 I wouldn't see them during work days. I try to be available for their questions. I have bi-weekly 15 minute one-on-one discussions with all team members. I build trust, I share, I care. 

I discuss or char with my Scrum Master colleagues. I currently have three Scrum Master colleagues and even I do not daily basis discuss with all of them I am in contact at least with one of them daily. That is even more important in this set-up when it is not possible to meet face-to-face. I am always available if they have anything to ask or discuss. I always reach them if I have something. I believe sharing is caring and this way we can support each other and learn while doing that. 

I have daily focus topics in my calendar. If there is any free time - like there is slot or two in normal days - I focus on one specific topic. There are different topics. For example days when we have Backlog Refinement meetings I focus on refinement. I might look for ideas how to split stories. There is always something to learn and things to try out with team. Extremely important for me as Scrum Master put focus both on my own development and team's improvement. 

I want team to have fun. People do matter and I want them to enjoy their work days. I spend some time to figure out something fun to do with them. Not daily, but quite often. It is not a big job to find out some funny pictures, funny stories to share or similar. Using music in meetings and showing videos. Little bit more challenging in remote context but achievable. I just need to be more creative than when team is colocated.

For me being Scrum Master means that I do not do anything team members themselves can do. My job is mostly invisible for them and also for others around the team. And I honestly believe that is how it should be. I am suppose to be the non-visible person behind the team. 

Do we need Scrum Masters?

I trained Scrum Master course with 2 colleagues. In the course we had people who worked as Scrum Masters, wannabe Scrum Masters, and people who were there because their managers told them to participate. 

In the very beginning of the course one trainee asked a question. "Do we need Scrum Masters? I have been in teams where we have been having different Scrum Masters over the time and sometimes we have been without Scrum Master as no replacement yet found. I haven't seen any difference in teams deliveries whether we had Scrum Master or not. So why do we need Scrum Masters? Isn't that kind of redundant role in this organization?"

I can only guess what our wannabe Scrum Masters were thinking when someone is saying out loud that this role is not needed in our organization. Maybe they saw scissors which will cut the role of. Maybe they thought that this question was absurd. Maybe someone thought person asking that question is here because her manager forced. 

None of trainees already having this role said anything. Maybe their just wanted to hear what we trainers reply. 

This wasn't first time I saw this kind of thinking. 

There was a need to cut off people in one organization and Scrum Masters were as a group suggested as they don't deliver any value like developers do. In that case managers who had this attitude were asked have they considered what will happen if there is no one guiding the team, and making sure collaboration between teams happens. Who support Product Owners? Are ýou sure teams can deliver more without Scrum Masters? In the end no Scrum Masters were kicked out. 

Another case from different point of view was a Scrum Master who said she doesn't understand the noise we have about finding right people to be Scrum Masters. And why we say persons taking the role should used at least 50 % of  her working time for Scrum Master work. I asked why she thought so. "Because I don't use so much time. It is 15 minute Daily every morning and then Review, Retrospective and Planning every third week. I might spend some time planning the Retrospective but otherwise I don't have to spend any more time than what is needed to facilitate these meetings." 

Even after taking Scrum Master course she didn't change her view for the role. Luckily she didn't have to continue for long time until we found better fitting person for the team to be a Scrum Master.
Definitely she was clever and hard working lady but she wasn't a fit for the role. 

Getting back to the question. Me and my co-trainer said that we will get back to her concern throughout the course and we hope that she and others in training learn why we see Scrum Master to be important in Agile teams. Teams for sure can survive without the Scrum Master but if the job is well done it is beneficial and teams deliver more value but also this role can be done so that it doesn't make any difference. So, in the end, it is Scrum Master herself who makes it valuable. It is up to you do you make the difference or not.  

One reason for me to be happy Scrum Master is to be able to make the difference, help the team to make the difference. In the end, it is not about me, it is about the team. 

People do matter

Long time without blog posts. Covid-19 gave me more free time but I did use it to do something else than writing this blog. I have gathering long list of topics and promised to myself now start again this blog. So I consider this blog had a extra long Covid-19 break and now it is time to go live again. 

One thing which has been on mind is the simple truth that people do matter. In these days we should ask from our colleagues and friends "are you safe", "is your family safe", "how are you". Small questions which can make the big difference. It shows that you care. 

For me people do matter. I like to consider myself as people person. I also have been told to be a people person. I believe that is the biggest reason why I enjoy being Scrum Master. I always have a team which I can serve. People who I can support. People who I work with. People around me, working with me, having fun with me. 

Maybe I am little bit naive when believing Agile is anthropocentric framework. Agile manifesto states "we value individuals and interactions over processes and tools". It is people who who respond to business needs and drive the development process. I have too many times witnessed how focus have been put on processes and tools and people are considered resources. It should be the other way around. We should have focus on individuals and even processes and tools are important I consider them being resources we need to do our job. 

Source: Van Haren Publishing

There are 12 principles behind these values. People, individuals are also mentioned in these principles. One of them is specifically about motivated individuals.  

Build projects around motivated individuals.

Give them the environment and support they need,

and trust them to get the job done.

Motivated people, motivated teams are more likely to deliver their best. We need to support, trust and motivate our people. People have deserved that. I trust my team members to give their ultimate best.  For me the most important thing is that people in my team feel appreciated. I love to give feedback for work well done. I am not afraid to have difficult discussions with my team member. I also believe that people have deserved to have possibility to improve if something isn't going so well. I do understand that we all have better days and bad days. Our contribution may vary from day to day. We are humans, we are not resources. 

I have myself learned during these years that fear is not good motivator. No one get motivation from public humiliation. Unfortunately I have seen during my career so many managers who think they can do what ever they like - just because they are managers. I had a manager long time ago who had "Friday Afternoon coffee" with his team and he always announced who has done the biggest mistake during that week. Really! Friday afternoon - just before people start their weekend. It was so odd. 

Likewise I have had managers who have shouted and even made people cry. What does that kind of behavior tell about the manager? Can't help myself thinking Peter Principle - a concept in management developed by Laurence J. Peter, which observes that people in a hierarchy tend to rise to their “level of incompetence”: an employee is promoted based on their success in previous jobs until they reach a level at which they are no longer competent, as skills in one job do not necessarily translate to another.

Source: https://www.lanredahunsi.com/the-peter-principle/ 

Scrum Master rotation

Stable teams - that is the guideline. Is Scrum Master part of the stable team? Can you rotate Scrum Masters from one team to another? Or can you rotate Scrum Master inside the team?

Interesting questions. Personally I believe teams need to have dedicated Scrum Masters and it is not a good idea to rotate Scrum Master inside the team so that team members in turns act as Scrum Master. If team is mature and don't actually even need dedicated Scrum Master - maybe. But for sure for teams which are struggling with daily practices - not a good option.

On the other hand I have met many Scrum Masters who don't even want to consider option to leave the team. Some of them are in their comfort zone. They have said to me something like

"I have finally got this team functioning well and I don't want to start from the beginning with some other team."

"I have so much fun with this team. I don't want to leave them."

The last is true with me also. I had so much fun with team SP that I almost broke my heart when I decided to leave them.  But I knew it was time move forward. I needed to find another team who I could coach and teach new tricks. Team SP had matured a lot and they were ready to have new Scrum Master with new ideas.

I actually believe that from time to time it is good to rotate Scrum Masters. Each and every Scrum Master is his/her own personality. All of us have read the same Scrum Guide but each and everyone of us have our own way to do things. Even if we do everything by the book we are still different. Some teams might feel irritated if their Scrum Master is switch. They might thing that their team is so well-functioning that they don't want anyone else to come and mess up their work.

But for sure something has to change. Otherwise the whole idea of rotating Scrum Masters is pointless. Even the most well-functioning teams could learn something new. And the most well-functioning teams can actually teach something to new Scrum Master as well. Rotating Scrum Masters is, in the best case, win-win situation for both teams and Scrum Masters.

Why do I take this up now? Well, our RTE (Release Train Engineer) announced this week that from the beginning of next PI (Program Increment) there is Scrum Master rotation for almost all teams. "Musical chairs" as one team don't get (note: I consider them to loser team) new Scrum Master. Even I feel I would have so much to work with team V I am also extremely excited to have possibility to start working with new team G and new Product Owner. Time to look back to Scrum Guide and consider What is a Scrum Master. Have a new start. Wau!

Do you fit into your role?

Scrum Guide defines different roles in Agile Team but not everyone read Scrum Guide.  Indeed, I have met Scrum Masters and Product Owners who haven't had any idea what is expected from them or do they fit into their role. Some of them have been nominated into that role, some of them have themselves wanted to take that role but with their own interpretation of role and some have taken the role thinking it is their next step in their career.

Once I interviewed candidates for Scrum Master position. I asked candidates what would make them great Scrum Masters and I was amazed how many people thought Scrum Master to be a team leader or supervisor. 

"I know each team member competence so it is easy for me to make sure right people are doing right things."

"I am really good at making progress reports and I know I can make people deliver more."

"You can trust me. I will supervise the team to be the best team."

I have seen how role of Scrum Master have been given to a person who was the most silent team member. Or to a person who wasn't respected at all in the team. I have seen people leaving the role as it was totally something they thought it to be. I have seen people staying in their role even it wasn't any fit for their personality. I have seen Scrum Masters who didn't act like one but made sure that as many as possible outside the team knew that they were Scrum Masters  - it was all about them!

Product Owners are no different story. How can you succeed in your role when you don't have any clue what that role is?  Quite often I have seen people thrown into the role with statement "it is just a minor thing you do - so don't worry, it won't take a lot of your time". What an understatement! 

In my opinion role of Product Owner is even more misunderstood than Scrum Master. Also more often they have been confused what is expected from them. Some of them have been surprised that they are needed more often than in Planning and Review meetings. 

"I don't have time for team members questions. Can't they list them and I answer them when I have time?"

"Why I need to participate all these meetings? I already told the team what they should do."

I have seen Product Owners who didn't want to order the backlog because everything was equally important. Or who couldn't say "no" to any request and promised the team to deliver far more than they can based on their capacity.

We should more consider if the person is right fit for the role instead of putting people into these two key role in Scrum just because they are available. And also ask people to consider are they the right fit and make sure they know what they are expected to do in their role. That would benefit all - people would be happier and organisations would get more value. People need to be educated, they deserve the chance to succeed. Scrum is not rocket science but something is good to know when jumping into it!

But world is weird. I found this video which would help me to give right answers in Scrum Master interview. If I ever interview Scrum Masters again I make sure to listen carefully in case the interviewee has been listening this video.