Beginning an assignment as a scrum master is exciting, but there are four traps into which I often see new scrums fall.
The first is thinking one size fits all.
I recommend new teams or scrummasters begin by the book.
Do Agile in some known, proven way.
That may be following the Scrum Guide, a trusted book on Agil, or what you learned in a class.
However, over time, it is a critical success factor that the team owns its process.
The way to do that is by experimenting with small adjustments to whatever agile framework you use.
Keep the experiments that work, toss away those that don't.
The best way to avoid a one-size-fits-all mindset is to look for good ideas in all the various agile frameworks.
Start with Scrum, Kanban, XP, Safe, or whatever you want, but remember to inspect and adapt, mix and match, to make the process the team's own.
A second trap I see new Scum Masters fall into is thinking they alone are experts at Sc rum.
A scrum master may have been a team's only expert in the early days of Scrum, but Scum and Agile are pretty prevalent today.
Almost every team will have at least one person with solid Sc rum experience.
Rely on these folks.
If you're new to the team and they aren't, ask them to share with you what has and has not worked in A third trap is falling back into the activities of
your prior role.
I see this all the time.
One scrum master, Tice, told me that he reverted to his programming responsibilities because he was not initially comfortable with everything expected
of him as a scrummaster.
He said it felt good to do something he knew he did well.
If you've been promoted to Scrum Master and told to continue doing your old job, then you need to do so.
But avoid falling back into old habits merely because they're comfortable or to improve your feeling of self-worth.
A final trap is not becoming an expert on your product.
During a meeting, I was embarrassed for Annika when stakeholders asked her how certain features worked and she couldn't answer.
She'd anticipated the product owner being present at the meeting but something came up and the Product Owner could not attend.
Annica was left alone to discuss recent changes to the system with stakeholders.
No one was expecting her to know the product as well as the Product Owner, but her inability to demonstrate the latest features hurt her credibility.
You don't want to be a scrum master who doesn't know how to use the product you're helping a team develop.
A new role can be intimidating at first, but by avoiding these four traps, you can help your team succeed with Agile.
By the way, if you want get beyond just avoiding traps and really excel in your scrumm master role, consider participating in one of our Certified Scrum
Master or Advanced Certify Scum Master courses.
I've put links in the description.