Part 15 in our series of #scrummaster #interviewquestions where John McFadyen answers some of the more common questions asked of #scrummasters and #agilecoaches in interviews and client engagements.    

This one produced a bit of a laugh from John initially because a #scrummaster does generally not get involved in selecting and delegating work for developers.    

The developers work closely with the #productowner and product stakeholders to understand what work needs doing, why it needs doing, and in what priority it needs to be tackled.    

A scrum master can facilitate that process or coach the team to identify the most valuable work but it generally isn't their sphere of expertise or responsibility to be selecting backlog items for the developers.    

That said, you may find yourself in a situation where the team are battling to identify and select high-value work, so what would you do in that situation as a scrum master?    

In this short video, John McFadyen walks you through what you can do in a circumstance where the team may need help in estimating and selecting work for the upcoming sprint.    

If you are interested in becoming an agile coach and value mentored, coach-driven skills development in your journey to mastery, visit our Growing Scrum Masters page on https://www.growingscrummasters.com/   

If you like the idea of becoming a scrum master and want to achieve internationally recognised and certified accreditation as a scrum master, visit our Certified Scrum Master (CSM) course page on https://www.agilecentre.com/courses/scrum-master/certified-scrummaster/.    

If you are already a scrum master and want to upskill to a more advanced level of knowledge and agile coaching capability, visit our Advanced Certified Scrum Master (A-CSM) course page on https://www.agilecentre.com/courses/scrum-master/advanced-certified-scrummaster/.    

If you have several years’ experience as a scrum master and want to validate and certify your professional skills, visit our Certified Scrum Professional Scrum Master (CSP-SM) course page on https://www.agilecentre.com/courses/scrum-master/certified-scrum-professional-scrum-master/   

For more information on John McFadyen, connect with John on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmcfadyen/.     

#agile #agilecoach #agilecoaching #agileprojectmanagement #agileproductdevelopment #agility #businessagility #scrum #scrummaster #scrumtraining #scrumcertification #scrumalliance #agilecentre #johnmcfadyen #coach #coaching #certifiedscrummaster

Part 14 in our series of #scrummaster #interviewquestions where John McFadyen walks us through answers to common questions asked of #scrummasters or #agilecoaches in interviews and client engagements.  

This question could be a trick question or the interviewer may genuinely want to know how you would extract valuable information from product owners and stakeholders to help the scrum team stay focused on building the best product they are capable of.  

Ideally, the developers work frequently and consistently with product owners, product stakeholders and customers to ensure that they are working on the most valuable product and receive information and feedback on how the product is performing, how the market perceives the features, etc. but sometimes you may have a deeply inexperienced product owner so it's worth knowing how you can make a valuable intervention as a scrum master.  

In this short video, John McFadyen explains what a scrum master can and should do if the team aren't receiving the information and feedback that they need.   

If you are interested in becoming an agile coach and value mentored, coach-driven skills development in your journey to mastery, visit our Growing Scrum Masters page on https://www.growingscrummasters.com/  

If you like the idea of becoming a scrum master and want to achieve internationally recognised and certified accreditation as a scrum master, visit our Certified Scrum Master (CSM) course page on https://www.agilecentre.com/courses/scrum-master/certified-scrummaster/.  

If you are already a scrum master and want to upskill to a more advanced level of knowledge and agile coaching capability, visit our Advanced Certified Scrum Master (A-CSM) course page on https://www.agilecentre.com/courses/scrum-master/advanced-certified-scrummaster/.  

If you have several years’ experience as a scrum master and want to validate and certify your professional skills, visit our Certified Scrum Professional Scrum Master (CSP-SM) course page on https://www.agilecentre.com/courses/scrum-master/certified-scrum-professional-scrum-master/  

For more information on John McFadyen, connect with John on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmcfadyen/.   

#agile #agilecoach #agilecoaching #agileprojectmanagement #agileproductdevelopment #agility #businessagility #scrum #scrummaster #scrumtraining #scrumcertification #scrumalliance #agilecentre #johnmcfadyen #coach #coaching #certifiedscrummaster

Part 14 in our series of #scrummaster #interviewquestions where John McFadyen walks us through answers to common questions asked of #scrummasters or #agilecoaches in interviews and client engagements.  

This question could be a trick question or the interviewer may genuinely want to know how you would extract valuable information from product owners and stakeholders to help the scrum team stay focused on building the best product they are capable of.  

Ideally, the developers work frequently and consistently with product owners, product stakeholders and customers to ensure that they are working on the most valuable product and receive information and feedback on how the product is performing, how the market perceives the features, etc. but sometimes you may have a deeply inexperienced product owner so it's worth knowing how you can make a valuable intervention as a scrum master.  

In this short video, John McFadyen explains what a scrum master can and should do if the team aren't receiving the information and feedback that they need.   

If you are interested in becoming an agile coach and value mentored, coach-driven skills development in your journey to mastery, visit our Growing Scrum Masters page on https://www.growingscrummasters.com/ 

If you like the idea of becoming a scrum master and want to achieve internationally recognised and certified accreditation as a scrum master, visit our Certified Scrum Master (CSM) course page on https://www.agilecentre.com/courses/scrum-master/certified-scrummaster/.  

If you are already a scrum master and want to upskill to a more advanced level of knowledge and agile coaching capability, visit our Advanced Certified Scrum Master (A-CSM) course page on https://www.agilecentre.com/courses/scrum-master/advanced-certified-scrummaster/.  

If you have several years’ experience as a scrum master and want to validate and certify your professional skills, visit our Certified Scrum Professional Scrum Master (CSP-SM) course page on https://www.agilecentre.com/courses/scrum-master/certified-scrum-professional-scrum-master/ 

For more information on John McFadyen, connect with John on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmcfadyen/.   

#agile #agilecoach #agilecoaching #agileprojectmanagement #agileproductdevelopment #agility #businessagility #scrum #scrummaster #scrumtraining #scrumcertification #scrumalliance #agilecentre #johnmcfadyen #coach #coaching #certifiedscrummaster

In a #scrum environment, developers and members of the #scrumteam will meet daily to quickly catch up on what is planned for the day ahead, what people are working on and to raise any impediments that may be blocking progress.  

But what happens if the problem encountered is immediate and critical? What happens if the daily scrum is completed and you encounter a problem that needs to be resolved quickly?  

In this short video, John McFadyen answers the question of whether you need to wait until the next daily scrum to raise an impediment or whether you should address the issue right away.  

If you are interested in becoming an agile coach and value mentored, coach-driven skills development in your journey to mastery, visit our Growing Scrum Masters page on https://www.growingscrummasters.com/ 

If you like the idea of becoming a scrum master and want to achieve internationally recognised and certified accreditation as a scrum master, visit our Certified Scrum Master (CSM) course page on https://www.agilecentre.com/courses/scrum-master/certified-scrummaster/.  

If you are already a scrum master and want to upskill to a more advanced level of knowledge and agile coaching capability, visit our Advanced Certified Scrum Master (A-CSM) course page on https://www.agilecentre.com/courses/scrum-master/advanced-certified-scrummaster/.  

If you have several years’ experience as a scrum master and want to validate and certify your professional skills, visit our Certified Scrum Professional Scrum Master (CSP-SM) course page on https://www.agilecentre.com/courses/scrum-master/certified-scrum-professional-scrum-master/ 

For more information on John McFadyen, connect with John on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmcfadyen/.   

#agile #agilecoach #agilecoaching #agileprojectmanagement #agileproductdevelopment #agility #businessagility #scrum #scrummaster #scrumtraining #scrumcertification #scrumalliance #agilecentre #johnmcfadyen #coach #coaching #certifiedscrummaster

In a #scrum environment, developers and members of the #scrumteam will meet daily to quickly catch up on what is planned for the day ahead, what people are working on and to raise any impediments that may be blocking progress.  

But what happens if the problem encountered is immediate and critical? What happens if the daily scrum is completed and you encounter a problem that needs to be resolved quickly?  

In this short video, John McFadyen answers the question of whether you need to wait until the next daily scrum to raise an impediment or whether you should address the issue right away.  

If you are interested in becoming an agile coach and value mentored, coach-driven skills development in your journey to mastery, visit our Growing Scrum Masters page on https://www.growingscrummasters.com/ 

If you like the idea of becoming a scrum master and want to achieve internationally recognised and certified accreditation as a scrum master, visit our Certified Scrum Master (CSM) course page on https://www.agilecentre.com/courses/scrum-master/certified-scrummaster/.  

If you are already a scrum master and want to upskill to a more advanced level of knowledge and agile coaching capability, visit our Advanced Certified Scrum Master (A-CSM) course page on https://www.agilecentre.com/courses/scrum-master/advanced-certified-scrummaster/.  

If you have several years’ experience as a scrum master and want to validate and certify your professional skills, visit our Certified Scrum Professional Scrum Master (CSP-SM) course page on https://www.agilecentre.com/courses/scrum-master/certified-scrum-professional-scrum-master/ 

For more information on John McFadyen, connect with John on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmcfadyen/.   

#agile #agilecoach #agilecoaching #agileprojectmanagement #agileproductdevelopment #agility #businessagility #scrum #scrummaster #scrumtraining #scrumcertification #scrumalliance #agilecentre #johnmcfadyen #coach #coaching #certifiedscrummaster

Part 12 of our #scrummaster #interviewquestions series where John McFadyen answers common questions posed of #scrummasters and #agilecoaches during interviews and engagements.  

In a perfect #agile world, each member of the #scrumteam understands the benefits of #scrum and attempts to live, breathe and act based on the #agile values and principles.  

Attempts to use each of the #scrumevents to optimize their performance and identify opportunities for growth and improvement.  

That said, people are complex and often you will find that not everybody in the team supports a particular event or wants to participate.  

This is an interesting interview question because the team could be experiencing this very issue of non-participation or resistance to adoption of #scrum and the interviewer is genuinely interested in how you would deal with that.  

It gives you a great opportunity to demonstrate why you are a great coach as well as a #scrummaster, and it provides them with the insight they need to make a decision about whether you are the right person for the job or not.  

In this short video, John McFadyen explains how he would deal with a person who saw scrum meetings and events as a waste of time and refused to participate in them.  

If you are interested in becoming an agile coach and value mentored, coach-driven skills development in your journey to mastery, visit our Growing Agile Coaches page on https://www.johnmcfadyen.com/growing-agile-coaches/.  

If you like the idea of becoming a scrum master and want to achieve internationally recognised and certified accreditation as a scrum master, visit our Certified Scrum Master (CSM) course page on https://www.johnmcfadyen.com/training/certified-scrummaster/.   

If you are already a scrum master and want to upskill to a more advanced level of knowledge and agile coaching capability, visit our Advanced Certified Scrum Master (A-CSM) course page on https://www.johnmcfadyen.com/training/advanced-certified-scrummaster/.   

If you have several years’ experience as a scrum master and want to validate and certify your professional skills, visit our Certified Scrum Professional Scrum Master (CSP-SM) course page on https://www.agilecentre.com/courses/scrum-master/certified-scrum-professional-scrum-master/.  

For more information on John McFadyen, visit https://www.johnmcfadyen.com or connect with John on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmcfadyen/.   

#agile #agilecoach #agilecoaching #agileprojectmanagement #agileproductdevelopment #agility #businessagility #scrum #scrummaster #scrumtraining #scrumcertification #scrumalliance #agilecentre #johnmcfadyen #coach #coaching #certifiedscrummaster

Part 11 in our #scrummaster #interviewquestions series where John McFadyen answers common questions posed of #scrummasters and #agilecoaches in interviews and client engagements.  

This is either a trick question or the person interviewing you has very little knowledge of #scrum and the #agilemanifesto. It could be both.  

This question drew a bit of scorn from John and irritated him a bit but like a trojan, he had a laugh and got on with answering the question as he would if he were in an interview or client engagement.  

As we work through this series, we are discovering that some questions posed in interview questions are tough to answer if you have deep experience within the industry.  

They are tough because the answer is obvious to experienced individuals but require patient and respectful explanation to people who don't understand #scrum or #agile environments in the least bit.  

It is easy to assume that the people interviewing you have a great knowledge and understanding of #scrum environments, but you are well served by preparing for the unexpected and downright silly questions that will come your way.  

This is one of them, but we think John did a great job in answering it.  

If you are interested in becoming an agile coach and value mentored, coach-driven skills development in your journey to mastery, visit our Growing Agile Coaches page on https://www.johnmcfadyen.com/growing-agile-coaches/.  

If you like the idea of becoming a scrum master and want to achieve internationally recognised and certified accreditation as a scrum master, visit our Certified Scrum Master (CSM) course page on https://www.johnmcfadyen.com/training/certified-scrummaster/.   

If you are already a scrum master and want to upskill to a more advanced level of knowledge and agile coaching capability, visit our Advanced Certified Scrum Master (A-CSM) course page on https://www.johnmcfadyen.com/training/advanced-certified-scrummaster/.   

If you have several years’ experience as a scrum master and want to validate and certify your professional skills, visit our Certified Scrum Professional Scrum Master (CSP-SM) course page on https://www.agilecentre.com/courses/scrum-master/certified-scrum-professional-scrum-master/.  

For more information on John McFadyen, visit https://www.johnmcfadyen.com or connect with John on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmcfadyen/.   

#agile #agilecoach #agilecoaching #agileprojectmanagement #agileproductdevelopment #agility #businessagility #scrum #scrummaster #scrumtraining #scrumcertification #scrumalliance #agilecentre #johnmcfadyen #coach #coaching #certifiedscrummaster

Part 10 in our #scrummaster #interviewquestions series where John McFadyen answers common questions posed to #scrummasters and #agilecoaches in interviews and engagements.  

This is an interesting question. Either your interviewer has very little knowledge of #scrum and wants to gain insight into how you would lead the #scrumteam effectively or they are experiencing an issue within the organization where #developers are excluded from the product discovery process and it is causing problems down the line.  

In short, the #scrumteam must be involved in the product discovery process from the very beginning.   

There will also be a process of continuous discovery as the team move into the development phase. #scrum is built on the pillars of transparency, inspect and adapt so there will always be a strong focus on ensuring that the right thing is being built, at the right time, to deliver the highest value to the #productowner and customer.  

In this short video, John McFadyen explains why product discovery is critical for the #scrumteam and why their focus will always align with ensuring that the team are building the most valuable products and features.  

If you are interested in becoming an agile coach and value mentored, coach-driven skills development in your journey to mastery, visit our Growing Agile Coaches page on https://www.johnmcfadyen.com/growing-agile-coaches/.  

If you like the idea of becoming a scrum master and want to achieve internationally recognised and certified accreditation as a scrum master, visit our Certified Scrum Master (CSM) course page on https://www.johnmcfadyen.com/training/certified-scrummaster/.   

If you are already a scrum master and want to upskill to a more advanced level of knowledge and agile coaching capability, visit our Advanced Certified Scrum Master (A-CSM) course page on https://www.johnmcfadyen.com/training/advanced-certified-scrummaster/.   

If you have several years’ experience as a scrum master and want to validate and certify your professional skills, visit our Certified Scrum Professional Scrum Master (CSP-SM) course page on https://www.agilecentre.com/courses/scrum-master/certified-scrum-professional-scrum-master/.  

For more information on John McFadyen, visit https://www.johnmcfadyen.com or connect with John on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmcfadyen/.   

#agile #agilecoach #agilecoaching #agileprojectmanagement #agileproductdevelopment #agility #businessagility #scrum #scrummaster #scrumtraining #scrumcertification #scrumalliance #agilecentre #johnmcfadyen #coach #coaching #certifiedscrummaster

Part 9 in our #scrummaster #interviewquestions series where John McFadyen answers common questions posed to #scrummasters and #agilecoaches in interviews and engagements.  

#agile is a great answer to #productdevelopment in complex environments. It is, however, not the only answer. It is one of many approaches, frameworks and models that an organisation could employ to achieve their objectives.  

This is a great interview question because it explores how you, as the #scrummaster or #agilecoach, would measure the effectiveness of your role and determine whether the #scrumteam were on the right track.  

There are many metrics and performance measures employed within the industry, but this question offers you the opportunity to articulate which of those metrics and measures are important to you and why.  

In this short video, John McFadyen defines how he would determine whether #scrum or #agile was proving to be a great answer for the organization and why it should be nurtured and developed.  

If you are interested in becoming an agile coach and value mentored, coach-driven skills development in your journey to mastery, visit our Growing Agile Coaches page on https://www.johnmcfadyen.com/growing-agile-coaches/.  

If you like the idea of becoming a scrum master and want to achieve internationally recognised and certified accreditation as a scrum master, visit our Certified Scrum Master (CSM) course page on https://www.johnmcfadyen.com/training/certified-scrummaster/.   

If you are already a scrum master and want to upskill to a more advanced level of knowledge and agile coaching capability, visit our Advanced Certified Scrum Master (A-CSM) course page on https://www.johnmcfadyen.com/training/advanced-certified-scrummaster/.   

If you have several years’ experience as a scrum master and want to validate and certify your professional skills, visit our Certified Scrum Professional Scrum Master (CSP-SM) course page on https://www.agilecentre.com/courses/scrum-master/certified-scrum-professional-scrum-master/.  

For more information on John McFadyen, visit https://www.johnmcfadyen.com or connect with John on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmcfadyen/.   

#agile #agilecoach #agilecoaching #agileprojectmanagement #agileproductdevelopment #agility #businessagility #scrum #scrummaster #scrumtraining #scrumcertification #scrumalliance #agilecentre #johnmcfadyen #coach #coaching #certifiedscrummaster

Part 7 in our #scrummaster #interviewquestions series where John McFadyen answers common questions posed to #scrummasters and #agilecoaches in interviews and engagements.  

This is a more technical question from an interviewer to ascertain how you, as a #scrummaster or #agilecoach, would guide the team in #sprintplanning and #sprintretrospectives.  

It is an interesting question because factoring these elements into planning and retrospectives is important yet it isn't the most important thing to be focusing on as a team.  

Yes, housekeeping matters, but ultimately, the purpose of a #scrumteam is to create products and features that truly delight customers. To deliver the highest value items to the #productowner #productstakeholders and customers.  

So, how do you balance technical elements with delivery elements?  

In this short video, John McFadyen explains how he would consider refactoring, fixing important bugs, exploring new ideas and concepts in terms of the team's capacity.  

If you are interested in becoming an agile coach and value mentored, coach-driven skills development in your journey to mastery, visit our Growing Agile Coaches page on https://www.johnmcfadyen.com/growing-agile-coaches/.  

If you like the idea of becoming a scrum master and want to achieve internationally recognised and certified accreditation as a scrum master, visit our Certified Scrum Master (CSM) course page on https://www.johnmcfadyen.com/training/certified-scrummaster/.   

If you are already a scrum master and want to upskill to a more advanced level of knowledge and agile coaching capability, visit our Advanced Certified Scrum Master (A-CSM) course page on https://www.johnmcfadyen.com/training/advanced-certified-scrummaster/.   

If you have several years’ experience as a scrum master and want to validate and certify your professional skills, visit our Certified Scrum Professional Scrum Master (CSP-SM) course page on https://www.agilecentre.com/courses/scrum-master/certified-scrum-professional-scrum-master/.  

For more information on John McFadyen, visit https://www.johnmcfadyen.com or connect with John on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmcfadyen/.   

#agile #agilecoach #agilecoaching #agileprojectmanagement #agileproductdevelopment #agility #businessagility #scrum #scrummaster #scrumtraining #scrumcertification #scrumalliance #agilecentre #johnmcfadyen #coach #coaching #certifiedscrummaster