Live Open Hour with iZenBridge: Episode 51

Join us for our open-hour sessions, where you can post your project management queries and have them answered by industry experts. Whether your questions are about Agile management, Agile coaching, estimation, certifications, or any other aspect of project management, we encourage you to share your mind. The open-hour invites are shared in advance, and the session is usually held on the 2nd and 4th Friday at 7 PM IST (+5.5 GMT). During our Live Open Hour Episode#50 session, which was streamed on March 10th, 2023, our expert Saket Bansal discussed various questions raised by participants regarding the most suitable certification or training for their professional growth.

Question: What should a Scrum Master do to improve their job prospects after becoming a Certified Scrum Master?

Question: What certificate can help in agile project management role?

Question: What steps can I take to transition from a Scrum Master to an Agile Coach profile?

Question: What metrics can be used to measure quality assurance performance in agile development?

Question: What is the role of Scrum master in terms of promotion and how can they earn it?

Question: How do I deal with the mindset when my technical member believes Scrum Master adds less value?

Here is the summarized answer given by Saket Bansal for questions asked by participants-

What should a Scrum Master do to improve their job prospects after becoming a Certified Scrum Master?

After becoming a Certified Scrum Master, a Scrum Master should focus on developing the skills and competencies needed for the job. These skills usually include facilitating conversations, facilitating meetings, coaching and mentoring product owners, and helping them to write their user stories. The Scrum Master should also be able to help teams think about requirements in small and incremental pieces and focus on developing teams so that they become self-organizing.
To improve job prospects, it is important to highlight these skills in one’s profile. Additionally, if a Scrum Master is interested in exploring the scaled version of Agile, such as SAFe, it is important to demonstrate knowledge and expertise in that area as well. Adding a certification in SAFe to one’s profile can increase job prospects.
Overall, a Scrum Master should identify the specific skills they want to build on and focus on developing them. By demonstrating expertise in the key areas of the job, a Scrum Master can improve their job prospects and be well-prepared for a career in Agile.

What certificate can help in agile project management role?

The PMP (Project Management Professional) certification is ideal for project managers working with various approaches, including agile, predictive, and hybrid. The updated content outline for the PMP exam, effective since January 2021, reflects the evolving project management profession and includes more information about agile methodologies.
One of the key benefits of the PMP certification is that it is designed for project managers who work with different approaches depending on the context. As a result, project managers are not tied to a specific framework and can use whatever method is appropriate for a given situation. This flexibility is particularly important in agile project management, where teams often need to adapt to changing requirements and environments.
The PMP certification is particularly beneficial for those looking to become delivery managers, as it provides a broad range of skills and knowledge necessary for managing complex projects. The certification covers a wide range of topics, including project initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and control, and closing. It also includes a section on agile project management, which covers topics such as agile frameworks and methodologies, agile planning, and agile project execution.
However, it is important to note that obtaining the basic Certified Scrum Master certification is also recommended. The CSM certification provides a foundation in agile project management and is recognized as a valuable credential in the industry. It covers the key principles and practices of Scrum, including sprint planning, daily scrum meetings, sprint reviews, and retrospectives.
In conclusion, obtaining the PMP and CSM certifications can benefit those looking to pursue a career in agile project management. The PMP certification provides a broad range of skills and knowledge necessary for managing complex projects, while the CSM certification provides a foundation in agile project management principles and practices.

What steps can I take to transition from a Scrum Master to an Agile Coach profile?

To transition from a Scrum Master to an Agile Coach, building on the competencies and skills required for both roles is important. As a Scrum Master, coaching, facilitating, and managing value delivery are key skills that are also required for an Agile Coach. To prepare for the Agile Coach role, it is recommended to make the best use of the current role as a Scrum Master, explore various facilitation techniques, and ensure that the retrospectives are effective. Additionally, focus on creating high-performing teams, conduct team assessments, and explore various team development models to create self-organizing teams.
When transitioning to an Agile Coach role, the expectations differ from those of a Scrum Master. The typical expectation for an Agile Coach is to enable a culture of agility in the organization, mentor multiple Scrum Masters, and help them become effective coaches. To prepare for this role, it is essential to build on the current leadership skills and Scrum Master skills. It is also recommended to learn more about Agile frameworks such as Scrum, Kanban, and Scaled Agile, and build skills in management approaches like governance matrices. Additionally, gaining knowledge about the business, change management, and coaching can be beneficial.
To further develop the required competencies and skills for an Agile Coach, it is recommended to enroll in the ICP-ACC program. This certification program helps in understanding the competencies and role of an Agile Coach and provides a roadmap for developing personal competency. In summary, to transition from a Scrum Master to an Agile Coach, focus on building the required competencies and skills, enroll in the ICP-ACC program, and continuously improve coaching, facilitating, and mentoring skills.

What metrics can be used to measure quality assurance performance in agile development?

The agile development approach emphasizes delivering working software as key metrics. However, certain metrics can be used to measure quality assurance performance in agile development.
At the end of each iteration, the team can explore metrics such as compliance to quality standards, the number and types of open defects, and the amount of rework generated due to missing quality guidelines. Defect detection time is also an important metric to consider.
In addition, problem-specific metrics can also be used, such as the number of defects found and the rate of their occurrence. These indicators can be measured on a weekly or iteration basis.
While agile methodology does not recommend specific metrics, measuring the performance of quality assurance is essential to ensure that the final product meets the quality standards and user requirements.

What is the role of Scrum master in terms of promotion and how can they earn it?

The Scrum master’s role is not defined in terms of promotion within the Scrum framework. The promotion is usually given by the organization and the management based on the value a Scrum master adds to the organization. It depends on the organization’s process and how much they value their talent. If the Scrum master adds more value to the organization, the organization will be worried about losing them and will be motivated to offer them a promotion to retain their talent. Therefore, the Scrum master needs to focus on adding more value to the organization and ensure that the organization is worried about not giving them a promotion rather than the other way around.

How do I deal with the mindset when my technical member believes Scrum Master adds less value?

Everybody doesn’t need to value the work of a Scrum Master. It depends on the culture of the organization and the maturity of individuals. A mature leader understands the different components of the system that work together to produce value. The Scrum Master is responsible for integrating those components and facilitating value. Even if one person does not recognize the value added by the Scrum Master, it does not matter as long as the value is being created. The Scrum Master should focus on what they think they are doing rather than what others think. If the organization does not value the skills of the Scrum Master, they can find another organization that will. The Scrum Master’s role is to facilitate and integrate the work of individuals and teams to create value for the organization. If they are missing, productivity will start decreasing, but if they perform their role well, productivity goes up. The Scrum Master ensures effective communication, fast decision-making, and alignment among team members to make them all valuable to the organization.

We hope you could have related to some of these questions, and they might have helped you in some way.

To get more assistance, you can connect with the iZenBridge Team.

 📧Email us at (sales@izenbridge.com) 

📞WhatsApp Us: +91-9958287711

For more such insights and a lot of interaction with the industry experts, stay tuned for our next “Live Open Hour” which is conducted Every second and fourth Friday at 7 PM IST on