Srijan Technologies - Scrum Master

Roles and Responsibility :

Backlog Maintenance :

- Create and Manage Backlog

Backlog grooming :

- Manage/Update - sprint-backlog and project backlog regularly after client calls and demos

- Plans forward looking technology investigations (spikes / POC)

- After each sprint-demo work with dev team to estimate and re-estimate backlog

- Facilitate prioritization of backlog first time

- Facilitate prioritization of backlog during planning n+1 sprint with client

- Creating mock-ups/wire frames/Shtick images to illustrate or to detail for getting clarity from client; and for communicating task to dev team

- Use JIRA for all backlog (no use of Google spreadsheets)

Daily Stand-ups :

- Drive daily-stand-ups

- Ask what was done yesterday, what is the plan for today

- Ask probing questions in the stand-ups and outside of it

- Identify potential roadblocks or challenges that may come up

- Consult Group Lead and raise your concerns

- Implement advise by GL

- Ensure that team is working towards completion of the sprint; each stand-up well done, will suggest if the velocity is enough to complete Sprint or no

- Maintain and Update the - information radiator board (with stickies)- for all sprints

Sprint Demos :

- Run sprint demos

- Calls must be marked on client and team's calendar; no ambiguity in when calls happen

- Every member must be present on calls atleast 2-mins before the scheduled time on calendar; be the first to join the call as moderator

- If you are unable to join, ensure that the session is recorded; if it cannot be recorded, ensure team has captured all feedback during the demo

Business Analysis :

- Understand the business of the client and the project

- This will enable you to question business needs that clients communicate

- Validate and record agreements in stories, acceptance criteria

- Create mock-ups/wireframes/Sktich annotations to illustrate or to detail -- for getting clarity from client; and for communicating task to dev team  put these in stories in JIRA

Project Management :

- Plan - Do - Check - Act (Complete control on the project)

- Create Physical boards - information radiator board (with stickies)

- Plan deliverables (JIRA/Sprint) along with the team

- Organise the Sprint, get re-estimates done,

- Plan Sprint n+1 with client -- prepared stories for n+1 sprint to be taken up by dev team; work with QA in

- Learn to read JIRA Burndown Charts to know if the project is on time or is there likely to be a delay

- If there is likely to be a delay, speak to the Agile Coach / Group Lead to decide the nature of communication to be sent to client

- Release Planning - define release goals

Quality Assurance :

- Detail out stories with acceptance criteria

- Ensure all stories have acceptance criteria

- Work with QA in improving quality of acceptance criteria

- Work towards zero-defect sprints

- Defect triage - accept/reject

- Support the Dev+QA team in testing yourself

- Use JIRA for all these activities

- Drive testing strategy

- Deliver stories in piecemeal for testing throughout the sprint

- Validate technical architecture by asking relevant questions

Stakeholder Management :

- Send out weekly Status emails to internal and external clients -- must be on SM's calendar

- Red, Amber, Green status

- Budget consumption

- Key activities this week

- Pre-empt and document roadblocks that you/team foresee

- Raise/Flag issues to clients and work aggressively within the team/org to mitigate this

- Coach clients on agile/scrum, our model, align them on our practices, using Jira, etc

Engineering Practices :

- Drive towards Unit Testing

- Drive towards Continuous Integration (CI) using Jenkins; leads to a clear release and deployment strategy/plan

- Piecemeal UAT strategy

- Drive Intrinsic quality like Code, stories written, test scenarios written

- Continuously monitor and improve them. Question people on them

- Use Jira rigorously to track stories, defects, and manage it end to end.

People, Process and Tool Coach :

- Coach people to improve in their role

- Challenge and question people on the way they are working to make it better

Run sprint-retros :

- During retros listen for - cause behind the words; by asking probing questions

- Continuously strive to improve yourself

- Handhold team on Scrum way of doing

- Strategize which tool to use for what purposes.