Scrum Master
Scrum defines the Scrum Master role, but it says little about leading a team that is stuck in survival mode or one that is ready to organize itself.
These articles question what a Scrum Master should be, compare Scrum with XP and Kanban, and answer practical questions from Scrum teams.
- Scrum Master 2.0: A Scrum Master is Not
Why a Scrum Master should not be a fixed team leader, tech lead or coach, but a role rotated weekly among team members so nobody becomes a bottleneck.
- The 3 maturity stages of a software team and how scrum fails to identify them
The chaotic, mid-life and mature stages of a software team, the leadership each one needs, from dictator to coach, and why Scrum Masters miss them.
- Why XP’s influence is more effective than Scrum
Why XP practices like TDD, pair programming and continuous integration change team behavior better than Scrum alone, seen through six forces of influence.
- Scrum vs. Kanban attitudes
A link to a post on how Kanban and Scrum differ in attitude and in how they provoke change, with a note that combining the two can work well.
- What to do if some people in the team just don't want to take a task?
How a Scrum team leader should respond when team members won't pick tasks in sprint planning, with different tactics for each team maturity stage.
- Daily Standup Meetings - Introduction and 5 useful tips
How to run a daily standup meeting with the three questions, why each question matters, and five hard-learned tips for keeping it under 15 minutes.
- Video: How to manage a person who is always late to a standup meeting
A YouTube video answering how to handle a team member who is always late to the daily standup, with a different approach for each team maturity stage.
Other topics: Survival Mode, Learning Mode, Team Leader Manifesto · All articles