I started this series with many specific concerns about a particular interview question:
“The product owner and dev team cannot decide on a sprint goal, even after hours of discussion. They (the team) feel that the tasks for the sprint are too varied to manage to a single sprint goal. What should the Scrum Master do?”
(Note: This is a terrible interview question because it's hypothetical. See the Glossary to see the differences between questions. Read Hiring Geeks That Fit for many more details about why hypothetical questions don't work.)
The problems in this question might not be problems at all, if the team is autonomous, has a product goal that could supersede a sprint goal, and collaborates to create mastery for everyone.
That's not what I see in this question. Instead, I see assumptions that reveal a divide-and-conquer, and possibly a command-and-control culture, not an agile culture.
Divide and Conquer is Anti-Agility
I see the product owner and dev team as a divide-and-conquer approach to work. Couple that with the question about the Scrum Master's actions, and I see a focus on what individuals can do, not a team.
Individual work does not encourage flow efficiency thinking. Instead, individual work means people don't use collaboration to decrease WIP. That increase in WIP increases aging, which slows everything down. (See How to Start Thinking in Flow Efficiency for Better Teamwork & Throughput and What Does Your Culture Value: People “Efficiency” or Work Throughput?)
Agility requires a collaborative cross-functional team. That team includes the product owner—and testers, UI people, etc. The team requires enough people so the team can create the product.
If someone asked me this question in an interview, I would have two parts to my answer:
- I would clarify why the lack of a sprint goal might not be a problem.
- Then I would ask if the product owner is part of the team.
- And, I would ask about their expectations of a Scrum Master.
That's because I perceive this question as being when the Scrum Master is willing to take control of the team.
Collaboration Feels Different From Control
If someone else thinks I'm in physical danger, I want to know. Controlling statements totally make sense if there's a fire or some other immediate problem.
However, that's not the same as controlling your choices of how to work. Does a lack of a sprint goal and hours of conversation require someone to control a team? Only if that leadership does not exist before spending hours.
While a Scrum Master can control a team, everyone on an agile team can contribute to a better team environment.
Not just the Scrum Master—everyone.
That's because, in an agile culture, the team members can each exert their leadership so they can succeed as a “harmonic whole.” The team succeeds. Not one person.
This question sounds as if the interviewer believes the Scrum Master is supposed to control everyone else's actions. When I work with managers, they think the “master” part of the Scrum Master title means the SM is supposed to control the team. And these managers have not read the Scrum Guide. They don't know.
If you interview with someone who asks you this question, ask clarifying questions so you understand the context.
Ask Questions of the Interviewers
In my experience, too many agile teams think they're agile if they use a board and estimate in story points. (No!! Those two things do not make an agile team. More often, they make anti-agile teams.) These teams don't consider the various agile principles and how to adapt those principles to their context. That's why I encourage candidates to ask questions of the interviewers.
For agile roles, especially a Scrum Master role, consider these questions:
- What decisions can this team make on their own?
- How do they tend to decide?
- How often does the product owner work with the team?
- Who decides on the done criteria?
- May I see the team's board? (I want to know how many open items the team has and how old each item is. This will also offer you an indication of cycle time.)
- When was the most recent demo?
- How about the most recent retrospective?
Those are just some of the questions I might ask.
Agile titles do not mean the team or organization has an agile culture. The interviewers' questions will reveal everyone's assumptions and the actual culture. Especially if the interviewers use hypothetical questions.
Wrapping Up
Agile teams need an environment that enhances collaboration to create and reinforce an agile culture. That's why the team is the unit that can deliver the finished work. If one person is supposed to make sure the team delivers, that person has control over the people. Not power with the people.
If you're interviewing as a Scrum Master or a product owner, listen carefully to the interview questions. Those questions will reveal both their assumptions about the role and an agile culture. No organization or culture is perfect. And an imperfect culture with people who want to learn and collaborate might be a great fit for you. Or not. It's always your choice, as long as you consider the kind of culture you do want to work within.
Learn from the interview questions and decide what you want in a culture. I prefer cultures that offer more collaboration and less control. That more collaboration piece will help me use my autonomy, mastery, and purpose to create something larger than myself. And they tend to offer more collaboration and learning—everything I consider part of an agile culture. (Yes, I wrote about this in Manage Your Job Search.)
Good luck.
The Series:
- How Product Goals Make it Easier to Create Sprint Goals and Reduce Feature Factories, Part 1. (All about the various levels of goals and when you might not have a sprint goal, but work to an overarching product goal.
- How to Reduce Planning Time to Create Better Goals at All Levels, Part 2. (How to avoid wasting time on the planning when we can get to experimenting and delivering small chunks of value.
- Integrate Product Owners into Many Teams to Create Good Product Goals, Part 3. (Most of the product owners I know have too many jobs. I explained the various teams and where to spend time on the tactical and the strategic.)
- How Scrum Masters Use Facilitative Leadership Especially When Planning, Part 4. (I realize the Scrum folks hate the term, “agile project manager,” but I find that term useful. It describes a facilitative, servant leadership position. That role does not control anything or anyone, but makes it possible for the team to succeed.)
- How Interview Questions Reveal the True Organizational Assumptions & Culture, Part 5 (How you might rethink the questions you ask as an interview, and how candidates can understand what those questions mean.
Thanks for reading.