Scrum Master Interview: Demand Creates Supply and the Job Market for Agile Practitioners is No Exception

Scrum has proven time and again to be the most popular framework for software development. Given that software is eating the world, a seasoned Scrum Master is nowadays in high demand. And that demand causes the market-entry of new professionals from other project management branches, probably believing that reading one or two Scrum books will be sufficient. Which makes any Scrum Master interview a challenging task.

If you are looking to fill a position for a Scrum Master (or agile coach) in your organization, you may find the following 51 interview questions useful to identify the right candidate. They are…

TL; DR: The Necessity of Leadership Engagement, OKRs in PM — Food for Agile Thought #310

Welcome to the 310th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 33,061 peers. This week, we delve into the necessity of leadership engagement to make change happen. We also show a way out of the ‘answering three questions’ mode for your Daily Scrum, and we ask: Can you take self-management to new heights even within a small organization of 7–8 people?

We then characterize traits of high-performing product teams, from healthy skepticism to experimentation to dealing with uncertainty. Moreover, we delve into improving the relationship between the product folks and business stakeholders within your organization in a…

TL; DR: Adapt How You Lead for Agile Success w/ Johanna Rothman — ACB21

Too many people say, “With agile, we don’t need no stinkin’ managers.” However, because managers create and refine the culture, modern managers create and refine the agile culture. Without modern management, any agile initiative will die. It’s time to invite managers to change their behaviors and create a real agile culture.

Learn from Johann Rothman how to adapt your leadership style for agile success as a manager in an agile organization in this 54-minute long video from the Agile Camp Berlin 2021.

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TL; DR: Scrum Master Interview Questions on Scrum Anti-Patterns

Scrum has proven time and again to be the most popular framework for software development. Given that software is eating the world, a seasoned Scrum Master is nowadays in high demand. And that demand causes the market-entry of new professionals from other project management branches, probably believing that reading one or two Scrum books will be sufficient. Which makes any Scrum Master interview a challenging task.

If you are looking to fill a position for a Scrum Master (or agile coach) in your organization, you may find the following 54 interview questions useful to identify the right candidate. They are…

TL; DR: Say Agile One More Time, Scrum Master Salary Report 2022 — Food for Agile Thought #309

Welcome to the 309th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 33,012 peers. This week, we enjoy agile in memes — ‘Say Agile One More Time;’ we learn about a remarkable transformation of an industrial behemoth, and we share a beginner list of decision-making patterns, from consensus to rock, paper, and scissors.

We then reflect on the unfortunate ‘practice’ of putting carts before horses when product managers talk to the C-level, and we share six tips on how product folks can annoy their engineering teammates with outstanding efficacy. Also, we point at a critical part of the…

Hello everyone,

We kicked off the data-collection for the next edition of the Scrum Master (and Agile Coach) Salary Report!

As of today, September 10, 2021, we already have 400-plus contributions!

The purpose of this anonymous Scrum Master salary report is to create a clear, data-backed benchmark that allows everyone in the agile community to understand whether their compensation is adequate. (The report will cover both employed and freelancing peers.)

The goal is to have a sufficient number of replies — that would be at least 1,000 — by the end of November 2021 to create the report in time…

TL; DR: Agile Coaches vs. Scrum Masters

Do We Need Agile Coaches when Practicing Scrum? Don’t get me wrong; my LinkedIn profile states “Professional Scrum Trainer, Agile Coach, and Scrum Master,” as ‘agile coach’ is an important search term. (Many seem to confuse agile coach with Scrum Master or believe both terms can be used interchangeably. However, that should not be a reason to reduce your chances of meeting a new employer or client.)

I like to point at a scheme, though, that I have encountered several times in the past, particularly in organizations, where the people folks still believe in orchestrated career paths: The Scrum Master…

TL; DR: From Hierarchy to Network, Analyzing Team Boards — Food for Agile Thought #308

Welcome to the 308th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 32,931 peers. This week, we dissect the consequences of hierarchies of authority and explain why CEOs, nevertheless, tend to stick with a hierarchy over a network. Also, we advocate applying the ideas of Inspect and Adapt to the Agile principles and values themselves. Moreover, we suggest several actions you can take to identify ‘conflict entrepreneurs’ and other troublemakers and mitigate their negative impact.

We then listen to an interview with Jeanne Liedtka on the importance of distinguishing between Doing vs. Experiencing vs. Becoming; we learn about…