TL;DR: The Scrum Master Theses
The following 70 Scrum Master theses describe the role from a holistic product creation perspective.
The theses cover the role of the Scrum Master from product discovery to product delivery in a hands-on practical manner. On the one side, they address typical Scrum events such as Sprint Planning, Sprint Review, and the Sprint Retrospective. On the other hand, the Scrum Master Theses also cover, for example, the relationship with the Product Owner, they deal with agile metrics, and how to kick-off an agile transition, thus moving beyond the original framework of the Scrum Guide.
The Scrum Master Theses in Detail
The Role of the Scrum Master
This first set of the Scrum Master theses addresses their role in the Scrum process:
Scrum doesn’t elaborate on the process that enables a Product Owner to add valuable, usable, and feasible work items such as features to the Product Backlog. Product discovery using the Design Thinking, Lean Startup, or Lean UX frameworks help, but in any case, a good Scrum Master will want the Scrum Team to be a part of this process (whether by participating in user interviews or running experiments).
Product Backlog Refinement and Estimation
The second set of the Scrum Master theses focuses on the importance of the Product Backlog refinement:
- a) Writing user stories as a team: When a new feature should be built, the Product Owner first explains why and provides the necessary background (i.e. market intelligence, results from experiments, user interviews, statistical data). Writing user stories, then, is a collaborative effort involving the entire Scrum Team. The process should create a shared understanding of what will be built and for what reasons (the Product Owner providing the ‘why’, the Scrum Team detailing the ‘how’, both negotiate the ‘what’), and a shared sense of ownership among team members. A good team will always challenge the Product Owner whether a proposed functionality is indeed the best use of the Development Team’s time. (Please note that not all Product Backlog items are user stories. There are, for example, also bugs, spikes, or non-functional requirements that do not fit into the user story template.)
- b) Keeping technical debt at bay: When a weak Development Team meets a commanding Product Owner, focusing on shipping new features, the team may end up as a feature factory, churning out new code while neglecting the technical foundation. A good Scrum Team pays attention to the preservation of an application’s technical health to ensure the Scrum Team is ready to actually pursue an opportunity in the market. (Read more: Technical Debt & Scrum: Who Is Responsible?)
Sprint Planning
The third set of the Scrum Master theses covers the Sprint Planning:
Daily Scrum
The fourth set of the Scrum Master theses addresses the Daily Scrum:
Sprint Retrospectives
The fifth set of the Scrum Master theses deals with Retrospectives:
- Action items should be specific and measurable (“do X more often” does not meet that criteria).
- A single member of the Scrum Team should be made responsible for each action item.
- Each action item should include a forecast of when results can be expected.
- Action items should be placed on a board to make tracking progress visual and more prominent.
Don’t forget to include stakeholders in meta-level Retrospectives from time to time.
Agile Metrics
The sixth set of the Scrum Master theses addresses on agile metrics:
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