Scrum Master antipatterns to avoid for a successful Scrum project – part 2
The Scrum Master’s role is crucial to ensuring that the Scrum process runs smoothly. That’s why his duties and missions must be clearly defined, respected and applied. In this article, we explain the first four mistakes to be avoided when it comes to the Scrum Master’s role, and the consequences for your project.
Scrum Master Hero
The Scrum Master must not place too much emphasis and energy on solving problems by himself.
This could lead to micro-management situations, blocking the team’s autonomy and responsibility, and therefore their ability to make decisions and solve problems on their own. The result would be a certain dependence of team members on the Scrum Master.
What’s more, if the Scrum Master is too focused on problem solving, he may neglect other important aspects of his role, such as creating an environment conducive to collaboration and innovation. By putting their energy into everything, Scrum Masters can end up feeling burnt-out, since problem-solving is an exhausting task, all the more so if the problems are recurrent or complex.
Scrum Master Police
When the Scrum Master rigorously follows the Scrum rules, this can have advantages and disadvantages, even if adaptation can be difficult in the team’s current context.
By following Scrum’s rules and practices, the Scrum Master promotes consistent implementation of the methodology. It establishes a clear and predictable routine for the team, and facilitates planning, coordination and collaboration between team members. Adherence to Scrum rules also contributes to greater transparency in the team’s work. Scrum artifacts such as the product backlog, burndown charts and regular meetings make it easy for stakeholders to track progress and have a clear view of what is being achieved.
However, strict application of the Scrum rules can lead to excessive rigidity, making it difficult to adapt to changes, specific team challenges or organizational context. By focusing exclusively on compliance with Scrum rules, the Scrum Master may neglect signals indicating that adjustments or adaptations are needed. Too strict an application of Scrum rules can sometimes lead to isolation of external stakeholders who wish to be involved in the process.
It is recommended that the Scrum Master find a balance between rigorously following the Scrum rules, and being flexible according to the needs of the team and the project. The main objective is to maximize the value of the product and encourage continuous improvement, and this may require adaptations and adjustments in the way Scrum is implemented.
Scrum Master Secretary
When the Scrum Master schedules all Scrum events in everyone’s agenda, this can entail several risks.
The Scrum Master can reduce the team’s autonomy: members may feel they are following an imposed schedule, which can limit their ability to organize their work effectively and make autonomous decisions. They may also have commitments and responsibilities outside the scope of the Scrum project. When the Scrum Master schedules all events in their diary, this can limit their flexibility to manage their own priorities and obligations, and lead to diary overload. Team members can end up with overloaded schedules, which can affect their productivity and general well-being.
If team members are not involved in the Scrum event planning process, they may lose their commitment and sense of responsibility. They may see these meetings as a mere imposed formality rather than an opportunity to collaborate and share important information. What’s more, if events are rigidly fixed in the agenda, this can make it difficult to take account of adjustments needed in response to changing circumstances.
Scrum Master Scribe
When a Scrum Master is responsible for documenting and taking notes at Scrum events, there are several possible scenarios.
If the Scrum Master is busy taking notes, this can distract him from his primary responsibility, which is to facilitate the meeting and actively engage in the discussions. By being focused on note-taking, the Scrum Master may be less available to actively participate in the discussions, and this can reduce the Scrum Master’s opportunities for direct engagement with the team. He will have less time and energy to carefully observe team dynamics, detect non-verbal signals, identify communication problems or spot opportunities for improvement. What’s more, note-taking is a subjective process, which can have an impact on the overall understanding of the team and its stakeholders.
Ideally, note-taking at Scrum events should be shared between team members, or a specific “scribe” role should be designated for this task. This allows the Scrum Master to concentrate fully on facilitating meetings, observing team dynamics and resolving obstacles, thus fostering more effective collaboration and active engagement on the part of the Scrum Master.
In conclusion, the smooth running of the Scrum process depends in particular on the Scrum Master. Find out more about common Scrum Master antipatterns in Part 1 and Part 3 of this article!
Learn more in our free resources!