Telecom IndustryJul 14, 2019
AT&T5xNnbk

Scrum Masters...

Do these roles exist at other telecom companies? They are like slave master here...Wondering what the purpose of Scrum is...Do you really think this method works? Seems like it's a way of the past to be honest.

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Workday xoyp Jul 14, 2019

Never figured what they were supposed to do outside of a standup if there is ever a full time role.

SAP RrWs73 Jul 14, 2019

They serve the role of political officers in the Soviet Army, a parallel chain of command to counter disloyalty

E*Trade cbEV72 Jul 15, 2019

They are everywhere. Scrum infestation is now a global health issue

CenturyLink NaughtyBoy Jul 15, 2019

CenturyLink just got rid of the role today. To be replaced with “Team Coach”. Now I need to go figure out what that means.

T-Mobile FQkr26 Jul 15, 2019

Scrum is a perfectly fine and modern way of doing dev work that is very efficient...when it is done right. Problem is everyone is more concerned with 'doing agile' than actually being agile. TMO outsourced the role of Scrum Master to outside their dev teams (apparently there is an org that lends Scrum masters to other teams, who have nothing to do with the projects on a dev level) and these folks are often glorified project managers. Look up the video 'Agile is Dead, Long Live Agile' by one of the founders of The Agile Manifesto. Pretty much sums up the state of Scrum at TMO.

AT&T isBU33 Jul 15, 2019

A good scrum master is an incredible addition to a team. They clear roadblocks, coach a process and mindset, keep a team organized, and shield a team from bs and bureaucracy. They are the radiator of information for the team to everyone in the org. It’s not their role in anyway to be dictating work or prioritizing anything the team does. They should not be in the developers chain of command. But an average or strictly by the book scrum master doesn’t provide a whole lot value in my opinion. They end up feeling rigid and like process for the sake of process. If they are not increasing team performance then they are not providing value. I have absolutely seen far more scrum masters at at&t that we’re really traditional project managers that took some kind of scrum master training. They really just performed the same old role of asking for a status and logging the fact that the project is behind.

E*Trade cbEV72 Jul 15, 2019

Imagine in rugby, from where the term comes, there was an actual scrum master. Like this dorky dude leading the actual scrum during the game. It would be ridiculous yet That’s exactly how it works in business: these idiots calling themselves scrum masters walking around real players

Charter Mæstro Jul 16, 2019

We have them, they may be good but we are not committed to actual agile so I doubt I am in a position to make a value call. I can see where one would be a blessing given an agile culture. Ours is so rigid waterfall that any projects that go out of the org are an utter shitshow

Charter dwayneWayn Jul 22, 2019

We use a *loose* variant of agile and our Scrum master is mostly a project manager hybrid. Very process oriented and primarily keeps tabs on task status.

Jane pellows Jan 18, 2020

If you could tell a scrum master one thing you need from them to succeed, what would I be?

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dRIc10 Apr 25, 2020

The slave driver comment worries me as principally it should be the opposite - about team decision making. Did Michael Jordan need Phil Jackson? Did the Chicago Bulls need Phil Jackson? Phil Jackson didn’t even play on the team why was he necessary? Some coaches are bad and should be let go. Others build transformative teams through empowerment. There’s a trade off between building the right things vs building it right vs building it right away. Also consider people, process, and tech. Should engineers focus on tech AND process? Could that lead to sub-optimal results in some scenarios which contradicts efficiencies us engineers strive for?

Luxoft SellFish Sep 4, 2022

here’s what real Scrum Masters / Agile Coaches do: https://less.works/case-studies/large-dutch-bank

NortonLifeLock zqHb26 Sep 30, 2022

Thank you for sharing the link