Scrumming it right with Gen AI

Can AI replace humans? The answer is no, but people who can use it will. Being a Scrum Master requires heart and soul, but also brain. So why not realize the full potential?

Published in

The Pinch

5 min readJun 27, 2024

Disclaimer: If you don’t know what GenAI is, I recommend reading Accenture’s article.

Ah, the life of a Scrum Master — the unsung hero of agile development, the maestro orchestrating chaos into a harmonious dance of sprints and stand-ups. But fear not, dear Scrum aficionados, for in the ever-evolving world of technology, I bring you a whimsical twist to your daily scrumtastic adventures — the infusion of AI tools for Scrum Masters!

Gone are the days of deciphering hieroglyphic Post-it notes and playing the mystical game of “Find the Burndown Chart”. Embrace the future with me as I explore how artificial intelligence lends a helping hand (or maybe a virtual high-five?) to my beloved Scrum Masters. Get ready to swap your cape for a keyboard, as I delve into the world where algorithms meet agility, and where user stories and witty code snippets dance a tango of productivity.

Join me on this whimsical journey as I uncover the magical synergy between human expertise and AI wizardry, proving that even the most serious of Scrum ceremonies can use a sprinkle of humor and a dash of artificial intelligence to turn your next sprint into a legendary epic. So, grab your coffee, dust off that backlog, and let the AI-infused adventure begin — because Scrum just got a whole lot smarter and a tad more charming!

Did you notice, that the previous introduction was written by ChatGPT*? (Ok, probably you did because I could never write something that smart and witty.)

The prompt I used:

I am writing an article about the topic "AI tools for Scrum Masters". Write an introduction for my article. It should be humoristic.

Please forgive my betrayal, but I wanted to prove a point. AI — and GenAI in particular — can make your work much easier and even take it off your hands in some cases. But just because it works, doesn’t mean it is a good decision, right?

Even ChatGPT says the following:

In essence, rather than replacing human work entirely, Gen AI should be seen as a tool that, when integrated thoughtfully, can amplify human potential and contribute to a more dynamic and efficient work environment.

My personal opinion is, that it can be a real game changer for some situations, but it is not the holy grail! Some fancy spices can pimp your food and kitchen tools come in handy, but you have to cook it in the end.

And the answer is…

Sometimes you simply don’t know the answer. In such cases, I like to consult my fellow colleagues to get some input. Their experience and perspective are the best treasure trove of ideas, but the more input the better. GenAI can speed up and assist with written tasks, generate drafts, suggest ideas, and even help structure thoughts.

Meetings

ChatGPT can offer suggestions for retrospective formats, activities, and icebreakers to maintain innovative and engaging sessions. You can tailor the sessions to address a specific team challenge or elaborate on a particular topic.

But this doesn’t only apply to retrospectives. ChatGPT can offer agendas and support with preparing meetings in general, to make them productive.

Refining

Writing user stories is easy. Writing good user stories is not! A good user story should be simple, yet contain all essential details and acceptance criteria. ChatGPT can support proposing user stories that are understandable for everyone and contain clear acceptance criteria.

Furthermore, you can also create a comprehensive list of DoD criteria specific to a particular topic, e.g. web development. From completing code reviews, passing all unit tests, and meeting accessibility standards to successful integration testing, ChatGPT makes great suggestions.

Communication

Not all Scrum Masters and stakeholders understand technical jargon. With ChatGPT technical aspects can be translated into easy-to-understand language. You can use ChatGPT in general to help you with your communication, as you can define what you want to communicate, who the target group is, what the tone should be, and what the expected outcome should be.

Above all, it can provide ideas for removing impediments and solving specific challenges, e.g. a team member not wanting to participate in retrospectives. Isn’t that great?

Training

Yes, you can use AI to create a fun and interactive quiz that boosts your scrum training and perhaps takes it to the next level. Coach John Barrat describes:

Imagine this: you’re faced with the challenge of training a diverse workforce with varying levels of familiarity with Scrum. That’s where ChatGPT comes in! Through this fantastic tool, I developed a Scrum quiz that helps people gain a deeper understanding of the principles behind Scrum.

Images

GenAI can be used to create images related to the field of Agile and Scrum methodologies. For example, you could provide specifications or keywords related to Scrum Master activities, Agile principles, or specific visual elements you have in mind. The AI can then generate images that align with those criteria.

Presentations

Tools like ChatGPT can help with summarizing large chunks of text, breaking concepts into simple terms or easy-to-apply steps, and selecting which content should be allocated per slide.

Can AI replace Scrum Masters?

The answer is NO! Indeed, AI tools are powerful, they can automate and enhance certain tasks but they are not infallible and above all not desirable. Why? Because they cannot do things like humans do. They lack creativity, empathy, and human insight. And what is most important. They lack your personal touch. So never forget:

“Individuals and Interactions Over Process and Tools”

Let’s get it started

Finally, I attached some useful prompts and a list of tools, that might help you with your daily work.

ChatGPT — Get instant answers, find creative inspiration, learn something new.Midjourney — Generate AI images

Midjourney — Generate AI images

Krsip — AI-powered assistant for meetings and calls

Otter.ai — Get transcripts, automated summaries, action items, and chat with Otter to get answers from your meetings

MeetingCulture.ai — Eliminate the pre-meeting planning process and create an impactful, efficient agenda

StepsizeAI — Use GenAI to Report on Product Development

Slack AI — Slack AI capabilities ignite productivity using institutional knowledge

Sources:

*Please note, that I use ChatGPT as deonym for GenAI.

Originally published at https://talkagiletome.substack.com on March 05, 2024.