Implement a consistent yet flexible structure that fits clients’ needs.

“In the new way of working, we seek to build trust, be driven, autonomous with scalability that emphasizes the importance of culture and network. We want to be able to increase innovation, quick respond to the marketplace, and productivity by focusing on autonomy, communication, accountability, and quality”.

A Comparison of the Main Forms of the Agile Approach to Innovation

There are about a dozen agile innovation methodologies, which share values and principles but differ in their emphases. Experts often combine various approaches to solve problems in an agile environment. Here are the three most popular forms and the contexts in which each works best, and once Aperia Solution is interested in. 

SCRUM

Empower creative, cross-functional teams

Creative cultures with high levels of trust and collaboration, or

Radical innovation teams that want to change their working environment

KANBAN

Visualize workflows and limit work in the process

Process-oriented cultures that prefer evolutionary improvements with few prescribed practices

LEAN DEVELOPMENT

Eliminate waste from the system as a whole

Process-oriented cultures that prefer evolutionary improvements with overarching values but no prescribed practices

The Scrum Master is accountable for establishing Scrum as defined in the Scrum Guide and Aperia Agile playbook. They do this by helping everyone understand Scrum, Kanban, XP, FDD etc. theories and practice, both within the Scrum Team and Aperia.

Agile

” Agile is a set of Values and Principles”. 

Within agile there are multiple frameworks as seen in the picture. The Scrum Master is accountable for the developer’s effectiveness. 

They do this by enabling the developers to improve their practices, within the “Framework”. The Scrum Master’s responsibilities will vary depending on the unique needs of each team.

Scrum Team 

The individual responsible for making sure the Scrum Team understands and enacts the Scrum framework. 

Essential Responsibilities (Specific day-to-day responsibilities and milestones needed to achieve the objectives): 

• Performs full ScrumMaster actions including facilitating development efforts, running scrums, removing obstacles, ensuring cross-collaboration when necessary, estimating, and handling requests/questions.

• ScrumMaster for 2 or more teams concurrently with 5-11 members (UX/UI, Dev, Ba, QA etc)

• Manages release planning and monitoring at the single-project level or multiple projects. 

• Runs sprint planning, sprint reviews, retrospectives, and user story grooming meetings.

• Communicates appropriately up and down the management chain.

• Continually develops strategies for improving performance of the team.

• Provides regular and ongoing coaching around objectives and priorities as well as routine and unique business requirements.

• Guides, directs, and teaches less-experienced colleagues on agile ways of working.

• Contributes to new project proposals, including providing HLE, resource requirements and high-level solution discussion with design and architectures.

Kanban Team 

The Scrum Master is dedicated to improving the efficiency of the workflow

• Make sure that work items flow.

• Facilitate change and continuous improvement activities.

• Leader, facilitator, protector, gatekeeper, coach, even described sometimes as a sheepdog.

• Works as a servant leader.

• Does not practice command and control.

• Crucial in ensuring the success of the Scrum team.

• Master of Scrum, not a Master of the Team.

• Enforces the Scrum process.

• Ensures full team involvement in all meetings.

• Radiates information to the larger organization.

• Shields the team from external interference.

• Keeps the process moving.

• Tracks and resolves team impediments.

• Regularly checking the Kanban board and making sure that no work item has been blocked for too long.

• If a given task is being delayed more than usual, address the topic with its owner. Check if there is a problem or a risk of some sort and offer help.

• Make sure the policies are followed by the team members. This is very necessary especially with teams new to Kanban

• Facilitating change and continuous improvement activities

• Collecting data about the work items on the Kanban board and discussing it with the team

• Asking questions until the team has identified a true root cause for a given problem.

• Making sure that errors are not repeated more than once.

• If SM has enough experience, coach the team members on Lean & Kanban

A Scrum Master regardless of the agile framework is a team-based leader who:

• Exhibits Lean-Agile leadership – Exhibits the behaviors of a Lean-Agile Leader with a Lean-Agile Mindset. Helps the team embrace Agile Core Values, adopt and apply agile Principles, implement framework (Scrum, Kanban) practices.

• Supports the team rules – The rules of a Scrum Team are lightweight, but they are rules nonetheless, and the Scrum Master is responsible for reinforcing them. These may include the rules of Scrum, Built-In Quality practices from Extreme Programming (XP), Work in Process (WIP) limits from Kanban, and any other process rules the team has agreed.

• Facilitates the team’s progress toward team goals – The Scrum Master is trained as a team facilitator and is continuously engaged in challenging the old norms of development to improve performance in the areas of quality, predictability, flow, and velocity. They help the team focus on creating increments of value each iteration and achieving daily and Iteration/sprint Goals in the context of the current Product Objectives.

• Leads team efforts in relentless improvement – Helps the team improve and take responsibility for their actions; facilitates the team retrospective. Teaches problem-solving techniques and helps the team become better problem-solvers for themselves.

• Facilitates events – Facilitates team events, including (where applicable) the Daily Stand-up, Sprint Planning, Sprint Review, and Sprint Retrospective ensures they are productive and kept within the timebox.

• Promotes Agile quality practices – Agile provides guidance to assist the teams in constantly improving the quality of their deliverables and meeting the Definition of Done (DoD). The Scrum Master helps foster the culture of technical discipline and craftsmanship that is the hallmark of effective Agile teams.

• Builds a high-performing team – Focuses on ever-improving team dynamics and performance and coaches the team in self-management. Helps the team resolve interpersonal conflicts and challenges and identify opportunities for growth. Escalates people problems to management where necessary, but only after internal team processes (SM has tried to resolve the issue within the team) have failed to resolve the issue; helps individuals.

• Responsibilities on the Product Delivery – The Scrum Master helps coordinate inter-team cooperation and helps the team operate well on large scale projects.

• Coordinates with other teams – The Scrum Master supports the team’s efforts to continuously improve communications and relationships with other teams. They frequently represent the team in the Scrum of Scrums (SoS), helping the team remain aware of opportunities to engage and improve program effectiveness. They also often help the team build effective relationships all other teams. It is important to note, however, that the responsibility for inter-team coordination cannot be delegated entirely to the Scrum Master; every team member shares responsibility in that regard.

• Supports Agile adoption – The Scrum Master supports the overall adoption of Agile across Aperia by coaching Mangers at program level, stakeholders, Sponsors, and other non-agile teams on effective interactions with Scrum Teams, participating in the Scrum Master Community of Practice, and supporting the Agile coach.

• Enables organizational effectiveness – The Scrum Master works with other Scrum Masters and stakeholders to help the team contribute towards improving the overall development Value Stream.

• Facilitates Preparation and Readiness for Large product Planning events – Assists team in preparation for Scrum, Kanban, XP activities etc., including Large Product Planning, Large Product Demos, and the Inspect and Adapt session.

• Supports estimating – Guides the team in establishing normalized estimates and helps the team understand how to estimate Epics and User Stories.

As we continue to transform, I will expect all the scrum master to be able to attain this level of maturity with the ability to lead any agile framework the team decide is best to solve the problem at hand. 

The Scrum Master serves the Scrum Team in several ways, including:

• Coaching the team members in self-management and cross-functionality.

• Helping the Scrum Team focus on creating high-value Increments that meet the Definition of Done.

• Causing the removal of impediments to the Scrum Team’s progress; and,

• Ensuring that all Scrum events take place and are positive, productive, and kept within the timebox.

The Scrum Master serves the Product Owner in several ways, including:

• Helping find techniques for effective Product Goal definition and Product Backlog management.

• Helping the Scrum Team understand the need for clear and concise Product Backlog items.

• Helping establish empirical product planning for a complex environment; and,

• Facilitating stakeholder collaboration as requested or needed.

The Scrum Master serves the organization in several ways, including:

• Leading, training, and coaching the organization in its Scrum adoption.

• Planning and advising Scrum implementations within the organization.

• Helping employees and stakeholders understand and enact an empirical approach for complex work; and,

• Removing barriers between stakeholders and Scrum Teams.