Darcy DeClute

Congratulations everyone!

And thank you all so much for inviting me to the CodeRanch. So many awesome people!

Hey Brandon! Thanks for joining me here on the CodeRanch!!!

There are many paths to becoming a Scrum Master. I do know that Scrum is taught in many Project Management courses, so it's common to associate the two concepts.

One thing about Scrum is that it emphasises self-management and self-organization. So to be a great Scrum Master, you must embrace Agile concepts and eschew many traditional management based philosophies. So sometimes to move from Project Manager to Scrum Master,  you must unlearn what you already know.

The big thing is that to be a great Scrum Master, you must be enthusiastic about coaching teams and building an environment where everyone collaborates and works together. That's the key to a Scrum Team.

Many project managers are great at that. At the same time, lots of developers who are natural leaders become great Scrum Masters as well.

Just embrace concepts like iterative work cycles, team based product development, self-management and self-organization and you're well on your way to becoming a great Scrum Master!

No.

A great Scrum Master, someone who coaches, teaches people about Scrum and acts as a leader who serves can do all of those things without specific knowledge of the domain the developers are working in.

It is certainly more important for a Scrum Master to be much more skilled in Agile and Scrum then in the technology being used to build a solution.

A team building a spacecraft to Mars likely needs a Scrum Master with strong Agile skills more than they need a Scrum Master with strong rocket building skills.

However, I do think a Scrum Master can benefit from knowledge of the technologies being used by the development team. It helps the Scrum Master empathize and even understand the language the devs speak.

So no, it's not required. Might it be beneficial? I can definitely see instances where some technical know-how could benefit the team overall, and really, helping your teams build products is what Scrum is all about!

There are four events in Scrum, or as you'd call them, 'meetings.'

When someone says there are too many meetings, I always ask them which ones they'd remove:

You do a single planning session at the start of a month long Sprint.

You do a review with the client at the end of a month long Sprint.

You talk to your team about doing things better once at the end of a one month Sprint.

So no planning, not reviewing with clients and not team building ever? That sounds like a recipe for disaster.

Some get upset about the Daily Scrum, which is five or ten minutes where the developers just talk about how things are going and if any plans need to change in order to keep their short term goals in sight.

Imagine a team of 5 deveopers working an 8 hour day. In one day, they do a full weeks worth of work for one person, 40 hours. Don't you think after 40 hours of work the team should talk for 5 or 10 minutes? (Maximum 15)

Would you say a football team should cancel huddles between plays?
Hockey players shouldn't talk to each other before a faceoff?

Members of a team meeting and strategizing is a good thing. Doing it for a few minutes a day shouldn't be burdensome.

I'd certainly have a problem if we said we should eliminate the Daily Scrum and teammates should never talk to each other. Again, that's a recipe for disaster.

Scrum doesn't have too many meetings. Scrum gets it just about right.

Cameron Wallace McKenzie wrote:Or is Scrum a process framework?

If you are taking the Scrum Master exam, or you don't want to upset the applecart, you must embrace the idea that Scrum is a framework.

Saying anything contrary will lose you points on the exam, and saying Scrum is better described as a methodology or a process will get you bullied and harassed in the Scrum community.

The Scrum community is very tribal over certain things, and this is one of them.

The truth?

It's not a framework. The Scrum Guide admits this when it says Scrum is a 'purposefully incomplete framework.'

Something that is incomplete is not the thing it aspires to be. I have an incomplete PhD. Do I have a PhD? No.

Furthermore, it does not fit the dictionary definition of framework. It fits better with process or methodology.

And even given modern usages of the term framework it doesn't fit.

Scrum insists you must use every part or it's not Scrum. Frameworks have more of a 'pick and choose' type of usage. You can use the Sprint Boot framework without using its REST APIs. But if you miss a single Scrum event, you're not doing Scrum.

Having said that, members of the Scrum community will get outright nasty with you if you speak truth to power, so I don't suggest discussing this topic unless you are in for a fight.

It always upsets me to see tribalism dominate technical domains, but this tribalism is quite evident in the Scrum community.

Paul Clapham wrote:

Darcy DeClute wrote:The biggest joke I've come across in my software development career is Python.

I just saw that Microsoft has announced that you can now use Python inside MS Excel... does that make you happier about Python?

If you're telling me that Python is about as powerful as Visual Basic, which is what Microsoft is switching to it, then I'd say I'm not surprised.

I have a friend in Toronto who has a great voice and sounds a lot like Christopher Walken, and he is definitely perfect for voice-over work.

But I think I might voice the audio book myself, if one ever comes about.

Sandeep Bh wrote:Hey Darcy was there a particular moment or experience that sparked the idea for this book?

Really, I just felt like there are a real void in the industry for a good, focused, Scrum Certification Guide.

And I also felt like the Scrum Guide doesn't really explain Scrum well. It tries to be very precise while being very general at the same time.

In an effort to be both things at the same time, it often says something without saying anything at all.

I really thought I could lay the concepts out in a more pragmatic and easier and fun way to learn them. And why not do it all while helping people get certified.

I mentioned the idea to some really smart people who helped me write it and kept me motivated throughout the process, and now I'm really proud of the product I've come up with!

The stewards of Scrum have worked really hard to move Scrum out of the domain of software development.

The concepts behind Scrum really work for any team building a product, even building a symphony or a beautiful composition.

At it's root, Scrum just says:

Plan but don't plan too much

Work hard and adapt your plan every day

Review regularly with clients

At least once a month have the team think about how to do things better

And it's all done incrementally and iteratively.

If a team buliding a symphony thinks that might work for them, they are totally encouraged to give Scrum a try!

The biggest joke I've come across in my software development career is Python.

Why was the vampire afraid of Scrum?

Because of the stake holders.

So, I think what you are talking about really is the audio version of the book and if there would be a musical component to it.

So far, there is no timeline for an audio version, although I was planning on doing an Udemy course based on the book and the extra set of question I have.

I guess I could always take the audio from that course and sell it as an audiobook when I'm done, but again, no plans yet.

If I do something like that, I would definitely ask my friends to help with the audio score, and you would definitely qualify as a possible composer!

I noticed the Reply buttons are below the post, while the quote buttons are to the top-right.

I think we're supposed to use the Reply buttons, not the quote buttons. I was doing the same thing.

So, let's open a new question about if there will be an audio book so you can get entered in the draw to win a free book!

And I will explain the Christopher Walken referneces before the CodeRanch sheriffs kick us out for tomfoolery!!!

Ben Weddle wrote:Will Christopher Walken read the audiobook version?

Oh boy.

I'm sure the admins at the CodeRanch had no idea that I'd be bringing all of this 'inside baseball' from my Twitter feed over to this forum.

But, if you want a chance to win a copy, you have to ask about the audio book version in a new thread!!!

satya Priya Sundar wrote:Dear Author,
Companies have started seeking positions such as Project manager /Scrum Master, Agile program manager, Scrum Project manager...

Luke 23:34 “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Agile development and many ideas contained in the Scrum framework run counter to traditional product development and people management techniques.

Many managers, directors, human resource people and product managers who need to put together a development team don't fully understand Agile and Scrum concepts like:

Self-management

Self-organization

Incremental delivery

Iterative Sprints

So often when they are buliding out their roster, they don't know what they need, or they think they can optimize by combing accountabilities, leading to what is often called the 'blurred roles anti-pattern.'

The fact is, many organizations don't know what they need, nor do they know how Agile will bring value to them.

One of the jobs of the Scrum Master is to coach organizations on how to implement Scrum and how to implement an Agile transition.

Sometimes that might mean accepting the role of Project Manager/Scrum Master, if only to get inside the organization like a Trojan Horse.

Then, once inside, you coach and educate and promote the proper adoption of Agile and educate others on how Scrum should work and how not blending roles can actually make the organization more productive.

Fer Isla wrote:Hi, Darcy! What is your major drive to write this book? And lastly what’s your main objective with the audience that read it? Thank you, enjoy your day.

My main drive was to make money.

My main objective with the audience is to get their money.

Just joking!!!

When I got into Scrum, I wanted something to motivate me to learn and something that would prove that I'd committed myself to learning.

The Scrum Master Certification was a natural way to do that.

However, I did feel there was a real lack of resources in this area, and I felt that I could really contribute positively here.

So I wrote this book with maybe two objectives:

1. To help people acquire their Professional Scrum Master or Professional Scrum Product Owner certifications
2. To get people to learn, understand and love Scrum and Agile as much as I do

If those two things happen after a reader finishes my book, then I'd say I'd feel pretty happy and humbled. I might even say I'd achieved my objective.

Oh, and thanks for coming over from Twitter. So great to see you sign up and take part!