AI-generated image of a Scrum Master with Team Member by DALL-E

Personally, I have never been one who goes by first impressions – sure, they are important, but the experience of the initial contact with someone shouldn’t determine the terms of a relationship. However, if by, say, day 100 you still have issues with someone, then there may be a larger issue, but I digress. That’s also not to say you shouldn’t start strong either.

This concept of first impressions came to mind when listening to an episode of a popular Agile and Scrum podcast the Software Process and Measurement podcast, or Sp&mcast. The host, Tom Cagley, someone I have learned a lot from by taking training led by him, posed a question to his guest from a listener who asked about what they would do on their first day as a newly-certified Scrum Master. My excitement to hear the guest’s thoughts quickly faded as their answer didn’t help channel the listener’s recent “drinking from the firehose” introduction to Scrum, and if anything made it worse.

Realizing the guest missed the mark on the question, I asked myself, “Self, what would you do on day one as a Scrum Master?” I pondered this for a long while, taking into consideration my own training and certifications as both a Scrum Master and Scrum Product Owner plus hours of reading, listening and discussions on the discipline. I then wrote up these thoughts and send them to the Tom. Upon recently rediscovering that email, I share my 4-step agenda for that day here. Where I have tweaked some of the content, my initial approach and intent persists.

Let The Day Begin

The first thing I would do is sit down with my new reporting manager and be honest, saying, “Manager, I just finished this Scrum Master training, have all of this knowledge and now I have to learn how to use it.” I would give an analogy of taking a woodworking course: learned a lot, got a lot of tools and now I have to really learn how to use them on my own. I may not be able to build elegant, high-end cabinets from the start, but I plan to soon build something to hang on the wall to store things.

Up second is to become aware of any and all artifacts as part of the project (if there are any, but I will assume there are some). I said “become aware” as I would not read through in painstaking detail every user story right away, but I would want to know 1) if there are any and 2) where they are. Becoming aware of what exists will help with future steps.

Next it’s time to schedule the ceremonies – sprint planning, kick-off, daily Scrums, review, retrospective – if they already aren’t in place. If they are already in place, I would “take them over” by ensuring meeting invites were coming from me and I was scheduling them.

Finally in the first daily Scrum, I would let everyone know I will be scheduling individual meetings with everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, to make an introduction and start to get to know them. Whether in-person or virtual, I would like to get ahead of getting to know them. If in person, I will buy them a (insert favorite beverage here) or lunch. These meetings would be with everyone – the Product Owner, Dev Team, and people who are outside of the Scrum team but are related, including stakeholders, leadership, users, customers, janitors, et. al.! I have always found getting to know someone, especially in person, in advance of any issues is always best.

It's Good to Dream

As I revisit this, I realize I may never actually put this plan into action. Where it has been almost 5 years since I started on my “Agile journey” it has been mostly a trip in virtual reality. The catalyst for this was the directive at my job to become an Agile organization, so I went all-in. Perhaps it’s luck, fate or some other term I don’t need to dwell on now, but I have never truly put my own course of study into action in the role of a Scrum Master. And at this point with my evolving job, I may not have that opportunity. Though one should never say never, what I have learned is still valuable to me and I don’t have any reservations on my career journey.

Deconstructing Becoming a Scrum Master

Every journey begins – and continues – with one step. Starting out on the right foot, stable and strong, all the while managing each step as best as possible, helps you and your team succeed. This is especially important for Scrum Masters, especially as they have come under higher industry scrutiny as of late. Where I myself may not execute this plan, I put it out there for others to consider, and I welcome feedback as to how it worked for them.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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