Dave West (@davidjwest) joined Ryan Ripley (@ryanripley) to discuss the latest updates to the Scrum Guide. [featured-image single_newwindow=”false”]Dave West hosting the Scrum Guild Update with Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland[/featured-image] Dave is ...

81: The Scrum Guide Gets an Update with Dave West

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Welcome to a new enlightening episode of "Becoming a Scrum Master"! In this episode, we're excited to feature Souleymane Thiongane, a remarkable figure in the Scrum community, as he joins host Ryan Ripley for an engaging conversation about his journey with Scrum. From his initial discovery of Scrum as a software developer to becoming a passionate advocate and master of the Scrum framework, Souleymane shares valuable lessons and experiences.
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Souleymane Thiongane's Journey to Scrum Mastery | Expert Insights & Tips

Jowen Mei's scrum journey began in 2010 as a C# developer in Microsoft technology. His first experience with Scrum was transformative, sparking his love for the framework due to its focus on autonomy, mastery, and purpose, such as team collaboration, TDD, and direct customer engagement.

After his initial scrum experience, Mei launched his own agile-focused startup, which faced initial challenges. He returned to consultancy, gradually shifting from development to scrum mastering, influenced by the role's complexity and its impact on professional and personal life.

Mei's early scrum master approach focused on strict adherence to practices and persuasion, but he evolved to emphasize coaching, inspiration, and empowering team ownership for sustainable improvement.

For aspiring scrum masters, Mei emphasizes the importance of curiosity, humility, and an experimental mindset. He believes in understanding underlying reasons for team behaviors and adopting a continuous improvement mindset.

Mei recommends Christopher Avery's book The Responsibility Process for scrum masters. He values its insights into the psychological aspects of ownership and responsibility and shares his appreciation for the book's impact on his understanding of team dynamics and leadership.




Jowen Mei's Journey to Scrum Mastery | Expert Insights & Tips

Pawel Mysliwiec, a fellow professional Scrum trainer with Scrum.org, joins host Ryan Ripley on the "Becoming a Scrum Master" podcast.

Pawel's Entry into Scrum: Pawel recounts his initial, unknowing encounter with Scrum while working as a product manager on bank credit transaction software. He participated in what he later learned were Scrum meetings, such as the daily Scrum, without realizing it was part of Scrum methodology.

Eureka Moment in Scrum: Pawel experienced his transformative moment with Scrum on a complex project within a waterfall program. He managed two teams and decided to apply Scrum internally while maintaining a project manager facade externally. This led to successful incremental deliveries and effective collaboration between business and IT personnel, which was a revelation to him.

Evolution of Scrum Master Role: Pawel reflects on the evolution of the Scrum Master role, emphasizing the shift from understanding and practicing Scrum to ensuring the team's long-term success and delivering financial value. He believes the role encompasses facilitating team effectiveness and reliability and helping teams become examples of good practice.

Advice for Aspiring Scrum Masters: Pawel advises patience and resilience as key traits for Scrum Masters. Change doesn't happen overnight, and a good Scrum Master should be resilient enough to keep trying while being patient for the change to occur. He also suggests a learning-by-doing approach and recommends reading books on Scrum Mastery, particularly for beginners.
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Pawel Mysliwiec's Journey to Scrum Mastery | Expert Insights & Tips

Ryan and Todd look back at a 2006 post by Ken Schwaber, which covers 15 ways Scrum is both hard and disruptive.

The fourteenth statement from Ken:

"A team consists of people under pressure to do their best. Conflict is natural and the team needs to know how to deal with the conflict and have resources to draw on when needed."

Natural Conflict in Teams: The episode discusses how conflict is a natural occurrence in teams, especially under pressure. This pressure can be constructive and lead to better performance if it's oriented towards clear goals, such as achieving Sprint and product goals in Scrum.

Healthy vs. Unhealthy Conflict: They emphasize the difference between healthy and unhealthy conflict. Healthy conflict focuses on problem-solving and can be beneficial, while unhealthy conflict, which can escalate to personal fights, is detrimental. The key is to maintain focus on solving problems, not winning arguments.

Role of Scrum Values in Managing Conflict: Scrum values like commitment are highlighted in managing conflict. These values support positive, natural conflict oriented towards team goals and problem-solving instead of destructive fights.

Team Dynamics and Conflict Resolution: The hosts discuss the importance of recognizing when a discussion is veering away from productive conflict and turning into a personal fight. They stress the importance of team members being able to intervene, reset the focus on the problem, and avoid stubbornness in pursuit of being right.

Balance Between Agreement and Conflict: They conclude that while conflict is necessary for progress, it needs to be balanced. Neither constant agreement nor continuous fighting is beneficial. A good Scrum Master, product owner, or team member should help maintain this balance, encouraging healthy conflict while preventing fights.



Scrum is Hard and Disruptive 14 - Conflict Not Fights

Magdalena discusses her transition from traditional project management to Scrum. In 2008, while experiencing project delays and rapid business environment changes, she discovered Scrum in a project management course, finding it a revelation for addressing these challenges.

Firlit highlights a pivotal moment in her journey: recognizing Scrum's ability to respond to market changes and customer needs, previously overlooked in traditional project management approaches. This realization initiated discussions about adopting new methodologies within her organization.

Her Scrum Master journey involved a professional transformation and a shift in personal mindset and habits. After a few years in various roles related to agile coaching and product management, she found passion and happiness in these new methodologies.

Firlit emphasizes the evolving role of a Scrum Master, stressing the importance of focusing on organizational aspects and value orientation rather than just team-level concerns and basic practices. She discusses challenges in organizational culture and the need for openness to change.

Lastly, she advises aspiring Scrum Masters to focus on the broader organizational context and product ownership, emphasizing the need to understand and respond to complexity, market changes, and technology advancements. She recommends thinking beyond team effectiveness and tool usage to include organizational agility and product outcomes.
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81: The Scrum Guide Gets an Update with Dave West

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