To Change The Scrum Master Title or Not to The Change Scrum Master Title? That is the question
2020 has been a year rife with chaos and controversy. Although technology and code have no emotions, biases, or opinions of its own; the people who write the code and create the technology certainly do. As Black Lives Matter Movement grows into the technology field, there is struggle with how to respond. I, like many in their respective line of work, cannot separate my work from who I am as a technical professional and an underrepresented person of color. For those of us who write code we eventually find our way to StackOverflow, which is the largest online community for learning to code and sharing knowledge with over 50 million unique visitors a month. In StackOverflow’s 2020 Developer Survey (65,000 respondents), one portion of it visualizes Race and Ethnicity.
Notice the bottom five percentages: 4.5% Black or of African descent, 4.5% Southeast Asian, 1.7% Multiracial, and 1.5%, Biracial, 0.8% Indigenous (such as Native American, Pacific Islander, or Indigenous Australian). The survey’s section description says it best:
Consistent with the data from last year, we still see evidence that people of color are underrepresented among professional developers. However, we see some improvement when we look at all respondents — not just the ones who code professionally. Despite a gradual change year over year, there is still much work to do to increase participation rates.
While not an all-inclusive survey of the entire industry, it does provide a legitimate sample size. Although social media posts, verbal statements, and donations can be beneficial contributions, how do we move forward and take action to confront the systemic issue of racism and catapult into a better world for all? How do we show Black Lives Matter in the technology industry? How do we make improvements for all underrepresented people?
Rewriting the Technical Jargon
Before jumping into changing technical terms, let’s first seek to understand why some technologists want to change terminology. With the respect to hundreds of years of oppression, injustice, racism, and inequality we turn the focus on recent years.
- In 2012 Trayvon Martin was shot and killed in Florida.
- In 2013 Black Lives Matter was founded in response to the acquittal of his murderer.
- On August 9th, 2018 Michael Brown was shot and killed in Ferguson.
- Over the last year we have seen far too many deaths: Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Elijiah McClain, and George Floyd which ignited global protests and calls for change.
The recent events provide evidence that systemic racism and injustice are still alive today. Accordingly, a wave of technical terminology changes is an actionable approach to confronting what could be offensive terminology. The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is recognized as working to make the Internet better by producing robust technical documentation to influence people. Understanding the power and influence of oppressive terminology the IETF drafted a documented that shifts the language: Terminology, Power and Oppressive Language in 2018. This is a brief (not all inclusive list) summary of related technical terminology changes:
- In May 2014, the Django Community was one of the first technical groups to understand the impact of the terminology when they decided to be a change agent and replace the terms “master/slave” with “primary, replica”. But not without controversy, snide remarks, and comments representing the apathy we’ve come to seen towards racism and injustice.
- On August 11th, 2018 an issue was created on Rails to replace whitelist with allowlist and blacklist with blocklist.
- In September 2018, the Python programming language also went through the controversial change of removing master/slave terms.
- Google is driving change in their products (Chrome, Android) by replacing the term “Blacklist” with “Blocklist”. Blacklist had a negative connotation and mention to deny or keep out.
- The Go Programming language replaced usages of whitelist/blacklist and master/slave.
Are these technical terms making a big impact? It is too early to tell, but at least these companies and communities are no longer standing on the sidelines and are clearly making a stand for change.
Agile Methodology
While software terminology is changing, what about methodology? The Agile Methodology Movement was about uncovering new ways of developing software. Eventually this led to an Agile methodology called Scrum. One of the roles on the scrum team is known as the Scrum Master. This is how the role is defined:
The Scrum Master is responsible for promoting and supporting Scrum as defined in the Scrum Guide. Scrum Masters do this by helping everyone understand Scrum theory, practices, rules, and values.
The Scrum Master is a servant-leader for the Scrum Team. The Scrum Master helps those outside the Scrum Team understand which of their interactions with the Scrum Team are helpful and which aren’t. The Scrum Master helps everyone change these interactions to maximize the value created by the Scrum Team.
I have roughly 10 years of Scrum Master experience and have obtained certifications from Scrum Alliance, Scrum.org, and Scaled Agile Framework. Even with all that experience, reading the role definition still sounds absolutely amazing in how the role embodies helping everyone within and outside of team. A servant-leader is what we can all use, so what could possibly be the issue here?
To Not Change Scrum Master
Master does not always imply a subversive relationship
Who is the Master?
— Shonuff
Where do we stop with terminology and title changes? We are going too far. People are being too sensitive and putting energy in the wrong place. People who have mastery over martial arts are often referred to as “master”. Do we change Master Splinter’s name in Teenage Ninja Turtles or Master Shifu in Kung fu Panda? In Star Wars do we lose Jedi Masters such as the great Master Yoda? When people receive their Masters Degree they become recognized as achieving mastery in a specific field. Is having mastery of the scrum methodology offensive? While technical terms indicate a relationship of slave and master, does “Scrum Master” imply such a derogatory relationship? I’m not sure anybody has that impression, so why change the title?
Changing one title is not enough
How does changing one title (out of many) make an impact? With the underrepresentation of people of color and women in the industry, we need to figure how to put more people of color and women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) initiatives at a various levels of education. At elementary ages we need to build clubs and interest. In colleges and universities there needs to be more scholarships and new ways to increase enrollment in these degree programs. We need to give companies the opportunity to hire more qualified candidates.
Calculate the cost before beginning construction
In any major construction project, cost is always a factor. Rewording Scrum Master on websites, training materials, name plates, and re-training people on the title and the role would be a size-able investment. Not only a financial investment, but also a time investment. After this reconstruction would the resulting product make the role any more clearer or help improve diversity and inclusion?
Not all underrepresented feel that way
Not all underrepresented people of color feel there is any issue with these scrum master or the technical terms. If we are not hearing complaints or issues being brought up from underrepresented people then why cause all this pain? Why are we creating solutions for problems that do not exist?
To Change Scrum Master
Changing the title would revolutionize Agile, specifically frameworks that have the Scrum Master role. Tech leading organizations like Apple, Google, and Microsoft say they support Black Lives Matter and are making changes. What about Agile Framework organizations? Where do they stand? Why not change the title and make it clear?
The Scrum Master role is already confusing and could be redefined
One of the primary anti-patterns of the Scrum Master role is people treating it as a traditional manager role. In a training session I attended the vast majority of the attendees were program managers. They were “recommended” and “encouraged” to attend Scrum Master training because their organization was reducing program manager jobs while “simultaneously” increasing Scrum Master jobs.
The Scrum Master role is confused with a technical leader role
The Scrum Master is generally not the architect or team technical expert. Yet, Scrum Masters can be seen as the team representative in all things including technical decisions and architectural design. Depending on the framework Scrum Masters are recommended to only fill that role full time. In practice Scrum Masters may be seen fulfilling multiple roles (for example: developer) which also can add to the potential confusion.
No human relationship should include calling somebody a master
Any relationship that includes one party calling another party “master” can unintentionally carry with it a history of slavery. Not to mention human trafficking and child slavery that is still alive today. According to the Merrian-Webster dictionary the first definition of master is: male teacher. Do we want this context associated with a primarily male dominated field (91.7% of StackOverflow Developer Survey Respondents)? While a Scrum Master seeks to gain mastery over the Scrum methodology, the title can again be confusing with respect to other team members. Does the Scrum Master have mastery over the rest of the team? Those that practice Scrum know this is far from the case and the Scrum Guide can be referenced for additional support. However with the current movement towards more diversity and inclusion it is worth considering a name title changes that more closely represents the description of the role and how it relates to people internal and external to the team.
Just because somebody is not speaking out, does not make it right
While I have not heard many voicing support to change the Scrum Master title, it does not mean people are unaffected. There can be several reasons for not speaking out. People in an underrepresented group may just want to fit in and prove their worth based on merit. It can be challenging to speak out because so much effort is already placed on gaining a sense of belonging. Some will not want to be the person who brings attention to themselves for fear of retribution. Some may feel it is not psychologically safe to bring up social issues that are impacting them personally and/or professionally. Underrepresented people would need support from others who can support them and come along side them.
That is the question…
If changing the Scrum Master title contributes to shutting the door on systemic racism in Agile Methodology and simultaneously opening the door to underrepresented people of color, then it is without a doubt worth it. It is a thought, a consideration, that I ask Agilists, Technologists, and people in general to ponder how changing terminology can change culture. Ironically many opposing changing the terms have the same mindset as those who oppose Agile: resistance to change. “This is how it has always been”. In fact the Agile Manifesto asks us to be “Responsive to Change over following the Plan.” Isn’t systemic racism after 400 years a plan worth changing? In the National Football League, many people did not understand why Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the National Anthem. Today, many are beginning to understand him. Many technologists are looking at changing the terminology and subsequently the culture. Similar to Kaepernick’s situation, many people do not understand why they would want to change technical terminology. Instead there will be outrage at the suggestion. “Imagine the amount of work will take”. “We are going way too far with this”. “People are too sensitive”. Before you rush into judgment I ask you to consider why people are asking for changes. Some will affectively end the conversation and dismiss the core issue outright. Remember underrepresented people do not get the choice to dismiss the core issue of bigotry and systemic racism. It comes when we are out on a casual walk (Elijah McClain) or on a jog (Ahmaud Arbery). It comes when we are sitting in a car (George Floyd). It comes in the dead of night while we are a sleep (Breonna Taylor). It is no respecter of our location. It does not discriminate in favor of our time or convenience. Underrepresented people do not have the choice to dismiss this core issue and go back to work or coding. This type of change gives framework leaders the opportunity to clearly articulate that they support zero tolerance for racism and bigotry. That they stand in solidarity with underrepresented people. Even as an experienced Scrum Master I’m still not sure this a great idea, but it is at least worth pondering. To change Scrum Master or not? It is not really the question. It is a question. The question is what have I done to counter systemic racism? What about you? Even if you oppose changes like changing Scrum Master, at least consider the small percentage of people whom it may be affecting and how it impacts them.