Want to know what it’s like to be a Scrum Master?

I’ve just completed my Scrum Master certification (PSM 1) and I’m excited to share what I’ve learned. In this post, I’ll pass on my experiences from the course. You’ll learn what a Scrum Master does, what the key concepts are, and get my thoughts on the experience.

The course setup

The course was held in central Stockholm, by NFI/ProAgile and led by the inspiring coach David Sundelius. It was an intensive two-day experience combining theory and practical exercises. I followed up with a day of self-study to prepare for the digital certification exam.

I really enjoyed the interactive setup with many fun and engaging exercises. The team-based challenges, where we competed to find the optimal solution, were both educational and entertaining. It was evident how different working methods and strategies influence the outcome.

It was a welcome change to not have to sit through traditional PowerPoint presentations. The use of large drawing boards created a more interactive and visual learning environment.

The opportunity to connect with other Scrum Masters from around Sweden was a real perk. Sharing experiences and insights with my peers was both enlightening and inspiring.

The certification exam was quite challenging, with a lot of detailed questions that tested my understanding of the Scrum framework. I would recommend that anyone new to Scrum allocate extra time for studying before taking the exam.

Overall, I believe the course was an excellent investment. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to enhance their understanding of Scrum and improve their skills as a Scrum Master.

What is Scrum? 

Scrum is a lightweight framework for managing complex projects with rapidly changing requirements. The core concept is to divide the project into smaller, more manageable units called sprints. Scrum emphasizes a mindset of growth, continuous improvement and teamwork.

What is the responsibility of a Scrum Master?

One of the first and last questions we were asked during the course was: What does a Scrum Master do? Pinpointing the exact responsibility of this role can be challenging due to its emphasis on soft skills. 

Fundamentally, a Scrum Master helps the team adopt Scrum to deliver consistent and valuable outcomes to the customer. By shifting between different approaches, such as coaching, facilitating, training (or even stepping back when appropriate), the Scrum Master creates an environment where the team can thrive and develop. The Scrum Master promotes change and encourages the team to continually seek ways to improve.

Scrum terminology

Scrum involves a lot of terminology. This chapter will provide a brief overview of some of the most common Scrum terms to get you started: 

Empiricism – Perhaps the most important concept to grasp. Learn from your experiences and avoid guessing.

Scrum values – By embracing the Scrum values of commitment, focus, openness, respect, and courage, Scrum teams can create a positive and productive work environment. While Scrum also provides specific practices and processes, it is the underlying values that truly empower teams to thrive.

Scrum pillars – Scrum is founded on three pillars: Transparency, Inspection, and Adaptation. 

• Transparency is achieved by making all relevant project information visible to everyone involved. Tools like Jira and the product backlog enable team members, product owners, and stakeholders to have a shared understanding of the project’s status and goals. 
• Inspection involves regularly reviewing work, through practices like sprint reviews. 
• Adaptation emphasizes the importance of the ability to adapt quickly and often, as soon as new circumstances or new insights arise.

Scrum events – To support the Scrum pillars of Transparency, Inspection, and Adaptation, work is broken down into time-boxed iterations known as sprints. Within each sprint, the following events occur:

• Sprint Planning: Is the initial event of a sprint, where the team collaboratively defines the Sprint Backlog.
• Daily Scrum: Every day, the developers meet briefly to review the progress of their work.
• Sprint review: The team collaborates with the Product Owner and stakeholders to inspect the Increment and gather feedback. The Product Backlog is refined based on the outcome of the review.
• Sprint retrospective: The team concludes the sprint by reflecting on the past sprint. The goal is to identify areas for improvement and create an action plan for the next sprint.

Scrum team – A Scrum Team is a self-managing group consisting of Developers, a Product Owner, and a Scrum Master. The Developers build the product, the Product Owner defines what needs to be built, and the Scrum Master is responsible for the team’s effectiveness by helping the team adopt Scrum. 

Scrum artifacts – As the shared reference points for the team, artifacts provide transparency and a common understanding of the work to be done, how it should be organized, and the value it will deliver.

• The product backlog is an ordered list of everything that adds value to the product, such as new features, improvements, bug fixes, and other items that add value.
• The sprint backlog is a subset of the product backlog that the team has selected to work on during a sprint, and includes a plan for how the work will be completed.
• An Increment is the value produced at the end of a Sprint, meeting the team’s Definition of Done (= a set criteria that must be met before a piece of work is considered complete). 

My reflections

Looking back on the Scrum course, I realize how much I could have benefited from using this methodology earlier in my career. I’ve experienced the difficulty of long-term planning, only to find that user needs have shifted by the time the project is completed. Scrum’s iterative approach and focus on adaptability would have been valuable in those situations.

Another insight is the value of self-organizing teams. I’ve personally experienced how much time is wasted waiting for approvals. In Scrum, teams are given more autonomy to make their own decisions, which increases both motivation and efficiency.

Scrum’s values align with my own beliefs. They are helping to create a safe work environment, which I firmly believe is essential for team members to feel empowered to share new ideas and collaborate on solutions.

I like how simple and flexible Scrum is. It provides us with the tools and mindset needed to work in a more agile and user-oriented way. Instead of rigid rules, Scrum offers a set of guiding principles that help us collaborate efficiently.

In conclusion, I’m truly grateful for the insights and skills I’ve gained. Scrum has opened my eyes to a more effective and rewarding way of working, and I’m excited to apply these principles in my future projects.