Become a Successful Scrum Master With These 6 Tips
“Do or do not; there is no try.” While this is certainly Jedi Master Yoda’s most famous quote, it doesn’t exactly apply to agile development. In fact, it’s kind of the opposite of agile. If Yoda were a Scrum Master, however, the quote would look a lot more like this: “Try and again try; that is how you do.”
The Scrum Master facilitates the Scrum team, leading them to a hopeful victory. It’s rewarding, but the Scrum Master role is filled with pressure. The success of the Scrum and the wellbeing of the team falls on the Scrum Master’s shoulders.
If you’re a Scrum Master or aspire to become one, you’ve come to the right place. Master Scrum theory and your leadership skills with our six strategies for Scrum Masters.
Understanding Scrum values and the role of the Scrum Master
Scrum is an agile practice commonly used for product development. It’s based on completing a set amount of work in short bursts — called sprints — so that teams can continuously create iterations as they learn more about a product and its stakeholders.
Ken Schwaber co-created the Scrum framework in the early 1990s to help teams manage complex development projects. He also founded Scrum Alliance and established Scrum.org, an online resource for agile teams.
At the beginning of a Scrum, the product owner decides which product backlog items will be moved to the sprint backlog. From there, the Scrum Master takes over, leading the team through Scrum events, including:
- Sprint planning
- Daily Scrum or daily standups
- Sprint review
- Sprint retrospectives
The role of the Scrum Master is to guide the team through the Scrum process. They facilitate the process, helping the team to master the framework and improve from one sprint to the next.
Characteristics that define a great Scrum Master
Being an effective Scrum Master goes beyond simply following the rules of Scrum. Here are some additional characteristics that truly define excellence in this role:
1. Emotional intelligence
A great Scrum Master possesses high emotional intelligence. This means they can:
- Understand and manage their own emotions.
- Empathize with the team members' feelings and perspectives.
- Facilitate constructive communication and resolve conflicts gracefully.
2. Strong facilitation skills
It's not just about managing the daily Scrum meetings. They need to:
- Encourage open dialogue.
- Ensure every voice is heard.
- Guide the team towards consensus without being overbearing.
3. Adaptability
The landscape of a project can change rapidly. Great Scrum Masters:
- Adapt to changes swiftly without losing focus.
- Help the team pivot strategies quickly while maintaining morale.
4. Lifelong learner
The world of Agile is always evolving. Exceptional Scrum Masters:
- Commit to continuous learning.
- Stay updated with the latest practices, tools, and methodologies.
5. Servant leadership
At the heart of a Scrum Master's role is servant leadership. This involves:
- Placing the team's needs above their own.
- Removing obstacles that hinder the team's progress.
- Empowering team members to take ownership and make decisions.
6. Analytical thinking
A great Scrum Master should be able to:
- Analyze the team's processes and identify bottlenecks.
- Use data-driven insights to foster continuous improvement.
7. Motivational skills
Keeping the team motivated is crucial for sustained productivity. They excel at:
- Recognizing and celebrating small wins.
- Encouraging a positive, collaborative team culture.
8. Excellent communication
Communication is key. They need to:
- Convey ideas clearly and concisely.
- Ensure that all stakeholders are on the same page.
By embodying these characteristics, a Scrum Master not only facilitates effective project management but also fosters a thriving team environment that encourages innovation and success.
Six strategies to become a great Scrum Master
Here are six strategies for Scrum Masters to improve their skills or prepare for their future roles.
1. Don’t forget to be agile yourself
Do you live by agile principles yourself? How agile are you in your leadership style?
Effective Scrum Masters know that they also need to continually improve based on new experiences, successes, and failures. It’s important to learn from your mistakes so that you don’t make them again, but it’s just as important to learn from your successes. Take the time to review your process, including what went well and what didn’t, so you know how you can improve as a leader and facilitator.
2. Get to know your team
Your ability to lead your team is tied to how well you know them. You should continually get to know your team’s strengths and weaknesses. How well do they work together? Who brings out the best in one another, and who doesn't work so well together? Dig deep to truly understand the root dynamics of the team.
Learn more about each individual on the team as well. What do they need help with? What do they excel at? What feedback can you provide to help them grow in their role? How can you help them succeed? Build rapport with your team members by asking how they’re doing, giving and receiving feedback, and finding common ground.
3. Foster a culture of continuous feedback
The agile methodology is based on continuous improvement. How will the individuals on your team improve if you don’t provide them feedback? Likewise, how will you improve if you don’t ask for, and accept, feedback from the team?
Feedback is a two-way street, and it only works if it’s constructive and continuous. Don’t wait until you have something negative to address — you need to regularly provide both positive and negative feedback. Doing this on a regular basis will help you and your team become accustomed to hearing feedback, so it won’t be jarring or off-putting when you do.
As the Scrum Master, you should foster an environment in which all members give and receive constructive feedback.
4. Hone your communication skills
Being in charge doesn’t mean you’re always doing the talking. The opposite is true: Great leaders are great communicators. As a leader, you need to constantly listen to your team, keeping both ears open for any issues your team or the individuals on it may be dealing with.
Actively listen to the concerns of the development team, and consider how each individual on your team prefers to communicate. Do they prefer bold and to-the-point interactions? Or do they need time to ease into a conversation? Everyone communicates a little differently, and understanding your team's preferences will help you make the most of each interaction.
Scrum Masters need to hone their communication skills in order to be effective leaders for their teams. Regularly assess your communication style and its effectiveness, and ask your team for feedback on how you are doing.
5. Make the most of every retrospective
The retrospective is the final event of a Scrum. They are an incredibly important part of the Scrum process, and they should not be overlooked, rushed, or underutilized. As the Scrum Master, you need to take responsibility for making sure retrospectives are effective and occur after each Scrum. Go in with a plan to make the most of every retro meeting.
That doesn’t mean you need to take charge of everything. It’s helpful to let your team run the occasional retrospective. Everyone involved should continually contribute their own ideas to improve the meeting.
Collect regular feedback from your team on how they think your retrospectives are going. Ask for ideas on how they could improve, and change things up. Repeating the exact same questions and retrospective activities will bore your team and lead to reduced engagement.
For more retrospective perspective, read our five steps to holding effective sprint retrospectives.
6. Become a certified Scrum Master
A Scrum Master certification can take you from simple Scrum Master to masterful Scrum Master. While certification isn’t required to become a professional Scrum Master, it certainly helps.
Scrum.org, the website founded by the co-creator of Scrum, offers a three-part certification program called The Professional Scrum MasterTM. The program has three assessment levels that validate your knowledge of the Scrum framework and practical application of Scrum theory.
- The Professional Scrum MasterTM I (PSM I)
- The Professional Scrum MasterTM II (PSM II)
- The Professional Scrum MasterTM III (PSM III)
We’re also big fans of Pretty Agile’s SAFe training programs:
A certification is a great addition to your resume, and it will help you fine-tune your facilitation skills and Scrum knowledge.
Easy Agile for Scrum Masters
“Try and again try; that is how you do.”
The beauty of agile is that regardless of how many certifications or years of experience you have, there’s always more to improve. Agile is an iterative process in which learning continues from sprint to sprint and project to project. As a Scrum Master, it’s up to you to continue learning the craft and perfecting your facilitation skills, the Scrum Master role involves life-long learning.
Easy Agile builds products designed to help Scrum Masters and agile developers work more efficiently and effectively. Our tools are specifically designed for teams that use and love Jira but need more functionality in order to prioritize customer needs.
Try Easy Agile TeamRhythm to support your team agility from planning through to review. TeamRhythm supports user story mapping, backlog refinement, sprint and version planning, and team retrospectives, building a continuous cycle of improvement right in Jira. It’s a win-win-win for Scrum Masters, development teams, and customers. Try our products absolutely free for 30 days.
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Agile Best PracticeA Scrum Master 7-Point Retrospective Checklist
One question that often arises is, “What are the indicators of a highly effective Scrum Master?" When striving to become an exceptional Scrum Master, consider the following:
- Identify Repeated Mistakes: While occasional mistakes are expected, it is important for the Scrum Master to collaborate with the team to identify recurring mistakes. By implementing policies and practices, the team can prevent these mistakes from happening again.
- Address Systemic Issues: If the team consistently encounters the same issues, the Scrum Master must recognize the presence of systemic problems. Working with the team, the Scrum Master can establish countermeasures to prevent these issues from reoccurring.
- Measure Improvements Over Time: Are we continuously improving as a team? Assess whether the team is more effective now compared to prior periods, such as 6, 9, and 12 months ago. Similarly, consider if the team will be better in the future. If progress stalls, it may be necessary to reevaluate the effectiveness of the Scrum Master.
If your team is progressing across all three of these areas, that’s a great sign that the Scrum Master is effective and that the team is learning and improving.
To drive continuous improvement, the Scrum Master should utilise the retrospective. The retrospective is a Scrum event conducted after the Sprint Review to evaluate and adapt the process and the team's ability to deliver products effectively. During this session, the Scrum Master guides the team in celebrating successes and exploring areas for improvement.
7-step checklist used by Scrum Masters during retrospectives to address problems:
- Discuss the Problem: In the retrospective, the Scrum Master facilitates a discussion to identify the main challenges faced by the team.
- Assess Impact: Determine the urgency and impact of the problem. Immediate action may be required for highly impactful issues, while less pressing matters can be addressed later.
- Identify Root Causes: Understanding the root cause allows the team to gain deeper insights and generate potential solutions.
- Generate Solutions: Once a significant problem is recognized, the Scrum Master guides the team in brainstorming solutions to address the issue.
- Implement Solutions: This step is carried out in the subsequent retrospective. The Scrum Master ensures that the proposed solutions are tried and tested.
- Evaluate Initial Results: Assess the effectiveness of the implemented solution. Did it fix the problem, make it worse, or have no effect?
- Determine Next Steps: Based on the results, decide whether the problem is resolved or if further action is needed. This may involve continuing with the current solution or pivoting to a different approach.
For example, let's consider a team struggling with high defect rates. Their defect rates surpass both the organisation's average and industry standards. Here's how the 7-step checklist could be applied:
Step 1: In the retrospective, the Scrum Master raises the issue of high defect rates for discussion.
Step 2: The Product Owner shares feedback from the help desk team, highlighting customer complaints and the negative impact on sales.
Step 3: After deliberation, the team recognizes that many defects are missed during manual testing and identifies the lack of test automation as a contributing factor.
Step 4: A team member with experience in automated testing proposes implementing unit-level automated testing practices.
Step 5: In the subsequent retrospective, the team reports applying the new unit testing practices to all their work during the sprint.
Step 6: The team acknowledges that the automated tests identified six defects that would have otherwise been missed.
Step 7: The team agrees to continue using automated unit testing practices and plans to expand to integration-level testing as more of the codebase is covered.
By utilising this 7-step checklist, Scrum Masters can effectively leverage retrospectives to address recurring mistakes, resolve ongoing issues, and foster continuous growth and improvement within their teams.
WorkflowHow to Make the Most of Your Sprint Goals
The sprint goal is a key aspect of any sprint, and it should be front and center throughout your two-week process. The goal ensures the team is aligned on a clear purpose for the sprint, and, if done well, the goal inspires the team to stay on track throughout the entirety of the sprint.
So, what makes a good sprint goal, and how does the sprint goal fit within the framework of a sprint? In this post, we’re going to race (or should we say sprint 😉 ) through a recap of the Scrum process, followed by a list of five critical elements of an effective sprint goal. You’ll learn how to best create, manage, and follow through on your sprint goals for a successful sprint every two weeks.
An overview of the Scrum process
We’re big fans of Scrum! Need a little refresher? Here’s how the Scrum process works and where the sprint goal fits into the whole picture.
Scrum is an agile framework used primarily by software development teams that provides team members with a streamlined workflow to meet stakeholder and customer needs. The Scrum workflow has four meetings (also known as ceremonies), which all have a distinct purpose. This structure means team members can easily support each other by sharing, tracking, and enhancing deliverables.
The Scrum framework divides work into repeating two-week sprints where a set amount of work — the sprint goal — is completed. Each Scrum begins with a sprint planning meeting, and during this time, the product owner defines the sprint goal. They choose which tasks will move from the product backlog to the sprint backlog to be completed over the following two-week sprint.
Product backlog items represent the whole picture of what needs to be accomplished before completing or releasing a product. Sprint backlog items are what the team will (hopefully) accomplish over the course of the sprint.
The Scrum Master acts as a Scrum guide who leads the team through the meetings and steps of the Scrum process. Throughout the sprint, the Scrum team meets for a daily Scrum to check in with one another and report on what work was completed over the previous 24 hours.
At the end of the sprint, a sprint review and sprint retrospective help the team gather feedback from stakeholders and improve upon their processes before the next sprint begins. The entire process repeats again with sprint planning and continues to repeat until the product or project is complete.
Easy Sprint Planning:
Drag items directly from your backlog onto your TeamRhythm User Story Map. Inline edit story summaries and story point estimates. Display your sprint goal on each sprint swimlane.
What makes a good sprint goal?
The sprint goal keeps the team focused and aligned on what everyone is trying to accomplish for each sprint. It’s an extension of the overall product or project goals, but the sprint goal can zero in on key components the team wants to tackle for that specific sprint.
What makes a good sprint goal? Let’s find out.
1. The goal is achievable
The objective of the sprint needs to be achievable within the sprint’s allotted time frame. Generally, in a Scrum framework, the team is time-bound to two weeks.
As new information is gained and other impediments occur, there’s always a chance the sprint goal won’t be met. But that shouldn’t stop you from setting achievable goals. When a team continually fails to meet the goals of the sprint and the project, morale and enthusiasm will decline.
It’s crucial that sprint goals are manageable within the allotted time of the sprint. Sprint goals can become too large when a team tries to accomplish too many different components at once or if too much of the product backlog makes it into the sprint backlog. Rather, take a reasonably achievable workload out of the product backlog to form the sprint backlog. Otherwise, you’ll end up with one daunting overall list and no clear direction for each sprint.
2. The team understands the definition of done
The clearer the sprint goal, the better. You need to clearly define the goals of the sprint and what it means to be done. How will the team know if they achieved the desired outcomes? What does “done” look like? Does everyone agree on this definition for every given task and the overall goals of the sprint?
Your goals need to be measurable to limit ambiguity, subjectivity, or conflicting opinions around the success of the sprint.
When a team is aligned, and everyone understands what needs to be accomplished, decision-making improves, and each aspect of the Scrum team can work harmoniously toward the same aims.
3. The sprint goal is meaningful to the team
Beyond knowing what the team hopes to accomplish over the course of each sprint, the team needs to understand the reasoning behind the sprint goal.
Make sure everyone understands why they are working towards a specific sprint goal. What meaning does the sprint goal have? Ideally, the meaning of the sprint goal will relate back to stakeholder needs, the customer journey, or the user experience of your product.
Visualize and prioritize the work that will deliver the most value to your customers
Easy Agile TeamRhythm
4. The sprint goal aligns with the overall product goals
The sprint goal can zero in on a specific aspect of product development, but it should still connect to the overall product goals.
While creating sprint goals, ensure the overarching product vision isn’t lost or ignored. Every sprint, while specific to its own set of goals, should work toward accomplishing your product goals.
5. The sprint goal is visible throughout the sprint
The sprint goal can’t be a “set it and forget it” aspect of your sprint. It should be visible to the team the entire time, and the team needs to continually check in on the goal to ensure they’re on track to achieve it.
The shared goal should be front and center of daily Scrum meetings. If possible, display the sprint goal for everyone to see. As you accomplish backlog items and work through the sprint, continually reference the sprint goal and the progress you are making toward it. How likely are you to achieve the sprint goal considering the time you have remaining in the sprint? What might be standing in the way of achieving this goal?
During the sprint retrospective, you should discuss the success or lack of success the team made on the sprint goal. What went well and contributed to your success? What didn’t go so well that you could change or do differently for the next sprint?
With Easy Agile TeamRhythm, each scrum board in Jira will have an associated User Story Map.
Throughout the sprint, the team can refer to the User Story Map to make sure they’re on schedule, coordinate dependencies, and keep sight of the big picture.A customer-centric approach
Let’s recap a few of the most important factors to remember when establishing and following through on your sprint goal:
✅ Ensure the goal is achievable.
✅ Ensure the team understands the definition of done.
✅ Ensure the sprint goal is meaningful for the team.
✅ Ensure the sprint goal aligns with the overall product goals.
✅ Ensure the sprint goal is visible throughout the sprint.
Thanks for sticking with us and utilizing the Easy Agile blog. We’re passionate about helping teams work better with agile. We have a suite of Jira apps designed to keep the customer top-of-mind through every step of the development process.
Looking for a tool to streamline your sprint planning sessions? Check out Easy Agile TeamRhythm, which transforms the flat product backlog into a meaningful picture of work.
WorkflowThe guide to Agile Ceremonies for Scrum
Ceremonies are regular events held by Scrum teams. ‘Agile’ is a broad word describing a different way of working with shorter, time-boxed cycles for releases.
Under the broad umbrella of agile, Scrum is one of the most popular approaches that teams use to organise their work and releases.
Each short iteration of work in Scrum is referred to as a sprint. A sprint is normally a 2 week period where the team focuses on a small slice of work.
The idea is that everyone focuses on 1 slice of work. And that slice is to be completed and shipped to the customer within that same sprint.
Scrum can be broken down into a few important elements:
- Roles
- Artifacts
- Ceremonies
This post will focus on the Scrum Ceremonies.
All of the 4 Scrum ceremonies help ensure the Scrum team stay focused on the slice of work they agreed to focus on in that sprint.
It helps the team with transparency about progress on the work they committed to finish and to raise any issues early before they become blockers.
Let’s have a look at each of the four agile ceremonies in Scrum:
1. Stand up (or daily Scrum)
Goal of the stand up: a brief check-in where the team can raise issues or communicate with the whole team face to face.
Who joins the daily stand up: Developers, Scrum Master, Product Owner
Outcome of daily stand up: the team raises any blockers, but doesn’t have to solve them. Ensure each team member is clear about what they are working on. Each team member should be able to answer these three questions:
- What did I complete yesterday?
- What will I work on today?
- Am I blocked by anything?
When to hold a stand up: daily
Tip: stand ups can be done by business teams and don’t always have to be face-to-face. Here’s a photo of Australian bank ANZ’s executive stand up in action:
And another pic from InsideIT’s stand up:
2. Sprint Planning
Goal of sprint planning: sprint planning helps the team prepare for what work is coming up next. The team discusses each item of work which has been prioritised by the Product Owner.
Who does sprint planning: Developers, Product Owner, Scrum Master
Outcome of sprint planning: that everyone knows what the sprint goal is and how they are going to achieve it. Make sure everyone understands what’s the overall vision or objective of the work.
The team will be comfortable with what work is available to be picked up in the next sprint. The team will discuss any impediments or opportunities and how they can optimise the way the work will be completed.
The team will also estimate the work and draw a line when it is estimated that the effort to complete the work exceeds the team’s capacity or historical velocity.
When to hold sprint planning: at the end of a sprint or very beginning of a new sprint.
Bonus: sometimes in sprint planning you will find things you won’t do, and that’s valuable too.
3. Sprint review
Goal of the sprint review: showcase the work completed and receive feedback from the Product Owner and relevant stakeholders.
Who joins the sprint review: Executive Sponsors, Developers, Scrum Master, Product Owner
Outcome of the sprint review: each team member feels empowered by showcasing their work to the team. The team can celebrate their achievements. Executive team can ask questions. Product owner can provide feedback and check the work is of high quality and satisfies the user story. Works best with drinks and cake.
When to hold a sprint review: at the end of each sprint.
4. Retrospective
Goal of the retrospective: honest discussion about what worked well and didn’t work well. Encourage self-improvement and transparency.
Who joins the retrospective: Developers, Scrum Master, Product Owner
Outcome of a retrospective: receive feedback from the team and seek to improve in the following sprint. The beauty of agile and Scrum is the fast feedback loop.
If something isn’t working well, it only hurts the team for a maximum of 2 weeks. It can then be addressed at the retrospective and action can be taken to address the issue before it gets out of hand.
The outcome should be a commitment from the team to focus on addressing areas that need improvement or continuing behaviours that benefit team health and/or velocity.
When to hold a retrospective: at the beginning of a new sprint, reflecting on a sprint that has just ended.
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The common theme across these Scrum ceremonies is that they encourage team collaboration, transparency and communication.
In my experience, this is what truly makes agile a better way of working.
It’s not the story points or even the way the backlog is prioritised that makes a difference. The true game-changer of agile is that it helps teams with open and honest communication.
These agile/Scrum ceremonies won’t always work the same for every team.
However, they are a great way to facilitate conversation and encourage continuous improvement.