My Learnings:Scrum Master Certification

Arvind Meghraj

Favorite part of my trainingI most enjoyed the moment when we workshopped the solution

as a team when presented with a problem as opposed to

managers telling us how to solve the problem.

I also enjoyed the part where each of us joined other teams and

discussed the roles and responsibilities in a scrum team. At the

end we shared our learnings with our original teams.

3 new things I learned1 Ceremonies

Allocate 5 - 10 % of sprint capacity on backlog refinement

Define all the AC before Sprint Planning.

Ask for stakeholder feedback in Sprint review

Do not plan sprints based on velocity

More time on planning = Less clarifications in sprint

2Scrum Master’s role and responsibility

Never allocate work to a developer

Ensure team decides the amount of work to take on, in a sprint, not PO

Coach the PO’s in managing the backlog (info radiator)

Facilitate, but not conduct

Ask “open ended” questions

Say NO to PO if it affects the team

3

Commit to sprint backlog

Work towards the goal each day

Accountable for delivering work in the Sprint backlog

There are only developers in the team

Decide how to achieve the sprint goal

Conduct ceremonies

Development Team

Agile CeremoniesBacklog Refinement:

● Whole team should be involved, not just a few key individuals● 5 - 10 % of a sprint capacity needs to be allocated to refinement (3 - 4

hours for a two week sprint)● SM should ensure that PO has gathered all the requirements from

stakeholders● Backlog should be available to all stakeholders to view. It should be an

information radiator, not an information refrigirator● Team and PO should be clear with the requirements and expectations● PO to explain the product vision to the team as it evolves over time● PO will have the final say over “What” is prioritised and will explain why

they are

Agile CeremoniesSprint Planning:

● Establish the Sprint goal ● Spend 90 - 120 mins in the session and add any missing AC’s. No more

additions after this● Decompose stories/features into tasks during the sprint planning● Every team member is aware of the approach being undertaken● PO is only responsible for “What” and only Dev team is responsible for

“How”. No overlapping● Incorporate the learnings/actions from previous retrospectives, if

applicable● Commit to work, take accountability, trust each other to get work done

Agile CeremoniesSprint Review (Referred to as “Showcase” in Australia only :) ):

● Demonstrate working software to stakeholders (No smoke and mirrors)● Ask for feedback from stakeholders● Discuss the feedback from stakeholders

● Do the key stakeholders agree with the increment?● Explain the work that’ll be undertaken in the upcoming sprint

Agile CeremoniesSprint Retrospective:

● Analyse the sprint● Did we achieve the desired goal? What stopped us? How do we ensure it

does not happen again● Appreciations, suggestions and violations● Actions and their assignees● Recap - Did we implement the actions from previous retrospective?● Experiment - Let’s try something new in this sprint● Rotate the facilitator, it gets boring if it’s the same person doing it again

and again

Scrum Master● Never assign work to developers, do not micro-manage● Own process, ensure that the team does not digress● Facilitate, you’re not the star of the show, team is● Coach team and PO● Shield the team from outside interferences● Provide tracking tools (Burndown, velocity and cycle time reports)● Facilitate productive meetings● Ensure Scrum Rules are adhered to. Remove impediments● Stand ups - Ensure they are not status updates. Ask how a team member

is working towards the goal. This should answer what he/she was doing, will do.

Scrum Master● Observe patterns as they emerge during the sprints● Explain the importance of tech debt and the need to incorporate it into

each sprint● Ask open ended questions in all ceremonies● Remind the team about actions from the last retrospective● Ensure PO’s are at least 2 sprints ahead in terms of planning● Say No to PO to protect the team, if the need arises● Relative estimates - Enquire why there is a difference in estimates. Dev

should justify the story points with an explanation● Freshen up the ceremonies. Call for an outsider to facilitate a

retrospective from time to time.

Development Team● Accountable for delivery● Decides on how much to work on, in the sprint● Decides on how to deliver the agreed piece of work● Decides on best technical practices● Refactor the code at the end of dev to minimize the tech debt● Swarm on features/stories● Be transparent about progress, notify PO and SM if the desired goal

cannot be achieved● Attend and contribute to ceremonies (Be vocal and assertive)● Trust your teammates in decision making and agree to disagree on

occasions● No personal glory/condemnation. Succeed and fail as a team

Baby Steps● Allocate time for backlog refinement and planning● Ensure AC’s are defined properly in the planning meetings● Indicate the sprint day on the wall● Update the burndown chart everyday● Pin a “release burndown” to the board● Make the Sprint goal visible on the board● Swarm onto a feature rather than starting on 3 - 4 different tasks (e.g.

Everyone works on the subtasks of a feature and delivers value at the end )

The Eiffel Tower

...is where I’d like to go next!