Ceremonies
The single work stream Scrum Master facilitates and guides the Scrum team to ensure that each of the ceremonies is completed within the time-boxed delivery schedule that the team establishes. Each of the ceremonies adds value for the inspect and adapt principle of Agile scrum to continuously improve the delivery of required features. Larger Agile Scrum initiatives include additional ceremonies designed to enhance collaboration across the program or portfolio.
The additional value added ceremonies for larger programs are:
● A scrum of Scrums ceremonies facilitated by the Chief Scrum Master
● A separate sprint facilitated by the Scrum Masters for coordinated release management
● Coordinated risk management ceremonies to address in-depth risks that may create program tension and
● Coordination of product features among the product owners, Chief Product Owner and Chief Scrum Master.
These ceremonies are not time-boxed activities and should be used as working sessions. The Chief Scrum Master continues to facilitate and validate that Agile Scrum principles and methodologies are used. The Chief Scrum Master is also a leader in organizing the teams and keeping the work streams focused on the Definition of Done (DoD) to meet the larger goals of the sponsoring organization.
Team Structure and Roles
Single Agile scrum teams and larger program and portfolio teams display the greatest differences through the structure of the teams and the roles that are required for success.
Team Structure and Roles
Agile Scrum engages the following roles officially:
● Product Owner
● Scrum Master
● Development Team Members.
The 3 mandatory roles are core to the success of the project. There may be non-core roles as defined by an organization. It is important to not blur the lines of responsibility and negatively impact the effectiveness of the team members.
The Scrum Master is responsible for facilitating the activities of the scrum team, working with team members to validate user stories and deliverables and removes any impediments that could negatively affect the work of the Scrum team. The Scrum Master will also teach Agile scrum methodologies and continue an iterative process of improvement when required.
Larger program initiatives will add additional roles. The most common roles that are added are the Chief Product Owner and Chief Scrum Master. Additional product owners and scrum masters are generally included in large programs. These individuals are assigned to specific work streams. In some programs. Scrum teams may be defined by specialized skills. The scrum master facilitating the respective team may also require specialized skills or domain knowledge.
Team Structure and Roles
A Chief Scrum Master will not only facilitate, teach, and remove impediments at the larger program level but, will also coordinate the efforts of all scrum masters. The Scrum of Scrum ceremonies is the most direct ceremony where this is accomplished. A strong Chief Scrum Master will also be an active communicator seeking out possible risks –technical, process, personnel and changing business priorities. While this role does not manage the people or changes required, the Chief Scrum Master will exhibit the spirit of inspecting and adapting to support the vision of the stakeholder.
The Agile Scrum framework is useful for projects of varying sizes. The focus that a scrum master has with each size of the initiative will vary according to the application of principles, ceremonies utilized and the structure and roles of team members.
Recommended Further Reading
The following materials may assist you in order to get the most out of this course:
Course Contents
Section 1: Agile Project Management
Section 2: Using the Agile Manifesto to Deliver Change
Section 3: The 12 Agile Principles
Section 4: The Agile Fundamentals
Section 5: The Declaration of Interdependence
Section 6: Agile Development Frameworks
Section 7: Introduction to Scrum
Section 8: Scrum Projects
Section 9: Scrum Project Roles
Section 10: Meet the Scrum Team
Section 11: Building the Scrum Team
Section 12: Scrum in Projects, Programs & Portfolios
Section 13: How to Manage an Agile Project
Section 14: Leadership Styles
Section 15: The Agile Project Life-cycle
Section 16: Business Justification with Agile
Section 17: Calculating the Benefits With Agile
Section 18: Quality in Agile
Section 19: Acceptance Criteria and the Prioritised Product Backlog
Section 20: Quality Management in Scrum
Section 21: Change in Scrum
Section 22: Integrating Change in Scrum
Section 23: Managing Change in Scrum
Section 24: Risk in Scrum
Section 25: Risk Assessment Techniques
Section 26: Initiating an Agile Project
Section 27: Forming the Scrum Team
Section 28: Epics and Personas
Section 29: Creating the Prioritised Product Backlog
Section 30: Conduct Release Planning
Section 31: The Project Business Case
Section 32: Planning in Scrum
Section 33: Scrum Boards
Section 34: Sprint Planning
Section 35: User Stories
Section 36: User Stories and Tasks
Section 37: The Sprint Backlog
Section 38: Implementation of Scrum
Section 39: The Daily Scrum
Section 40: The Product Backlog
Section 41: Scrum Charts
Section 42: Review and Retrospective
Section 43: Scrum of Scrums
Section 44: Validating a Sprint
Section 45: Retrospective Sprint
Section 46: Releasing the Product
Section 47: Project Retrospective
Section 48: The Communication Plan
Section 49: Formal Business Sign-off
Section 50: Scaling Scrum
Section 51: Stakeholders
Section 52: Programs and Portfolios