Scrum Master v Project Manager

[SimonMac]

Starting my new gig so gonna bone up on a few new skills while I am working away, I am not a PM but always think that having a PM qual on the CV is handy. I generally work in the SDLC with input end to end from Dev to Post Deploy so thinking that Scrum Master might be a better bet, however is it any use where Agile is not being used, ie I know the PM stuff will always be some what relevant on an assignment, where as Scrum Master will be very relevant, but only on the right project.

Anyone got any advice on either direction?

[SimonMac]

Bump for those with a life and don't spend all weekend on an internet forum

[Churchill]

What qualifies you to be a "Scrum Master"?

[doodab]

What qualifies you to be a "Scrum Master"?

The ScrumMaster is responsible for making sure a Scrum team lives by the values and practices of Scrum

So basically you have to make sure everything is scrummy. The biscuits, the sandwiches, and especially the women on the team.

[TheSurfer]

I took the Prince2 Practitioner course in some down time and it definitely helped get my current contract. I'd say if Agile isn't beng used it seems people often want to see one of the traditional PM certifications, i.e. Prince2/PMP/APM combined with experience

I've been looking at the Scrum master as well, just as I'm using Agile methodology on my side project (or at least my interpretation of Agile ). I'm not sure how much weight it carries with Agile types though as it's just a 2 day course and it seems they pretty much pass everyone.

[original PM]

I have recently passed the Agile Foundation and Practitioner - twas a touch easy!

the concept of Scrum would seem to work whenever you have a group of people sitting in the same area who are working on the same project/workstream and whose outputs rely on the outputs of others in the group.

The one push back I seem to get when looking at this route is the daily standup as some people see this as a little demeaning to have to justify there work and time on a daily basis.

On another note the benefits of Agile if properly used help to start the realisation of the project ROI earlier and also it does not require that the users know exactly what they want up front and it is often better to be realistic and look at an iterative development cycle.

[SimonMac]

What qualifies you to be a "Scrum Master"?

Same as qualifies me as a project manager, nothing at moment, thats why I am wanting to skill up. I have tangible links to both areas, just after advice on which is most sought after to get the formal quals to back up the experience.

[Churchill]

Same as qualifies me as a project manager, nothing at moment, thats why I am wanting to skill up. I have tangible links to both areas, just after advice on which is most sought after to get the formal quals to back up the experience.

So, no experience as a Scrum Master then?

In my experience moving sideways into a "Scrum Master" role from Team Lead role is more appropriate than moving "down" from a PM role.

Experience of migrating or being part of a migration from "Waterfall" to "Agile" would serve you better than any pay-for-certificate course.

[Spacecadet]

The one push back I seem to get when looking at this route is the daily standup as some people see this as a little demeaning to have to justify there work and time on a daily basis.

From my experience, the people who resist these the most tend to be the lazy and disorganised.
If you're on top of your work then these sessions are a good opportunity to make sure that someone else isn't dragging you down (without the rest of the team knowing about it)

[Zippy]

From my experience, the people who resist these the most tend to be the lazy and disorganised.
If you're on top of your work then these sessions are a good opportunity to make sure that someone else isn't dragging you down (without the rest of the team knowing about it)

The standup is supposed to be a chance to see where you are with a project, not some cut-price blamestorming session. The scrum master should make sure it doesn't end up like that.