Why Most Scrum Masters Are Failing and What They Should Know

Published
Written by Martin Hinshelwood
6 minute read

As a DevOps consultant, Agile consultant, and trainer, I’ve worked with hundreds of companies to improve their software product development. It’s astonishing how many Scrum Masters lack even a basic understanding of Scrum, let alone the expertise required to support the teams they work with.

A significant portion of Scrum Masters (about 61%*) have either never read the Scrum Guide, lack technical proficiency relevant to their teams, or have only a superficial grasp of how to apply Scrum principles.

It’s no wonder many are being laid off.

Frankly, I’m not surprised, and I’d argue that most Scrum Masters are incompetent and should be let go. Unfortunately, some of the 39%* who are competent are also being affected by these layoffs.

Why are we here?

About 15 years ago, as “agile” was gaining widespread attention, the supply of individuals with strong technical, business, and organizational expertise remained relatively limited. Building those skills takes time, and the initial talent pool was small.

Faced with increasing demand for teams and products, companies worldwide struggled to find qualified people. As a result, they pressured recruiters to fill positions quickly. Since there weren’t enough skilled candidates available, companies lowered their standards, filling roles with individuals who had only completed a two-day PSM/CSM certification course.

Thus, the position we found ourselves in pre-pandemic!

The recent challenges to economic stability have led most companies to “tighten their belts,” prompting a closer evaluation of the value they receive for their spending. Agile Coaches and Scrum Masters have largely failed to make a measurable difference—or even to define metrics by which their impact could be assessed. After more than 20 years of agile methodologies, there are still no clear standards or ways to measure the effectiveness of Scrum Masters. Without measurable impact, companies are questioning the need for the expense.

However, many companies that have reduced their number of Scrum Masters are still hiring—just with higher expectations. Now, they demand competence. They want to know exactly how a Scrum Master will contribute to the business’s success and how that impact will be measured.

What should a Scrum Master for a software team know?

The core accountability of a Scrum Master is the effectiveness of the Scrum Team! Can you help them be effective if you don’t understand the practices within that team’s context? Of course not, but what does that look like? What are the practices that you should expect your Scrum Master to understand?

Why Most Scrum Masters Are Failing and What They Should Know

“A Scrum Master is a lean agile practitioner with techical mastery, business mastery, and organsiational evolutionary mastery!” - Lyssa Adkins**

I would expect a Scrum Master for a software team to know:

While the Scrum Master may not directly perform the tasks mentioned above, they are accountable for ensuring that these tasks are carried out effectively. This involves training and mentoring teams in the necessary practices, and once the teams have a solid understanding, knowing when to shift towards coaching and facilitating the team, their stakeholders, and the broader organization.

When everyone around is incompetent, competence looks like an ideal!

Some have pushed back, saying this list is too idealistic. However, I see it as the starting point for a Scrum Master, not the end goal. While someone is on their journey to becoming a Scrum Master, they should be working within a team and learning. All the foundational knowledge is covered, at least at a beginner level, in courses like APS, APS-SD, PSM, PSPO, and PSK. That’s roughly 90 hours of classroom time, or just over 11 days of learning.

Does that make you an expert in all these areas? No, of course not—that would be unrealistic. But it’s a start. It’s about knowing these processes and practices exist and having the opportunity to try them out within a team.

Theory and Practice….

“Without theory, there is no learning. That is, without theory, there is no way to use the information that comes to us. We need a theory for data. We need a theory for experience. Without theory, we learn nothing.” - W. Edwards Deming***

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