As a Scrum Master you are often at the center of the Agile team, where you are responsible for facilitating the Scrum process and supporting the team to achieve its goals. One of the much-discussed stances of the Scrum Master is that of the “Impediment Remover”, someone who identifies and resolves obstacles and blockages for the team to work effectively. But is the Scrum Master always the one who has to take on this accountabilities?
What is an impediment
Before I answer this statement about who solves impediment within the team, it is good to first have the definition of an impediment.
“An impediment in Scrum is a factor that blocks the Development Team in its creation of a valuable piece of software in a Sprint, or that restricts the team in achieving its intrinsic level of progress.”
[Scrum a Pocket Guide]
okay back to the statement….
The answer to this question is not as simple as a simple “yes” or “no”. It depends on several factors and the context of the Agile team. Let’s look at some takeaways:
- Responsibility for Barriers: While one of the Scrum Master’s responsibilities is to identify and remove barriers, this does not necessarily mean that he or she is always the one to solve them. The Scrum Master can work with the team and broader organization to address barriers, but it is important to recognize that resolving certain barriers may require the involvement of other team members or stakeholders.
- Empowerment of the team: An essential aspect of Agile working is the value of self-organization and empowerment of the team. Team members are expected to independently identify obstacles and resolve them if possible. The accountabilities of the Scrum Master is to support and guide the team through this process, but not to solve everything for them.
- Organizational Barriers: Sometimes barriers are not limited to the team level, but are more deeply rooted in the organization. In such cases, the Scrum Master can act as a facilitator between the team and the organization to address structural issues that complicate Agile work. This may include intricacies of senior management, adapting business processes or implementing changes in organizational culture.
- Continuous improvement: Identifying and resolving barriers is an ongoing process that can continue to improve in Agile within the broader context. The Scrum Master must learn a culture of openness and effectiveness, where the team regularly reflects on its practices and works together to overcome obstacles and improve its performance.
Tips to identify and deal with impediment as a scrum team
- Take advantage of the Daily Scrum, Sprint Review and Sprint Retrospective: These are valuable events for the team to reflect on the past sprint and identify obstacles that have prevented them from achieving their goals. Encourage open and honest discussions and use different retrospective techniques to identify impediments and prioritize improvements.
- Use your Product Backlog to ensure transparency: Create a central place where team members can document and track impediments. This can be a physical board or a digital tool such as an online collaboration platform or a task management system. Ensure that all team members and interested parties have access and encourage them to immediately record impediments as they occur.
- Communicate Openly: Encourage a culture of open communication within the team, where team members feel free to share and discuss impediments without fear of judgment or negative repercussions. Ensure that all team members, including the Scrum Master and the Product Owner, are available to listen to the team’s concerns and challenges.
- Prioritize Impediments: Once impediments have been identified, help the team prioritize them based on their impact on the sprint objectives and the team’s ability to deliver value. Focus on tackling the most critical impediments first so as not to jeopardize the team’s progress.
- Collaborate on Solutions: Once impediments have been identified and prioritized, work together as a team to find solutions and develop action plans to address them. If necessary, involve stakeholders outside the team, such as management or other teams, to address structural impediments that are beyond the team’s control.
- Monitor and Track Progress: Closely monitor the progress of resolving impediments and follow up on the status regularly. Ensure that the Product Backlog is updated regularly and that clear owners are assigned to each impediment. Strive for quick and effective solutions to promote team progress.
Conclusion
In short, while the Scrum Master’s as Impediment Remover is important in the Agile process, it is important to recognize that this accountability is not always exclusive to the Scrum Master. The team’s success depends on a collective effort to identify and resolve impediments, with the Scrum Master playing a facilitating and conventional accountability to help the team achieve its goals.
To Read
The 8 Stances of a Scrum Master Whitepaper v2_0.pdf (scrumorg-website-prod.s3.amazonaws.com)
