Being Assertive and Authoritative when working as Scrum Master/Project Manager in Agile environment

Abstract

Scrum Master (SM) or Project Manager (PM) performs the role of a facilitator in an Agile environment. Thus, the focus is mainly towards co-ordination and it might seem to the outside world that the SM or the PM might not be authoritative with his decisions or be assertive with his approaches. In the below document, we would understand how a person can appear gentle but is equally good with his authoritative and assertive skills during the project execution.

??

?Introduction:

In the fast-changing world, the need for agility in project development is of high priority. The industry is following hybrid models where the execution part for IT industry is performed using the Agile approach. This has led to a change in the mindset of the organization as well as the team members which has mainly impacted the project execution by PM and SM. The emphasis is given to the facilitation rather than the authoritative approach. The analysis of pros and cons of this approach has already been determined and it again depends on the project and organizational needs. Now, the main question is to see how a PM or SM can be more assertive and authoritative during the planning meetings and balance the product and development team in a neutral way. There could be times when the clients are requesting for more features during the sprint when compared to the sprint velocity.

?

Below are few of the points which could bring more insight about the approaches and the actions which could potential bring in assertiveness and authoritativeness.

?

1. Communicate the boundaries

The PM and SM should set the boundaries when he/she is joining a new team or when a new resource joins the team. Set clear boundaries and expectations. This will help the team members to understand the expectations from their project better which in turn will lead to their success. When those boundaries are tested, it is important to remain firm and consistent.

2.Total control, visibility, and manageability of the development cycle.

When PM and SM understands the product/application and has domain knowledge, with the experience in estimation capabilities, he/she would have the holistic view of the project and the visibility which would help him/her to have the control over the project. Better quality of the final product.

When you think from the end user perspective, the view and the approach would be aligned towards it and quality would be the key. As per Agile fundamentals, quality is at the center with scope and time being variable. If proper automation and CICD pipeline is developed and put in place, PM and SM can be more authoritative about the sprint backlog and push the team in achieving greater heights.

3. Give honest feedback.

Thumb rule for a greater team is that the appreciation for a team member must be in public and feedback should be provided in person. But it is the responsibility of PM and SM to provide honest suggestion in positive way, so that the team members understand the gist of it and work on the improvements.

4. Clearly convey employee responsibilities.

Each team member must understand their roles and responsibilities. PM and SM should have the meetings in a timely manner and assess the employee performance. This, would help to bring in better coordination within the team as well as between the PM and SM.

5. Listen to employee concerns.

Each individual is different and have their own strengths and weakness. A successful PM and SM should identify these and work with the individual to understand their concerns and provide valuable suggestions.

6. Eliminate waste (Lean approach)

a. Reduce the wait time.

If a new feature is developed and is not yet delivered to QA team even after a major time lapse, leads to loss of productivity. The mechanism should be in place to notify the concerned parties as soon as the work is delivered, and delay must be reduced.

b. Reduce Defect.

Teams can follow an approach where the test scenarios are well written and shared across the development team so that cost of fixing the defects at later stage is greatly reduced.

c. Unused talent.

Resource utilization metrics must be updated regularly to see if any unused resources are available. ?With Agile, it would be easier to move the resources across multiple teams within the project for better resource utilization.

With the above-mentioned approaches, a Project Manager or a Scrum Master should be able to more assertive and authoritative in his approach. A person should be gentle (outside) but strong enough (inside) to direct and manage the teamwork and to have more productive and self-sustained team.