An interview with a Scrum Master — Part 1
Part 1 — Scott, Demerson, Omar, John & Ryan
I get asked all the time how I became a Scrum Master. So, I thought I would share my story…
But then I thought it would be valuable to hear from others, so I created a few questions and kindly 10 other Scrum Masters answered in their own words about their journey to become a Scrum Master, and beyond.
Scott Richards
Years Scrumming: 4
“The Main Thing, is making sure that the main thing, stays the main thing” — Uri Levine
When was the first time you heard about Scrum?
In a previous life, I was a Major Incident Analyst. I remember getting a call on our hotline from someone who explained to me they were a Scrum Master, “A what?!”.
After some digging around it turned out, my company at the time has some awesome Agile coaches in-house that provided training, so I signed myself up.
When did you decide you wanted to be a Scrum Master? And what did you do?
I was working as a Defect Manager in monolithic waterfall programmes and it just didn’t make sense to me at all. A good friend of mine suggested I explore being a Scrum Master, he said he thinks I could take to it quite well and suggested I start reading into it and perhaps book a course. This lead to taking my PSM1 and it was a real light bulb moment for me. “I am going to do this next”.
How did you get your first Scrum Master role?
I had been trying to figure out ways to practice ‘this scrum and agile stuff’, I worked on a few side projects and tried to bring in more of an agile approach, using Scrum to help. It was starting to make sense and my contract was coming to an end as a defect manager, so I just threw out to my client “Hey, I have been working on some Scrum stuff in my own time and have done my PSM1, if you need any help with anything like that just let me know.”. Turns out they did, the next thing I knew, I was a Scrum Master!
What has been the most impactful thing to you on your Scrum Master journey?
Two things:
- The Road to Mastery. This journey was very impactful to me, not only learning new concepts and practices to add to my toolbox, but more importantly the community it brought with it to have somewhere to bounce ideas off, exhale frustrations, and generally check in.
- The realisation, that the job as a Scrum Master is not to do Scrum?! I know, bear with me — It is to help the team and organisation. Mostly, it is about creating an environment where they can figure out ways to improve themselves.
Any advice for a new Scrum Master just starting?
The more you learn the less you know. So listen and ask questions then listen some more. Reading a lot doesn’t hurt either.
What’s next for you?
Creating stuff. Like this!
Demerson Neves
Years Scrumming: 7 years
“Want to increase efficiency? Leave people alone and improve your system”
When was the first time you heard about Scrum?
I heard about Scrum for the first time in 2013. I remember having no idea what a “Product Backlog” was and being curious about the “chicken and pig” tale. On the flip side, It surprised me that many things my team and I did were part of Scrum.
When did you decide you wanted to be a Scrum Master?
It wasn’t until I worked with my first strong, high-performing team in 2015, that I noticed that being a Scrum Master was not about setting up meetings and asking for updates. That was when it clicked for me, having the unique opportunity to help a team do a whole more than the collection of its individuals.
Years later, after several different experiences in several industries, I had stepped into Project Management for some time, but I never felt the same “vibes” and never enjoyed the bitter taste of squeezing employees dry to deliver “efficiency”. It was there and then that I decided to go back to working with and for a team, as a Scrum Master.
How did you get your first Scrum Master role?
By accident. We were a new team, with different experiences. Many teams in the company were doing this new Scrum thing, so we decided to try it too. Because I was the team lead, we thought it made sense for me to be the Scrum Master. But back then, all I knew was that I could never let a Daily Scrum go over its 15-minute timebox…
What has been the most impactful thing to you on your Scrum Master journey?
I learned firsthand that teams can achieve things they usually can’t imagine, but only if they have the support and time needed to reach that stage.
Any advice for a new Scrum Master just starting?
If you don’t understand empiricism, you don’t understand Scrum. Stop worrying about the mechanics and deep dive into the whys. Also, read the Scrum Guide. A lot.
What’s next for you?
More Scrum Mastery. More Agile. Been considering some training too, so who knows? Before then, I’ll keep inspecting and adapting…
Omar
Years Scrumming: 6
“Consistency reduces complexity”
When was the first time you heard about Scrum?
7 years ago. I was a Project manager in a fintech company and one of our suppliers used Scrum. I joined a Sprint review meeting as a key stakeholder. It was love from the first moment
When did you decide you wanted to be a Scrum Master? And what did you do?
Immediately after that Sprint review, I started reading and studying Scrum. I realized that the Scrum Master role was much more appropriate for me than the Project Manager (I hated that job). Helping people and organizations in reaching self-organization was my cup of tea, and even at that moment managing projects in a waterfall way, that was the only thing I liked.
How did you get your first Scrum Master role?
After that moment I start experimenting in my company with a small team trying to do some parallel activities in Scrum. Short cadence, simple goals, and working software as often as possible. Despite the company giving me some freedom for P.o.C. and experiments, it was a nightmare in a waterfall organization, requirements to working software usually required years.
Then I decided to move somewhere else and I started doing tons of interviews for Scrum master roles. Companies were skeptical due to my lack of experience as a Scrum Master, but in the end, I found the right place where to start my first journey as a full-time Scrum Master
What has been the most impactful thing to you on your Scrum Master journey?
Changing the way of thinking work routine. Finally, I had the chance to make an impact on people and organizations by coaching them and guiding them in the Scrum adoption. No more working on stuff without thinking and just executing!
Any advice for a new Scrum Master just starting?
Read the Scrum Guide several times and highlights what’s not clear. Try to put examples in your real-life and when something is not clear, dig!
What’s next for you?
Become a better Scrum Master, this is my mantra every day. (and maybe in the future) start thinking of trying other roles (Product Owner?)
John Augustin
Years Scrumming: 6
“Keep it squishy” ( related to communication of dates and timelines)
When was the first time you heard about Scrum?
I was offered a chance to take some Agile training by my employer at the time. So, I took my CSM without knowing much of what to expect. I walked out of the class thinking “let’s start a team!”
When did you decide you wanted to be a Scrum Master? And what did you do?
I was a developer/analyst on my first Agile team. I tend to be a systems person so I became more curious about the Scrum Master role and wanted to try it out for myself.
How did you get your first Scrum Master role?
My current manager acknowledged my interest and provided me with an opportunity to be the Scrum Master for another team that was adopting Agility for the first time.
What has been the most impactful thing to you on your Scrum Master journey?
The realization that the Scrum Master role is so big because every team, organization, the circumstance is unique. Every given day is a chance to evolve. The trick is to consider the current variables and choose how to best navigate towards Agility on that given day. To do that, you need a broad awareness of the options. That requires regular learning.
Any advice for a new Scrum Master just starting?
Read the Agile Manifesto and Scrum Guide. Look for things they are saying. Look for things that are NOT said. Consider the reasons why for both. I find the mindful omission or removal of ideas from the latest Scrum Guide the best part.
What’s next for you?
I’m interested in lightweight scaling so I’ll be digging deeper into LeSS next year. I feel the framework is designed to call out the system anti-patterns that get in the way of collaboration and value. It also compliments my system’s view of things. My next step is to take some training in Q1 and try to apply the ideas in places where they might help. Should be fun!
Ryan Brook
Years Scrumming: 5–6 years
“The first step you take will almost certainly be the wrong one.”
When was the first time you heard about Scrum?
As part of a re-training programme into a technical career, I was subjected to a two-hour lecture about Scrum. I use the word ‘subjected’ intentionally — it was not a pleasant experience. It left me thinking that empiricism is just good sense, and therefore why is it so hard to explain coherently? Suffice it to say I took that step to heart and eventually became a Professional Scrum Trainer.
When did you decide you wanted to be a Scrum Master?
I decided to become a Scrum Master as it aligned with my previous skillset as a teacher (also, because it turned out I was rubbish at writing code!) and so I simply ‘jumped’. At the time, I was working with a few teams who were trying to use Scrum but didn’t have a Scrum Master so I went to the management and said ‘I’ll do it. In my experience, soft skills are sometimes harder to come by than technical ones. Without intending any offence, I found that those who I’d worked with within a technical environment were limited by their weaker communication and collaboration skills — so I wanted to help improve that.
How did you get your first Scrum Master role?
To be honest, I didn’t find it particularly hard. Working in a large corporate, there were lots of opportunities to craft your career however the biggest lesson I learnt from my career manager was what whilst he was called my ‘career manager’ the ‘manager of my career could only ever be me. After that, I just told people what I wanted and thankfully they empowered me through enablement.
What has been the most impactful thing to you on your Scrum Master journey?
The community. Mainly through LinkedIn, I have connected with hundreds of like-minded professionals who have pushed and challenged me to move forward with my practice. The ability to engage in discourse with peers, in what is traditionally quite a solitary job (from a knowledge perspective) has been awesome,
Any advice for a new Scrum Master just starting?
Don’t focus on certifications (which may seem somewhat ironic from a trainer!). Focus on making connections and deepening experience over theory. The theory is a great building block, but it doesn’t build a house.
What’s next for you?
If you know that, please let me know! Less sarcastically, I am developing my company offerings of training, consulting, coaching and recruitment, so I can imagine they’ll keep me busy for a while.
Thanks for reading part 1!
More stories of Scrum Master journeys will be released soon.
If you would like to be featured in a future instalment, I would love to hear from you.
