Ryan Brook (he/him/his)

Prior to reading this blog, please read the introduction to this series here. Professional Teaching is a complex skill that requires practitioners to probe, sense and respond to a changing learning environment. As Scrum Masters, we are naturally at home within complexity, and therefore the ability to apply empiricism to learning should be simple. However, for many reasons, teaching is often forced upon unwilling (or unwitting) Scrum Team members causing the outcome to be less valuable than intended. As such, creating the environment where learning is sought out is vital to the Professional Scrum Master (and therefore Professional Teacher) so that the team are more likely to achieve intended outcomes. Thus, without the correct ‘intention’, it is fair to say that learning often becomes didactic and is only received at a surface level. It is the purpose of this second post in the series about professionalising the teacher stance to explore the first competency of ‘Intention’ and how the Professional Teacher would demonstrate it. The concept of ‘Intention’ applies to both the purpose and methods used to impart knowledge. Consider how engaged you were in training your employer forced you into – did you learn a lot? It’s something all Professional Scrum Trainers can empathise with; when companies pay for a private class and tell a team they are going to be trained, we see lower engagement (and assessment success) than with those who self-funded their participation (and therefore have chosen to be there). Scrum Masters that achieve the professional teaching competency outlined by ‘Intention’ understand that the Professional Teacher is accountable for the culture and environment where learners want to be present. There are many ways that this can be improved, both actively and passively, but the key outcome is that learning is initiated by the learner- the teacher does not force it. Consider the following two questions alongside a personal context when you last taught your team something: Did you decide they needed to be taught something based on an observation OR did they seek out your expertise? Did you set the agenda OR did you collaborate on the intended outcomes? By its nature, learning requires student engagement and clear outcomes. When considering these two questions in the professional context of a workplace, you can ensure that the teaching is selfless and intended. We are considering the concept of active learning rather than passive here, and therefore the Professional Teacher has previously worked to improve the atmosphere where it’s acceptable to ‘not know’. To take an example from Professional Scrum, perhaps you’ve been in a Sprint Retrospective where the Scrum Team said “Why do we need to have the Daily Scrum every day? Perhaps every other day would be appropriate?” This is an opportunity to collaborate on what they want to achieve (a question familiar to many Agile Coaches), i.e., their desired outcomes/goals and offer the possibility that you could teach them. Teacher-learner contracting is important and, similar to professional coaching, permission is needed before teaching your Scrum Team. This is because the Professional Teacher needs to understand the boundaries of what is being requested so that they don’t over-teach and begin preaching. Preaching is painful and quickly demolishes the trust built with the team, so special care should be taken to gain transparency on the requirement before starting. You may have noted already that this contracting culture and transparency is very dependent on the Scrum Values, and that’s because it is. If you’re wondering whether you are fulfilling the competency of ‘intention’, look at some of the criteria below. It is not meant as an exhaustive list, but something to promote conversation at multiple levels. Evaluation Criteria As the Scrum Master: I do not teach without permission I focus on teaching the ‘why’ rather than the ‘how’ I evaluate whether teaching is the most appropriate option before doing so I consider what the Scrum Team are trying to achieve by requesting my teaching I re-visit the topics/efficacy of my teaching, perhaps in Sprint Retrospectives As the Scrum Team: We feel able to approach the Scrum Master to request teaching on a topic we need help with We frequently evaluate and can identify our knowledge gaps and therefore we don’t need to be told what we need We are open and specific about our needs so that appropriate support can be given We frequently seek out learning and training As the organisation: They are open and specific about their needs so that the appropriate support can be given They provide support in the form of time/funding for Scrum Teams to learn new skills to improve delivery They support the creation of a learning culture rather than a delivery culture The achievement of these criteria is the accountability of the Professional Teacher. For example, they support the ability of the organisation to create a learning culture as part of being a Professional Scrum Master – the onus is not solely on the organisation to do this on their own. Actionable Ideas What can you do to improve the ‘intention’ of your Professional Teaching? Here are some actionable ideas that you may like to try: Learning sessions – In every Sprint Retrospective, ask the Scrum Team for an area/topic that their knowledge is weakest in. Perhaps it’s what a great Sprint Review looks like, what to do when they’re struggle to define a Sprint Goal, or even something more technical such as testing frameworks? Take that opportunity to offer teaching and see whether they are interested. Designing the Team Alliance – Taking the activity of the DTA from Systems Relationship Coaching, work with your Scrum Team to identify what they want their culture to be like. Use prompt questions that make them consider their learning and environment so that they define continued learning as part of their ethos Sprint Review attendance – Encourage participation in the Sprint Review from the organisation, as this is a great opportunity for impediments to be surfaced wider than the Scrum Team. Presence of senior management matters because it provides the support and willingness to hear about problems and provides empowerment to improve the current situation. So, there we have it, a discussion around the first competency of the Professional Teacher. The simple fact is that a lot of ‘Intention’ is achieved through effective coaching for self-management, namely that a Scrum Team who knows what they need (and seeks it out) is living Scrum and empiricism. Creating the environment where knowledge is desired and understood to be needed to change the status quo is vital, and the Professional Teacher (and by extension the Professional Scrum Master) is accountable for this. Next up in this series, the ‘Evaluation’ competency will be discussed within the context of empiricism and Scrum theory. Ryan is the primary trainer at Optilearn. He is an experienced Scrum Master, Agile Coach and educator. He is a Professional Scrum Trainer with Scrum.org and also holds Qualified Teacher Status in the UK. Ryan believes that the best teachers are the ones who practise what they teach, and so he maintains active consultancy to constantly put theory into practice. To check out his upcoming classes, please look here.

We all have strengths and weaknesses with the preferred stances of a Scrum Master. Like many of the teams we work with, being ‘key-shaped’ comes to mind – cross-skilled and competent at many things but having a deeper knowledge of certain stances more so than others.

Here's my twist on an old classic. If I've learnt anything by writing this, it's that I should stick to training Scrum and not writing poetry! 'Twas the night before Sprint Review, when all through the building Not a dev was there stirring, definitely not out chilling; The increment had been tagged on the Ops branch with care, In hopes that the stakeholders soon would be there; Most of the Scrum Team were all snug in their beds; While visions of acceptance criteria danced in their heads; The Product Owner whistled, alongside a Scrum Master clap, For they had just finished prepping a forecasted roadmap, When out in the pipeline there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my desk to see what was the matter. Away to the command line I flew like a flash, Sudo’d the Jenkins and entered my hash. The logs on the page of the new-tailed error, Gave the lustre of screw up, and Product Goal terror, When what to my wondering eyes did appear, But a missed carriage return, oh how they’re unclear, When a little old DBA so lively and quick, I knew in a moment he would give it a kick. More rapid than eagles his PRs they came, As he committed, and pushed, and called them by name: "Now, SQL! now, Java! now Angular and Bash! On, Python! on, Perl! on, C# and Stash! To the top of the class! to the top of the call! Now merge away! merge away! merge away all!" As code changes that before the wild Sprint Review fly, When they meet with a conflict, mount to the sky; So up to the repo the developer flew With a brain full of ideas, and hard resets, too— And then, in a moment, he got a little impatient Till he heard the whirring of a tiny little agent. As he drew in his head, and was checking the build, From the server his joyfulness truly was filled. He was dressed all in denim, from his head to his foot, The codebase was tarnished and almost caput; Of a bundle of value he had just got control, And he cheered like a child when he met the Sprint Goal. His code—how it sparkled! his comments, best all year! His rebases were awesome, finally his diff was clear! His droll little mouth was drawn like an array, Because of the outcomes he’d delivered, and he’d done it his way; The Definition of Done he’d met and exceeded, But the pressure it caused, damn! His hair had receded; He had a broad smile and a little round belly, Caused by too many Greggs, and trips to the deli. He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old engineer, But he was certainly magical, there’s no argument here; A wink of his eye and a groupadd for his name Soon gave me to know we were one and the same; He spoke not a word, but made his progress apparent, Into Jira he typed, his changes transparent. He picked up a pen, and to his colleagues wrote a note, He logged out of his terminal, and threw on his coat. He sprang to his car, to his engine gave a whistle, And away he then flew, for fear of dismissal. Then I rushed to his desk, I read the note, alright?— “Happy Sprint Review to all, and to all a good night!” Ryan is the primary trainer at Optilearn. He is an experienced Scrum Master, Agile Coach and educator. He is a Professional Scrum Trainer with Scrum.org and also holds Qualified Teacher Status in the UK. Ryan believes that the best teachers are the ones who practise what they teach, and so he maintains active consultancy to constantly put theory into practice. To check out his upcoming classes, please look here.

What drives you to achieve? Money? Promotion? Skill mastery? Whatever it is that motivates you, that’s okay — be thankful that you are motivated to move forwards. Without motivation in any form, you can personally and professionally stagnate to a point where you become a detractor in a team environment. This blog will explore how to avoid falling into that trap and some of the common dysfunctions it causes.

The past 18 months have been a whirlwind. Coronavirus, elections, inequality and conflict – a quagmire of micro and macro complexities that impact the feelings and behaviours of Scrum Teams. In my opinion, it would be fair to say that teams who consistently attempt to mitigate environmental and sociological complexities are ones that thrive. It is the purpose of this blog to explore how some Scrum Teams have successfully done this in an age of remote working by focusing on one thing – the Scrum Values.

Being a Product Owner is tough. Having the accountability for maximising value can sometimes feel like a huge weight is on your shoulders and sometimes - it's hard to know where to begin. As a Scrum Master, you’re accountable for helping to establish empirical product planning – but how could you do that? Optilearn have created a visualisation to help.