I recently had a very interesting conversation, as the conversation went on we dabbled into scrum mastery and then the question came,”Temi, how would you define a Scrum master? I have heard different textbook definitions, some sound like he/she is a super hero, some like a counsellor, some like a teacher , tell me who this person is the question went….

Superhero or counsellor?

I thought about it for a few minutes and then this answer came to me:

“A Scrum master is someone that leads people through a dark cave while holding a light, bearing in mind that his top skill is that he is a master at holding that same light and pointing it at the right things, in the right way and at the right time” 

Interesting definition right? well, he thought so as well and his reaction was wow, thats an interesting definition, do you mind elaborating?

What follows is my attempt at elaborating on my deifinition.

Let us break down the points I raised.

‘Someone leading people through a dark room’…

let us get somethings in perspective, scrum is a framework under the Agile Umbrella, agile is usually deployed in what we call a complex domain.

What do we mean by Complex domain you might ask.

Lets take a look at the ever popular Stacy Complexity Model.

From this model, we can identify 4 domains:

Namely:

Simple Domain: Here the tasks are simple and well defined, basically easy to solve. You know exactly what is required and how you can do it. E.g Having a shower, brushing your teeth. Activities that you just get done without much thinking.

Complicated Domain: As the name implies, things are no longer simple/easy, what needs to be done and how to get it done aren’t completely clear. Expertise is required to do the tasks as there are unknowns and knowns. E.g Building a house, these activities need extensive planning and domain expertise to execute them.

Complex domain: This is the biggest category in the Stacey Complexity model. This domain is full of tasks that have a great degree of uncertainty regarding what needs to be done and how it can be done. There are in fact more unknowns than knowns. A typical example is software projects, the requirements are not usually clear from the beginning and they also change quite a bit as the work progresses.

Anarchy domain: As the name suggests, everything has gone wrong here, complete breakdown of order, a simple example is a tsunami etc

Looking at the above, the scrum framework solves the uncertainty issue in the complex domain by employing empiricism, transparency, inspection and adaptation. This allows one to do something within a timeframe, check if the goal and path are still valid and then either continue or pivot. Making use of this way of working allows one to reduce the degree of uncertainty gradually without be committed for more than a sprint at a time.

Now, back to our scrum master definition, the dark cave I spoke about is referring to the complex domain…meaning the scrum master ‘leads’ a team or teams or organisation through their journey in the complex domain (where more is unknown than is known).

Holding the light refers to the scrum framework as it is very apt at shining a light on the issues that prevent/limit agility by using its events to inspect and adapt the process and product.

Continuing with the definition, I said “Bearing in mind that his top skill is that he is a master at holding that same light and pointing it at the right things, in the right way and at the right time” The scrum master according to the updated scrum guide is accountable for establishing Scrum as defined in the Scrum Guide. This is done by helping everyone understand Scrum theory and practice, both within the Scrum Team and the organization.

This can be viewed in the light of the topic as saying the scrum masters expertise is being able to point the light at the right thing, in the right way and at the right time. The scrum master achieves this by a combination of activities and actions. The expectation is that the improvement opportunities that surface can/should be taken advantage of by the team/teams/organisation.

Interestingly , Robin Hackshall of Enigma solutions added an interesting point to this definition, he added ‘whilst also teaching/showing others how to hold the light themselves’

Behold the updated the definition is “A Scrum master is someone that leads people through a dark cave while holding a light, bearing in mind that his top skill is that he is a master at holding that same light and pointing it at the right things, in the right way and at the right time whilst also teaching/showing others how to hold the light themselves”

The scrum master is an embodiment of scrum and part of the scrum master’s accountabilities, the scrum guide says that the Scrum Master is accountable for establishing Scrum as defined in the Scrum Guide. They do this by helping everyone understand Scrum theory and practice, both within the Scrum Team and the organisation. The scrum master helps the team, teams and organisation understand scrum enough to be able to gain the benefits of the framework by doing the following :

• 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 also serves the organisation by:

• 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.

So what am I saying if I am saying anything?

A scrum master embodies the scrum framework and helps/coaches a team or teams or organisations to gain the benefits of scrum and help improve the delivery of value.

He/she truly just leads people through a dark cave while holding a light, bearing in mind that his top skill is that he is a master at holding that same light and pointing it at the right things, in the right way and at the right time whilst also teaching/showing others how to hold the light themselves