scrum master lessons Archives - Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast

Caterina Reinker: How to ace the Scrum Master role, even if you don’t have any technical knowledge!

Caterina was the Scrum Master for a team whose work she did not understand. This can be a tough spot, especially for new Scrum Masters. In this episode, we hear how Caterina learned to be a Scrum Master for a team, even when she did not understand the technical aspects the team was working on. A must have skill for Scrum Masters!

About Caterina Reinker

Caterina is a social anthropologist and passionate Scrum Master. She regards organizations like villages – or cities – with their own language, institutions, and explicit and many implicit rules. Caterina works and lives in Germany and helps groups of people, big and small, in their agile journey.

You can link with Caterina Reinker on LinkedIn.

Ali Asl: Learning to set boundaries, a must-have skill for Scrum Masters and Agile teams

This team was stuck in a pattern where they used over-time and holidays to work on releasing their software. Ali was puzzled as to how to help the team. Over time he learned what was needed to help that team establish healthy boundaries to the demands their manager and Product Owner wanted to put on them!

About Ali Asl

Ali is an experienced and accomplished Independent Agile Coach, Trainer and Scrum Master focused on supporting organizations and teams in the application of Agile values and principles to deliver quality and value.

You can link with Ali Asl on LinkedIn.

Bert Heymans: Finding the right level of transparency between a Scrum team and its stakeholders

When we work with teams that are under pressure of a tight deadline, it’s not so easy to find the right level of transparency with the clients and stakeholders. On one side we should protect the team, on the other side, the team needs to be open with the stakeholders to be able to find a solution when it seems the projects are going over the schedule and budget! In this episode, we explore some of the lessons Bert learned about finding the right level of transparency between the team and the clients and stakeholders.

In this episode, we refer to XP Explained by Kent Beck, and the concept of Single Piece Flow, a key part of Lean Thinking.

About Bert Heymans

Bert is a long time Lean Management aficionado and project management tool specialist, along the way he fell in love with business analysis and teaching business analysis techniques. In 2016 he founded Lean Coffee Ghent and has been at it since.

You can link with Bert Heymans on LinkedIn and connect with Bert Heymans on Twitter.

Allison Zimmerman: A surprising anti-pattern that many Scrum Masters fall into

Allison’s team loved her work. They even had a nickname for her. Allison worked hard everyday to protect the team from interference, interruption and all manner of disturbances. Everything seemed to be going great, until something unexpected happened that revealed to Allison that Scrum Masters can be going wrong, even when everything around them seems to tell them they are doing the right thing! Listen in to learn what was that mistake, and how to make sure you don’t fall prey to the same temptation!

About Allison Zimmerman

Allison believes that all people have the power to succeed when they work together. As a teacher-turned-scrum master, she has spent the last five years helping enterprise teams build on their strengths to deliver customer value. She also serves as a Scrum Master Community of Practice leader, supporting growth and development of scrum masters across many teams.

You can link with Allison Zimmerman on LinkedIn.