Classic Scrum Master vs. Classic Project Manager Team, what do you think it takes to become an effective project team? You will be an effective project team. Any questions?
Greg Smith -Agile Coach/Trainer Certified Scrum Master PMI - ACP Certified Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe ) Consultant I help individuals, teams, and companies move to Agile with a practical, effective approach Since 2001 helped over 100 organizations move to Agile such as Exxon, Halliburton, Microsoft, JP Morgan Chase, TD Ameritrade, Dictionary.com, Fannie Mae, State of Texas, StubHub, Autodesk, Costco, CDW, World Bank, State of Washington WaTech, Washington Department of Early Learning, State of Idaho, Blue Cross of Idaho, and New York City I.T. Author Becoming Agile in an Imperfect World (part of the curriculum for PMI-ACP Certification) Experienced in Traditional, Lean, and Agile methods Frequent PMI Chapter Trainer and Presenter Email: greg@gssolutionsgroup.com AgileSmith https://www.linkedin.com/in/agilesmith 2
Scrum From A Project Perspective The last 3 phases are where we deliver production ready code. These 3 phases are at the core of the Scrum process. 3
Scrum From A Project Perspective Justification Contract Management Project Estimate Feasibility Resource Planning Budgeting Buy vs. Build Risk Management Communication Plan Story Points Sprint Planning Acceptance Criteria Daily Standup Burndown Chart Backlog Grooming Demo Retrospective Velocity Review 4
Can You Guess Who Fills in the Gaps? PMBOK is still good, mmmkay?
Some May Call This A Hybrid Hybrid 6
Does Your Home Have Plumbing and Electricity? Does That Make it a Hybrid? 7
Project Managers and Scrum Masters Can Both Make Sense for a Project 8
Classic Project Manager Status reporting May be blamed if project fails Leads meetings Assigns tasks Reports on spend/budget Contract/Vendor Management Leads Staffing/Resource Planning Leads Risk Management Leads Big Up Front Planning Ties action to project metrics Admin work Tracks hours worked by team Manages governance and gateways Works with 1 to 7 projects Methods may not be software specific (PMBOK) 9
Classic Scrum Master Agile process coach and trainer Isolate team from distractions A servant leader Drive project with Product Owner Ties actions to customer value Helps create team chemistry Helps remove impediments Coaches executives Skilled at driving change Process improver/waste remover Leads collaborative decision making Works with 1 to 3 projects Therapist Great soft skills Goal is to become dispensable 10
Forget Classic - What Is Good for Both? Status reporting many levels May be blamed if project fails Leads meetings Assigns tasks Reports on spend/budget Contract/Vendor Management Leads Staffing/Resource Planning Leads Risk Management Leads Big Up Front Planning Ties action to project metrics Admin work Tracks hours worked by team Manages governance and gateways Works with 1 to 7 projects Methods may not be software specific (PMBOK) Agile process coach and trainer Isolate team from distractions A servant leader Drive project with Product Owner Ties actions to customer value Helps create team chemistry Helps remove impediments Coaches executives Skilled at driving change Process improver/waste remover Leads collaborative decision making Works with 1 to 3 projects Therapist Great soft skills Goal is to become dispensable 11
A Little More on Scrum Masters: Servant Leadership Removing Impediments. Prevent unnecessary team interruptions. Stop team members from getting bounced around projects. Create an environment that allows focus. Fall on the sword for the team. When the servant leader can, they do tasks the team is asked to do that do not correlate directly to project value. This could be a compliance meeting or scoping potential new projects. Facilitation. Although we like the team to self-organize, a servant leader often helps with facilitation or coaching team members on good facilitation practices. 12
Typical Shepherd Activities Motivate People Empower Teams Align Results Optimize Communication Enforce Discipline Reduce Risk Measure Performance Evaluate Feedback Acquire Knowledge Manage Uncertainty Evolve Processes 13
Shepherding Could Be Called Light Touch Leadership While Light-Touch Leadership may be light in terms of decision making, it s heavy in articulating goals, facilitating interactions, improving team dynamics, supporting collaboration, and encouraging experimentation and innovation. When a good Light-Touch Leader is working, she or he is nearly invisible. Things seem to happen smoothly and the teams operate seemingly without a leader. Jim Highsmith 14
Servants/Shepherds Carry Food and Water Food and water for project teams is keeping up morale, providing good tools/environments to support the project, and ensuring celebrations after a tough project. 15
Note That The Scrum Master Definition is Squishy in the Agile Community Drives the team to Agile Perfection. No plans to leave. Leads all meetings. Known as a driver. Famous. Teaches the team how to fish. Continuous knowledge transfer Coaches individuals as needed. Low profile and looking to take the team to a level where they are not needed 16 anymore.
One Role or Two? Here are some potential models depending on your work mix, org structure, and what level of Agile is being pursued at your company Structure One Project Manager and One Scrum Master Per Project One PM for every 3* Projects, One Scrum Master Per Project One Consolidated Role Notes Good if there are numerous PMBOK type items that need to be done for projects and the PM does not have time to live with the team. Also good if PMs don t like collaborative planning, being a therapist, or dislike Agile. A good model when there is not a huge workload for reporting or governance. In this model a PM might be considered a Program Manager. Good if the 3* project teams all role up to one value stream or Line Of Business. Witnessed this at Stubhub. We did not create Scrum Masters instead we created Agile Project Managers who could do both roles. Works well when the existing PMs are already collaborative servant leaders. One caveat is you usually have to hire more PMs, as they cannot work with as many project teams when Agile is being used. 17
One More Thing We Can Learn From Agile and Scrum Masters Copyright Road and Track 18
What is Project Success? 19
What is Project Success? Copyright Road and Track 20
What is Project Success? Per Bob Lutz: One guy I informally interviewed about how the Aztek happened was one of the top guys on the project. And this guy, he looks at me and he says, "I'm proud of it." Proud of the Aztek? "Yup. That was the best program we ever did at GM. We made all our internal goals, we made the timing, and I'm really proud of the part I played in it." He had tears in his eyes. It was almost tragic. 21
Was This Success? GM forecast sales of up to 75,000 Azteks per year, and needed to produce 30,000 annually to break even. During market research the Aztek didn't just fail it scored dead last. Respondents said, "Can they possibly be serious with this thing? I wouldn't take it as a gift." 22
Questions? greg@gssolutionsgroup.com (206) 854-9229 AgileSmith 23