Why do you want to be a Certified Scrum Master?

I want to be a Certified Scrum Master because my interest in Scrum and Agile is long-standing.

As a person with many years of experience in project and team management, it is important to have multiple and different tools, ways, and approaches to help me in my work process.

Certified Scrum Master is more than a title

Certified Scrum Master for me is not only a designation but also a structuring of my knowledge, as well as its verification and course filling the gaps.

I expect to consolidate my knowledge, learn what I missed, and accordingly put it into practice, as a certified Scrum Master.

Although I have been leading the development of software projects of various scopes and nature for more than 15 years, there are still clients who require a certificate of completion of courses, especially in long-term projects with large companies where the clients do not know the team and cannot trust originally only written in correspondence, resumes, and contracts.

At this stage, my only concern is the amount of time I can devote to completing the course, but I don’t think that is a hindrance. It is up to me to read and time the lectures and modules of the program well and course to fit them in with my free time.

I would say that I rather expect to have no or minimize the existence of problems in my work using the knowledge and certification acquired during the course.

Each project is different in its nature and requirements. How it will be developed, its budget and time frame prefigure the best way to lead it.

References

The certified Scrum Master talks to the customers

I am extremely happy that I will have the opportunity to work with professionals like you!

Let me introduce myself, my name is Samantha Cooper and I am the new Certified Scrum Master. I love working with people, and my two strongest points are quick problem solving and detailed planning.

I will be the main person for communication, exchange of information, and definition of needs, as well as for solving problems. I am sure that my experience in the field of management will contribute to the success of our joint projects. Don’t be afraid to ask me, as I ask you because when the communication between us works, the projects will run smoothly.

As a Certified Scrum Master, I would like to offer you weekly meetings, in which you will receive a qualitative update from me regarding the progress and planning of the project, as well as discuss new ideas, optimizations, and requirements from your side.

Having mentioned the topic of optimizations, I have a few ideas to simplify the work process, which would also lead to optimization of the budget. I assume you are excited about the topic, but let’s discuss the possibilities at the next meeting on Wednesday. I look forward to hearing your opinions as well.

Of course, I will also need your help and therefore I will often ask you for more additional information, third-party contacts, or when ambiguities and problems arise. I suggest that we put formal relations aside to be able to relax and communicate optimally. Both you and I strive for high-quality work and efficiency.

I would be happy if you could contact me with any questions so that we can adapt our work styles more quickly and thus always achieve excellent results.

Preparation for Scrum Master certification exam

I studied a lot until I became a Certified Scrum Master. Passing the certification exam is no easy feat. Every candidate should read a lot. Being the creative person that I am, I searched the Internet for easier ways to prepare. I found numerous articles that had written numerous sample topics for the Certified Scrum Master exam. Reference: “The Scrum Master answers the questions of confused colleagues about Scrum“, https://managerspost.com/the-scrum-master-answers-the-questions-of-confused-colleagues-about-scrum/ Here are some of them:

Samantha Cooper as a Certified Scrum Master shares her sample exam preparation topics

The Development team shares with you their idea that they want you to be offered the Product Owner appointment and take over his functions, and the Product Owner assigned to your team to go to another team and have no contact with him.

Answer:

This is a very bad idea and I will oppose it.

Reasons:

The roles of Scrum Master and Product Owner must necessarily be performed by different people, thus avoiding conflicts of interest and ensuring that the decisions made are the best for the team and the client.

In 2 days you have a meeting to present the current progress on the product. Your Product Owner role and most of the Development team are on vacation for another 5 days.

Answer:

First, I’ll try to move the meeting up a few days to get everyone back from vacation. If that doesn’t work I will try to present the product in the best possible way and keep notes to present to the Product Owner when he returns

Reasons:

The two roles (Scrum Master, and Product Owner) should not be confused with each other and it is not a good idea to replace each other. One role should monitor the team, their mental and physical health, task progress, and adherence to processes and rules. The other is to be responsible for the correct interpretation of the tasks, as an intermediary between the interested parties and the Development Team. The two roles are complementary but not interchangeable.

Business stakeholders share their opinion that the product is not progressing according to their expectations.

Answer:

I will organize a meeting between me, the Product Owner, and the stakeholders to discuss the progress and their opinion.

Justification:

In my opinion, the meeting with the interested parties should be held with the Product Owner, I (as the Scrum Master) will be present to try to understand first-hand their concern, without interfering, to give ideas and suggestions. Still, it’s not my place to meddle in a colleague’s work.

You notice that the team is spending more and more time in the games and entertainment room in your office.

Answer:

I will ask why they spend so much time there, and if the answer is that they have quickly completed their tasks, I will take the appropriate measures.

Justification:

If the team quickly copes with the tasks, then the time planning for them is not adequate, just as it is undesirable to overload the team with work, it is not a good practice to leave it idle. Planning the working time is an important point, it is necessary to plan exactly, neither more than necessary nor too short.

The Product Owner role in your team is going on a business trip for 2 months to one of your customer’s support centers. No one has made any plans, no comments. The client hasn’t shared anything more, the Development team doesn’t know what they’ll be working on, and your colleagues are confused about the future of the project.

Answer:

I will ask senior management to appoint a replacement for the departing Product Owner. In case this does not happen, I will try to take on this role myself, but I will ask someone else to assist me to keep me “unbiased”.

Justification:

This role should not be accepted by an untrained person, so I will ask that someone with this training be appointed.

If this does not happen:

The role of the Product Owner is quite different from that of the Scrum Master, which to some extent makes him incompetent for this position, so I will ask another team member to assist so that we can “jointly” handle this task.

One of the programmers on the team asks the designer for regular corrections in the visual concepts he proposes.

Answer:

In my opinion, this practice is not correct and I intend to stop it.

Justification:

Regular concept changes don’t have to be done every day, that’s what Sprints are for. They discuss the changes and make the “schedules” for work until the next sprint. These adjustments will disrupt the rhythm of work and further complicate the processes.

The QA professionals on your team who test the product consider integrating additional technologies, tools, and testing procedures. According to the product owner, this will double the work and the progress after the sprints will decrease.

Answer:

In my opinion, they should start integrating them, and if that slows down progress, adjustments will be made, or they won’t be integrated anymore, or they will be removed entirely, depending on the outcome.

Justification:

In my opinion, anything that will improve the quality of the product and increase its added value is good to try. These changes need to be discussed by the team, some may be accepted some not, but it is entirely up to the team, my job will only be to guide the process.

The designer and the programmer decided on the initiative to exchange part of their work. The designer will take on some of the simple programming tasks and the programmer will do parts of the interface.

Answer:

In my opinion, a little variety will not hurt, as long as the tasks are not too complex and they interfere with the work of the team.

Justification:

Diversifying tasks is not a bad idea in my opinion. If it does not interfere with the work of the team and does not delay the execution of the sprint tasks. In my opinion, this practice will motivate team members to think “out of the box”, and they will also see what it is like to be “in someone else’s shoes”, but if it slows down the work of the team, this practice will be discontinued.

QAs want you to assign them good testing tools for the next sprints since you will already be starting development on new components that require a different kind of testing.

Answer:

I think this is a good idea, investing in quality improvement tools is always a good choice.

Justification:

A quality product leaves a good impression on the customer, as well as on all potential customers, so I think investing in quality improvement tools is a good practice. And the fact that the product itself requires another type of testing makes things even more urgent.

The Development team wants to replace a core part of your product. They are currently using a paid Enterprise popular environment. The license is paid for by your customer, who doesn’t think the cost is an issue.

Answer:

Once the team thinks this is the best decision for product development, I intend to support it.

Justification:

Decisions must be made by the whole team, but if the Development team thinks that this is the best decision, I don’t think it will be a problem to unite the rest of the team, as well as the client.

The Product Owner role wants the designer to increase communication with the product testing team.

Answer:

Team communication is the main idea in Scrum Team relationships. As long as this is not required by “law” and does not become too annoying for the team members.

Justification:

Communication is an important part, but it must happen in the time set for it (sprint, daily scrum, etc.). If it becomes intrusive, team members will feel pressured and burdened, which will worsen the situation in the team, and negatively affect the product. Everything in large doses does not lead to anything good.

Your client is not satisfied with the tests and wants you to urgently increase the number of QA specialists in your team, by an additional 6 people, as soon as possible. He also wants three more senior programmers to join the team by the end of the week. The project budget has been increased accordingly.

Answer:

I will ask the Product Owner to meet with the client and find out exactly what the client does not like and where the problems are. The budget is not a problem in the specific case and increasing it does not solve the problem, I even think it will deepen it. Increasing the team, especially with so many numbers is not a good idea and I don’t think I will do it.

Justification:

The Scrum team should not be more than 9 people, this disrupts the rhythm of work, not every member of the team feels appreciated and the feeling of fullness “evaporates”. Increasing the team by so many people will hurt the product and subsequent progress.

More on the topic: Preparation for Scrum Master Certification exam:

Your director wants you to move temporarily, for about a month, to another team. He has discussed the move with the Product Owner in your role, who will take over the Scrum Master role for a month, as he has shared that he has time for it.

Answer:

I don’t mind moving to another team if the Director thinks it’s necessary and a good idea, I don’t think it will be a problem for me, after all, this is the role I’m playing now, “getting into step” can be a slow process, but still, I am prepared for this process. On the other hand, I don’t think it’s a good idea for the Product Owner to take over my role in the front-end team.

Justification:

The role of Scrum Master must be filled by a person with appropriate training. Mixing functions, especially with that of the Product Owner, is not good. There is a conflict of interests, the work process is disrupted, tension is created in the team, and ambiguity about “who should do what” and what is the future of each team member.

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One thought on “Why do you want to be a Certified Scrum Master?”

  1. I started learning about Scrum Master because it seems closest to everything I like to do as an Event Manager and based on the experience I have as a marketing project coordinator in a pharmaceutical company.

    For many years, events were my passion, but with a 3-year-old daughter, my focus “slightly” shifted. If before I could afford to spend evenings and weekends on the way to work, I knew all the places for all kinds of events, now I am already aware in detail of all parks and kindergartens, and my free time is charted only for family and friends.

    As a Scrum Master, I will have the opportunity to constantly communicate with people, manage the work process, have the opportunity to work in a constantly changing environment and requirements. I like the idea of ​​being an integral part of a team that is constantly developing and enriching its goals and products.

    I am organized, active, I don’t wait for someone to make me work and give me specific tasks. I am used to tracking the work of colleagues and partners, strictly following deadlines and following a process in detail from beginning to end.

    Last but not least, I would like to mention a very trivial reason, namely the challenge of stepping out of your comfort zone. In recent years, I was used to being highly valued in my work, to being liked and wanted to work with me by colleagues, clients and partners of the company.

    Now I am about to retrain and look for work in a completely new role. It’s a priceless feeling when you challenge yourself and start from scratch – to build trust, relationships, to enjoy every little success.

    Reply

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