Scrum requires organization and improvisation

The life of a scrum master is a daily adventure.  No two days are the same.  Everything is going well one day, and the next, you are confronted with a production server meltdown.  You have tremendous responsibility but no authority to get anything done.  This week, I want to discuss two skills you will need to develop to succeed: organization and improvisation.

As scrum master presides over a fluid and ambiguous environment.  Product owners want to succeed.  Finance people are tracking the money.  Your boss wants to know when you will push code into production.  You must be organized to answer this and numerous questions that come up during your work day.  I keep file folders with information regarding each project.  Additionally, I insist that the product owner and the team keep the product backlog neat.

Use your source control and project management tools to the best of your ability.  It does not matter if you use Jira or TFS 2015.  These software products are designed to keep you organized.  If you want to be old school, use a whiteboard and post-it notes as long as the information is accurate and readily available to everyone.

I like to use the “arms-reach” rule.  This rule states that any information about a project should be within arms reach of the scrum master.  So when your boss asks how the sprint is going, you can show them a burndown chart.  A developer might have questions about the IP addresses of a server.  You should be able to reach an Excel spreadsheet or file folder in your drawer to return that information.  It will enhance your credibility with the organization and those working with you.

Finally, do what many people in the media business do; they keep a schedule file.  They have twelve folders for each month of the year.  They have additional folders for each day of the month.  Place it in the correct month and date folder when you need to do something date-sensitive.  Each day, you pull the current day's folder, providing you with an agenda for what needs to be done.  Once you get into the habit of doing this, you will wonder how you lived without it.  Once you get into the habit of doing this, you will wonder how you lived without it.  

The next skill I strongly recommend is improvisation.  Being able to respond to change over following a plan is a tenant of the Agile Manifesto and a great definition of improvisation.  On a typical day, a scrum master will reschedule a backlog refinement meeting to help a developer with SOLID development, or they will spend time with finance people to explain the scrum process.  You need organization, so depending on what happens, the information you need is in “arms-reach, ” you can change direction.

Improvisation does not mean making stuff up or bullshitting your way through your day.  It means addressing the unexpected with the correct response.  When humor is required, use humor.  When it is necessary to be firm, you will have to act.  It requires organization and mental discipline.  Those skills can be developed by taking some improv classes or getting involved in organizations like Toastmasters.  There, you will learn public speaking skills and the ability to think on your feet, which are vital to improvisation.

So, to summarize, to improvise, you need organization.  Developing these two skills will make you a better scrum master.

Until next time.