First Scrum Master Job: Resources & Daily to-do
Hey everyone,
I got my certification done early this month and landed by first ever SM job in a european FinTech company, but I feel I am in need of some assistance and guidance.
During my first week it was clear that the company's desired transition from Kanban to Scrum wouldn't be easy as everyone had their own understanding of what it is and how it is supposed work from both Operation/Product Teams to our Devs.
While the first steps have been made with setting up the events, breaking down old procedures and slowly growing the culture I am now wondering how/what my daily life will consist of.
So far my to-do list is as follows
- Observe the teams and see how their adoption of daily scrum happens
- Observe the team efficiency after the split of 15 people into two teams
- Work closely with the Product Owner to help her do her job the right way
- Have a workshop with the Product Team as a whole on how the Scrum Team will Operate moving forward
What I am rather unsure about is what to do for the rest of my working day after all this has happened. I am talking a lot with team members, basically hearing their rants and issues problems with the company but as that dies down I am trying to see how I can be there for them in a better way.
My first idea was to spend more time in JIRA and monitor their tickets, maybe make some good/bad examples and discuss them during the retro/review?
I understand that my question is a bit wide but there is no one else working with me yet that is experienced so I am trying to get your collective feedback.
Cheers and thank you!
Do you know why the company wishes to transition from Kanban to Scrum? What outcomes are expected? What challenges is it hoped that the use of Scrum will resolve?
Instead of transitioning from Kanban to Scrum, you may wish to see if the team would see the benefit of using Scrum with Kanban instead.
Take a look at the Scrum with Kanban guide for more details.
(1) Have a workshop with the Product Team as a whole on how the Scrum Team will Operate moving forward
(2) My first idea was to spend more time in JIRA and monitor their tickets, maybe make some good/bad examples and discuss them during the retro/review?
(1) Who's decision is it that Scrum must be applied to achieve value for the business and the client? If you plan to hold this, make sure that somebody from the C-suite or a VP-level person is present. Without executive sponsorship most changes fail.
(2) Don't make your job about ticket tracking tools. Agile has turned from a mindset shift to an industry focused on tracking software. Managers want this for performance measurement and forecasting. That's fine. You're there to train, mentor and, someday with experience and specialized training and credentials, coach.