SM is a manager or not?
I am preparing for PSM I, but the level of management in the Scrum Master role is still confusing to me because the guide and practice exams seem to conflict each other.
I learned that the SM is NOT a manager and I think this makes sense. Yet in one of the practice questions I got: "Is the Scrum Master a management position?" the correct answer was apparently "yes". The reasoning being that while he doesn't manage the team: the individual people, he DOES manage the process.
Also another practice question I got was to identify the correct tasks for the SM. One of the tasks presented was the following: "Scrum Masters can identify waste and scaling options within a team to increase the effectiveness of the team in delivering releasable software."
This sounds very much like people management to me so in line with the previous I would think this is NOT a task for the SM and actually goes against the rule of self-organizing teams. Yet apparently the correct answer is that this IS a task for the Scrum Master.
I find this topic very vague. How much of a manager is he exactly?
I hope somebody can make me understand this role and the level of management within it more clearly.
Many thanks!
Hi Michiel,
First of all please beware of all the misleading PSM assessment links and portals, please focus only on Scrum guide and its assessments. Please use http://mlapshin.com/index.php/psm-quiz/ for further assessment practice as its very much reliable.
Now coming back to your original question, yes its true that Scrum guide doesn't say that Scrum master should be a project manager and he/she need not be, can't a senior developer, or a tester or a DB admin be a Scrum master ? They can be right ? They ned not manage the team, they just need to see if team is doing Scrum or not, team is self-managed and Self organized.
In numerous organizations Project manager is made as Scrum master due to their experience of handling the team and process in past but its not a rule and definitely not something you need to worry too much for PSM I assessment.
Hi Ankit,
Thank you for your answer. Indeed this is my understanding too that he is not a manager (at least he doesn't fulfill that role).
I don't remember where I got the question that he is. It was either on the Scrum Open here or the following free test which I believe is also highly regarded as accurate.
Edit: which indeed you mentioned that mlapsin test.
A Scrum Master can be thought of a manager of the Scrum process, in so far as he or she ought to be an authority regarding the framework's best implementation. As a servant leader and agile coach, he or she may also be seen as a manager of people. A Scrum Master is not a manager in the traditional sense of being a director or controller.
Yes I agree with Ian. Scrum Master is a "Management position" for managing the Scrum Process. He/She does not manage the team (Servant-Leader for Scrum Team )
On the other question/option "Scrum Masters can identify waste and scaling options within a team to increase the effectiveness of the team in delivering releasable software."
Firstly I agree with Ankit - Please be careful with random misleading PSM assessments. I tried reviewing some myself and did not continue further after reading their explanation for 1 or 2 questions. You will either unlearn or start contradicting the concepts creating more confusions.
You pasted one of the options so I do not have visibility of what the other options were. So it really depends on the question ( meaning - did the question ask me to select multiple answers or just one/best answer ? and then choose the one that closely aligns)
Please review the following points from scrum guide and based on the below 4 points - This "could" be a Scrum Master's task ( I use "could" because I don't have visibility to other answers ). Waste "might" not be an impediment but point 1 below states that SM is responsible to identify what interactions were helpful and which were not. The "one's" not helpful is a good example for "waste" or it could be a "impediment" too.
They help to increase "productivity of the team" and create "high value products" (from Scrum guide) = Increase effectiveness of the team in delivering releasable software (from the option you pasted). This is purely my perspective and my understanding could be "right or wrong" ( I look forward to learning more from these forums )
1. The Scrum Master helps those outside the Scrum Team understand which of their interactions with the Scrum Team are helpful and which aren’t.
2. He serves the organization causing change that increases the productivity of the Scrum Team;
3. Helping the Development Team to create high-value products;
4. A Scrum Master can detect incomplete transparency by inspecting the artifacts, sensing patterns, listening closely to what is being said, and detecting differences between expected and real results.
Thank you for your insights Ian and Sapna. I learned a lot from these forums and indeed I ended up sticking to only the official scrum information!