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What happens to a Project Manager when an organization undergoes the Agile Transformation?

 

What made me write this Blog?

The motive to write this blog is my personal experience where i was asked to perform the role of a Project Manager with the hat of a Scrum Master.

Hence thought of throwing some light on the misconception in the industry that, Project manager and Scrum Master roles are assumed to be the same with different artifacts or different language being used while they aren’t.

There is an unfortunate trend to hire people who are “Project Managers/Scrum Masters” or to expect one person to play both roles. Trying to do these two jobs at the same time will be difficult and confusing or upsetting to your team members.

Later in this article, we’d look at how a Project manager can transition into a Scrum Master whilst the company undergoes the agile transformation.

What happens to a Project Manager when an organization undergoes the Agile Transformation?

""Pam, the Project Manager, has just found out that their company is in the beginnings of an “Agile Transformation”.

Rob, Pam's Manager calls for a discussion and informs Pam that her role would be redundant as there isn’t a Project Manager role defined in the Scrum Framework, but they can try to fit her into a suitable role available in the new setup

Pam is now left with two options, either to look for opportunities outside the organization or find a relevant role within the organization where she can utilize her core skills and expertise

Now Pam thinks of how to start her Transition Journey from a Project manager to a role defined in the Scrum Framework that suits her Passion, Knowledge, and expertise.""

What are the options available for Pam to choose from?

Depending upon her skills and passion, Pam can perform any of the three Scrum roles defined in the Framework.

v  Project Managers can be excellent Scrum Masters if they can Forswear their 'Command' and 'Control' management instincts and embrace Servant Leadership culture.

vProject managers would also be involved in creation of Project Charters, Prepare Release Timelines and would also be a part of change management. The Product Owner's role can be a great fit for project managers who want to continue utilizing these skills from their past experiences.

v  There are various other decisions that need to be made outside the product development responsibilities for smooth functioning of scrum roles such as Hiring, performance reviews, HR aspects. Usually, these activities are managed by a Program Manager or a People Manager. And in a Scrum environment, these responsibilities are performed by stakeholders outside the Scrum team. Hence Project Manager can even consider becoming a stakeholder.

v  Project manager with sound technical knowledge and experience can also become a member of the Development team.

Why should a Project Manager consider transitioning into a Scrum Master during the Organization's Agile Transformation?

Traditional Project Manager's possess majority of the skills needed by a scrum Master, hence the transitioning into a Scrum master is relatively easy with a little bit of behavioral training needed for the new ways of working

Despite that, being a scrum master has its fair share of advantages, including the push by organizations to achieve Agile delivery. It is a job with high demand as many companies are transforming to Agile for their projects, hence ample opportunities.

Some common Scrum Master antipatterns that a Project Manager should be aware of

Being the Chief Meeting Organizer

One of the agile manifesto states "Individuals and interactions over processes and tools" which means Scrum emphasizes that every team member should communicate with anyone necessary to get the work done without the Scrum Master as a middleman.

Scrum Master is responsible for facilitating Scrum ceremonies and help the Scrum team to coordinate with the Product owners and Stake holders whenever necessary, but it doesn’t become the responsibility of a Scrum Master alone to initiate any discussions. Scrum master should empower the teams to initiate any sort of discussions as and when required.

Not recognizing the difference between the team spirit and the agreed terms

One of the Scrum Master raised a question in the Community Practice meet, “We stated in our team working agreement that everyone should attend the stand up. Since everyone is showing up regularly, should we remove that from our agreement document?”

It’s just not about the agreement in the document; it’s about encouraging the team develop a culture with these ideals. The working agreement document may be an entry point for a team to adapt to a new work culture, but if it has no updates, yet the team culture is healthy, that culture is what’s most important.

Where there are team issues, the scrum master should diagnose them or highlight them to the team.

Scrum Master should realize that issues are not resolved by documents and process but rather by the healthy conversations in which meaningful solutions are created together.

Mistaking the Stand-Up for a Status Update

A stand-up is time for the team to communicate to each other, not to the scrum master. The meeting belongs to the team, not to any one person. You may find in a newly formed team that when people are used to a waterfall process, or no process at all, they look for a leader. The project manager in a waterfall project is generally the person chasing the status of everyone’s work in an attempt to update project plans. This chasing disappears in scrum, and the team must learn to act as a self-directing team. The scrum master should reinforce this self-direction and accountability.

Assuming Their Only Job is to Be the Scrum Master

The scrum master, as well as the rest of the team, should be versatile. In some agile teams, the scrum master is a rotating position. It’s a servant leader role, and as with any other team member, if there are things to be done and the scrum master is capable, they should volunteer to pick up and execute those tasks.

According to the Scrum Guide, “helping the development team to create high-value products” is one of the scrum master’s services to the team. This is sometimes lost for a project manager transitioning into this role, as they may not be used to doing items that fall under a developer’s or even a tester’s purview.

Not Adjusting Stakeholder Communication

In a Traditional Waterfall setup, Projects managers use Weekly status reports with issue logs and risk and mitigation plans as the artefacts to communicate the Project status to the stakeholders. But in Scrum, Progress is measured in terms of “working software”. The Issues and risks are usually solved by the teams internally with escalation to outside help where required.

There are high chances that the Project Manager transitioning to a Scrum Master may continue to look for the status reports and issue logs for their stakeholder communication. But the newly evolved Scrum Master must understand the fact that “issues” or “impediments” are volatile and change depending on committed work by the team.

Scrum masters can use any of the standard charts coming out of scrum. Burnup or burndown charts are particularly helpful as a means of communication, along with the sprint review. With these charts, teams can share facts around delivered work and progress against a determined release. The sprint review provides a live opportunity to touch and feel the completed work.

Transition Journey of a Project Manager into a Scrum Master

Transition to Scrum Master should be a fun change journey and it is all about a Ringleader Transforming into to Servant Leader and changing the mindset from Team working for him to He working for the team.

Some skills that a Project Manager should embrace during his Transition Journey.

 Learn What a Scrum Master is and What He/ She Does

 You cannot enter a career without understanding the job description. Therefore, look for resources to learn what a Scrum Master is and what he/ she does. It is advisable to read the Scrum Guide and talk to people who are experienced in Agile methodologies.

From reading the scrum guide, you will discover that the description and roles of the Scrum Master are quite simple and clear.

However, talking to experienced reveals the underlying complexities you have to master and apply in challenging situations. You will learn that the main roles of the Scrum Master are to enable and help the team deliver value and remove any obstacles that may impair progress. Good to have a mentor or an agile coach for the successful transition

Focus On the Mindset Change

Be open to change and let go of old ways of thinking, appreciate and welcome feedback. Recognize your desire for control and abandon it.

Let Go of Tasks and Status

Project managers often get distracted with tasks and status. Instead, focus on people and interactions. Pay attention to the team health. Help the team with their self-organization, empowerment and conflict resolution. Create an environment where people can do their best work.

Learn Servant Leadership

Servant leadership does not mean that you get to do everything. You are expected to serve and lead simultaneously.

It is a type of leadership where you serve your team members more than the higher management. It involves helping your team in every step of the way instead of Passing orders and expecting them to follow.

Therefore, you must learn how to lead with authority and expertise and know when to step aside and let others take the leadership based on their experience, roles, and authority. You must be humble and willing to learn too.

Learn How to Appreciate Feedback

Feedback is one of the core part of the Scrum Framework. Once you transition into a scrum master, you must constantly look for means of fine-tuning and improving your feedback systems so that you can help the business meet its needs. Constantly do a health check of your feedback systems and ensure that they are the right ones, or together with your team, find better ones.

Learning to appreciate feedback and working on them will help you become an excellent scrum master.

Also, learn to appreciate feedback on your performance. This will help you grow and become great at being a scrum master. Ensure that you have regular short-cycle feedback systems to help you gauge yourself. Also, be prepared to always check with your team whether they need help and check their efforts once they are done.

Develop a coaching style of leadership:

Another skill for project managers to cultivate could be a coaching style of leadership to solve problems and help teams to solve their own problems. This is one of the latest trends around the globe, project managers are now embracing.

Change your mindset from Compartmentalization to Collaboration

In traditional project management, there is a tendency that engagement gets compartmentalized.

Here’s what I mean: Developers only concentrate on Development and are not bothered about Testing. While Testers focus is Testing and are not bothered about Marketing

In Scrum, everyone works together to determine the best possible solution collaboratively. Empower yourself and the team to take up the ownership not only in their area of work but outside that as well.

Learn How to Be Proactive and To Ask Outcome-Focused Questions

Like project managers, Scrum Masters must highlight issues and ask questions. It would be best to learn how to ask the right questions, which should be outcome focused.

Whenever people show interest in a topic, you will be required to offer advice and suggest options. The team should collectively engage in the issue and come up with a solution. However, how will you achieve this? By asking the right questions, that will drive the conversation.

You also need to be proactive, given that you will be working directly with the team. You are expected to foresee possible mistakes and determine whether they are safe, and the team can learn something from them or whether they will lead to failure.

Conclusion

The most important thing is to Kick start the transition process is with an open mind and be willing to learn new ways of working and requires great patience and discipline, but it’ll be worth it.

Final thoughts: Where do Project Managers fit?

The best way to approach this hurdle is by directly asking the project managers - where do they think they would fit and what is their passion? Is it working with the business and stakeholders to develop a Product Vision, collaborate to get the product to the market? Or do they prefer helping the Developers, removing their blockers, enabling them to solve problems, conducting great Sprint Retrospectives to create high performing teams.

In conclusion, the skills and experience of a Project Manager remain essential to an organization under Agile Transition. However, these responsibilities are not addressed in an individual role but can be largely distributed among various Scrum roles and Stakeholders and can still add value to the overall Product Development. The key is to shed the 'command and control' style of management.

Many people who adopt the role of Scrum Master find their way into a new and fulfilling career. Scrum Masters and related coach type roles are inherently fulfilling for many people. Scrum Masters report a huge sense of satisfaction in being valuable team members and helping those around them grow in capability and deliver successful outcomes.  Becoming a Scrum Master may be the beginning of a whole new career track.