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
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Copyright Greg Smith
Email: [email protected] AgileSmith
3 The last 3 phases are where we deliver production ready
code. These 3 phases are at the core of the Scrum process.
Scrum From A Project Perspective
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Scrum From A Project Perspective
Daily Standup Burndown Chart Story Points Sprint Planning Backlog Grooming Demo Retrospective Velocity Review Acceptance Criteria Contract Management Resource Planning Justification Feasibility Risk Management Project Estimate Budgeting Communication Plan Buy vs. Build
PMBOK® is still good,
mmmkay?
Some May Call This A Hybrid
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Hybrid
Copyright Greg SmithDoes Your Home Have Plumbing and Electricity?
Does That Make it a Hybrid?
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Project Managers and Scrum Masters
Can Both Make Sense for a Project
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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)
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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
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Forget “Classic” - What Is Good for Both?
• 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
• 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)
A Little More on Scrum Masters:
Servant Leadership
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•
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.
Typical Shepherd Activities
13Motivate People
Empower Teams
Align Results
Optimize Communication
Enforce Discipline
Reduce Risk
Measure Performance
Evaluate Feedback
Acquire Knowledge
Manage Uncertainty
Evolve Processes
Shepherding Could Be Called
“Light Touch” Leadership
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“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
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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.
Copyright Greg Smith16
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
anymore.
One Role or Two?
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Here are some potential models depending on your work mix, org structure,
and what level of Agile is being pursued at your company
Structure Notes
One Project Manager
and One Scrum Master
Per Project
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 .
One PM for every 3*
Projects, One Scrum
Master Per Project
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.
One Consolidated Role
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.One More Thing We Can Learn From
Agile and Scrum Masters
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Copyright Road and Track
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What is Project Success?
What is Project Success?
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Copyright Road and Track
What is Project Success?
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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.
Was This Success?
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Copyright Greg Smith
