What does it take to be a great scrummaster – now that’s a question !

In browsing some scrum related topics recently, I came across an interesting document by Michael James in which he lists characteristics and tasks that scrummasters can leave out in the day to day workings of a sprint. What I like about this checklist is it’s format, where the tasks and characteristics are grouped by interactions between the scrummaster and the product owner, the delivery team and the wider organisation. I have listed some of what I think are the more interesting points in the checklist.

Technical debt – it can be toxic!

The scrummaster should be educating the product owner (and the delivery team) about the consequences of technical debt. Technical debt relates to the quality of software being produced with a team producing too many features in a given time-frame and quality may not be given a high priority. One of the ways to avoid technical debt is for the product owner to ensure that adequate testing and refactoring are included in the definition of ‘done’ for each feature. Maintaining low debt minimises problems later on in the release plan.

Keeping the product backlog to a manageable size

Reminding a product owner that the ‘best’ product backlog is one where the important features at the top of the backlog are granular and detailed. While those features near the bottom of the backlog don’t need the same degree of analysis and detail. As we know, requirements change, so you may find that items lower down in the backlog may disappear or be broken up into more detailed features.

Show the way with a burndown chart

Sometimes team can lose direction as regards what the release plan is designed to achieve as they move from sprint to sprint. Reviewing a burndown chart for the release at each sprint review meeting can illustrate the rate of completion and the rate that new features are added. This can help to show if scope creep is evident and/or the schedule is starting to drift.

If the scope of the project is changing then it should be discussed and agreed with the product owner. Similarly if the schedule is drifting, remedies can be discussed in the sprint review.

All high performance teams have a good foundation

The foundation comes in part from clear goals and direction. Each team member should be stretched a little when completing their commitments, while being comfortable asking questions and providing feedback. A balance between ability and challenge should be maintained. The stretching and comfort in asking for and providing feedback help maintain high standards in a team and ensure team cohesiveness.

There are a number of engineering and organisational related points that I will address in a future blog. In the meantime, I recommend Michael’s checklist as a very useful prompter when working as a scrummaster.