Scrum Master? Nope, You're a Project Manager With An Excel Sheet!

Estimated Reading Time: 5-7 minutes.

So I'm browsing LinkedIn the other day, looking at profiles of people I went to school with in order to make sure they aren't happier than me, and I get a notification from somebody I barely know. I'll call him "Shashi", because that's not his name.

It seems Shashi is a Project Manager, and he's working on a project which he is referring to - in an apparent window into his deeply managerial soul - A Scrum Project. It also seems that Shashi is the Scrum Master & has invited everyone he has ever met to "Share" insights and feedback about how to manage this project, including his friends, his family, his casual acquaintances, his preschool teacher, the guy on OLX who he bought his used car from, his lawyer, etc.

So I decided to humor Shashi, and I checked out a few of his project details. Unfortunately, I cannot reprint them here, because - at each and every stage of project management - Shashi has made some catastrophic mistakes. So I'm going to explain few of them to you.

Mistake Number 1: Assuming Scrum Master and the Project Manager are the same role.

For those new to Agile there is often an assumption made that the Scrum Master and the Project Manager are the same role. This is absolutely not the case. The two roles are very different and they each fit into approaches to projects that are wildly different.

The traditional Project Manager is a leader, a decision maker, a planner who manages the project and his team and is the person accountable to the business for accomplishing the project objectives. The role of the Scrum Master is more a coaching and facilitation role, a role that sits between the project and the customer.

Mistake Number 2: Combining the Project Manager role with the Product Owner.

Product Owners have a huge responsibility for the project. They are responsible for maintaining a product backlog that describes the product that must continue to fit with the requirements of the business. The Product Owner has to adjust and re-prioritize the backlog to fit these changes and to steer the project. With many projects that's a big task and one that many Product Owners can struggle with. The Scrum Master is there to help, to provide a consultancy role and to look at the project from all angles. While the project remains the Product Owner's responsibility, it's up to them to make the decisions.

The Project Manager role demands very different skills, such as reporting, steering committee meeting, and high amount of stakeholder management (expectation management) and in my opinion the Project Manager is more focused on the external environment which may influence the project.

Mistake Number 3: Assuming that the Lead Developer is also a Scrum Master.

Shashi's team, finds it difficult to differentiate between the Scrum Master and the Lead Developer. Often a development lead is required who has particular skills and experience and is able to manage the team, to make their decisions. This is not a Scrum Master role, that is specifically a role required within the team. It's up to the team to lead itself, either with a lead role or a collective togetherness. Thinking that the Scrum Master role is not required is wrong. The role is entirely different to the Lead Developer. The Scrum Master is there to facilitate and coach, to provide support.

If the project requires someone within the team that can manage, lead and take responsibility for the development then that needs to be defined by the project. That lead role should be allowed to concentrate on the development and not be distracted by the wider project, those within the business and by backlog definition and prioritizing. The lead role should be allowed to lead and to produce a product to the best of the teams ability. A successful scrum team is one that will manage itself into a form that works best for them.

Now at this point some of you might be sharpening your pitch forks, with the intention of crucifying me. You might think - "Hold on there you! Shashi is not a Certified Scrum Master! He is not aware of the fact that the two roles are very different!"

Well, in order to be a true Scrum Master, & manage a Scrum project, you have to be a true Servant-Leader. You have to slave, a lot! It sounds like a cushy job, but it's a very particular skill set, and takes the right person to make it work. Scrum Masters can come from Project Management but that's not a guaranteed fit. Business Analysts and team members can also fit the role. A lot of traditional Project Managers struggle with the transition because they're stepping away from a very structured position, one with them at the helm steering the development and the team towards a pre-defined specification. The often overwhelming change controls imposed in traditional waterfall approaches are no longer there to protect the Project Manager from the risks associated with change. Gone is the over-analyzing, form filling approach to change. A product definition can change massively from the beginning of a project. In fact, a product doesn't need to be fully defined at the outset of an Agile project. That scares the pants off the traditionalists!

You might be thinking is Shashi is just another ape that has started to dress like a human. But this was not an isolated incident. In fact, I've been invited to "share" dozens of insights in the recent past, and I've generally turned them all down, because – and I say this in the nicest way possible – you can really only look at so many mistakes before you want to gouge out your own eyes, destroy the managers laptop and wish for a nationwide ban on MS Excel that ensures such a project will never again be taken, even if it means we all get laid off!

Anyway, while this post is primarily intended to be encouraging, I assume the readers(and Shashi) are actually rolling their eyes at every line & word. I assume the readers are actually wondering what clichéd subject will come up next. I assume the readers are actually thinking the same things I am, namely: Is he ever going to become a Scrum Master someday?

I'm utterly grateful that you spent time reading my post. If you liked my post, for any reason, and if you think it is worthy of being shared, then please do share it. I welcome comments, criticism, bouquets & brickbats as well.

I love Scrum, Agile, Project & Team Management, Testing, & coaching people in the same. I would be delighted to connect with you. Please feel free to send me an email at 'sbc9385@gmail.com' or leave a comment.