First 30-60-90 days as a Scrum Master
What to do in the first 30, 60 and 90 days after joining a new team as a Scrum Master?
đ Hello,
Iâm Vibhor, and welcome to my weekly newsletter, the âWinning Strategy.â Every week I answer one question from you about agile, product, roles, processes, frameworks, career growth, working with humans and anything else thatâs stressing you at your office. Send me your questions here, and in return, Iâll offer actionable, down-to-earth, and straightforward advice.
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On to this weekâs questions!
Q: Hey, Vibhor! Greetings from Sweden. I am all set to start as a Scrum Master with a new company. Though I have 3 years of experience, I have always struggled to set the right tone with my teammates from the get-go. Can you provide some guidance?
This is a great question.
The analogy I use to think of any new addition (be it a new Dev, QA, BA or a Scrum Master) to the existing team is that of a new flatmate/roommate moving into your apartment.
Even though youâve interviewed them and done extensive reference checks, youâre still a little skeptical. You are still uncertain whether itâs safe to trust them with the keys to your home.
As they settle in, you expect to know their true nature, their character, their attitude, their working habits, their routines for using shared appliances, their cleaning habits, and their washroom etiquette just so you can rest assured that their presence wonât disrupt your normal living and lifestyle.
And what happens when they donât meet your criteria? Unless youâre desperate to keep them, you wonât renew their contract for the next month.
The same happens when you join a new team as a Scrum Master or an Agile Coach. Your team judges you for âreliability,â âcompetence,â and âcompatibility.â They are looking for signs that will help them decide whether to trust you and form a strong, collaborative relationship or to get rid of you. Harsh but true.
So, to make the best impression as a SM joining a new team, hereâs what I would focus on during the first 30, 60 and 90 days or 2, 4 and 6 sprints of joining the team. I call it the TiPS⢠framework.
During the first 30 days (2 sprints) â focus on building TRUST
Ask questions. But not just any questions. Questions that will help you learn about your team, the product that the team is handling/building and the business value that product is generating. Make sure they know what your role is. Make sure you know what their expectations are from you. Watch the video below to learn more about âexpectationsâ and why they are crucial for the success of your role.
Know about your org. chart. Letâs face it. We live in a world where knowing whoâs who is more important than âwhat they do.â So learn about the managers the members of your team report to. If possible, take them out for coffee. Make relationships.
Know about the end-user of the product. This massively improves the quality of your questions while helping the team write user stories. See if the team already has a persona made for the key customers. If not, one of the training you can provide your team (in future) can be on âAgile Persona Building.â
Inquire about the impediments your team is facing right now. Find 2-3 quick wins that can make the lives of your team better. This can be unblocking a blocker, helping the team resolve a lingering decision, or improving an annoying process.
Hereâs a list of questions (from my personal backlog) that you can ask your team on various occasions or during your retrospectives.
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This was the âTâ of our 3 part framework TiPSâ˘.
Next, letâs move on to âiP,â which is about improving productivity.
During the first 60 days (4 sprints) â focus on improving the teamâs PRODUCTIVITY
This is how you prove your competence. You help them improve their productivity. Ask âyourselfâ the following questions:
Does everyone know what everyone else does?
Does everyone know what they should be doing at all times?
Are there unnecessary meetings that can be avoided?
Are impediments getting handled quickly?
Is everyone on the same page about upcoming deadlines?
What else can be done to drive more impact?
Hereâs a list of activities (from my personal backlog) to help you improve your teamâs productivity.
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This was the âiPâ of our 3 part framework. Next, letâs move on to âS,â which is about strategy.
During the first 90 days (6 sprints) â focus on developing your teaching, coaching, and mentoring STRATEGY
As you learn about your team, the product, and the business, create a list of things you believe your team can benefit from next. Focus on building a long-term teaching, coaching and mentoring strategy.
Create a roadmap with training that you want to provide your team over time. Then, share it with your team and keep updating it as required. Donât set any plan in stone. Be flexible.
As you work with your team on the above simultaneously, also chat with key stakeholders like your manager and their managers. Ensure you have them on board early, so you can confidently present a training plan everyoneâs excited about and ready to support.
Hereâs a list of activities (from my personal backlog) to help you develop your strategy.
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Hereâs an example training roadmap.
This was âS,â the last part of our framework TiPSâ˘
Now the question arises what do you do after 90 days are over? Chances are youâll have enough on your plate to do. I suggest you keep doing everything mentioned above, plus keep building the 6 core skills.
This is it đ
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Vibhor đ
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Vibhor Chandel
Well crafted. Thanks for sharing.
Loved reading this and all your Newsletters/ LinkedIn posts and all your Youtube videos. Found all of them so useful.