Concepts
Advanced Certified ScrumMaster (A-CSM) is an excellent certification for Scrum professionals, allowing them to hone their practical skills while delving deeper into the Scrum framework’s core principles.
Fulfilling these principles, known as the Scrum Values – commitment, courage, focus, openness and respect – is an integral part of one’s journey towards becoming an effective ScrumMaster. An in-depth analysis of your alignment with these values can offer useful insights and improvement areas. Here’s a closer look.
Scrum Value – Commitment:
Being committed means dedicating oneself to achieving the team’s goals. As a ScrumMaster, commitment means consistently refining your Scrum knowledge, embracing your role to support the Scrum team and actively moving the team closer towards their goals.
YOu could improve your alignment with the Scrum value of Commitment by regularly setting and reviewing goals, both as an individual and as part of the Scrum team. Setting goals introduces purpose and directs action, while reviewing them ensures pace and accuracy.
Scrum Value – Courage:
Courage here implies facing difficult conversations, issues, and conflict resolution with aptness. As a ScrumMaster, showing courage means facilitating these high-stress interactions with a fair viewpoint and a firm resolve in the best interest of the project.
You can improve this by engaging more in conflict resolution and active problem-solving. Productive confrontation, in instances of divergent views on a project aspect, can facilitate innovative solutions.
Scrum Value | Meaning | How to Improve |
---|---|---|
Focus | Concentration on completing the tasks and meeting the team’s Sprint goals. | Develop and employ time management techniques. |
Openness | Transparency about work, progress and barriers to stakeholders. | Implement effective communication channels and regularly update stakeholders about the progress of the project. |
Respect | Acknowledgement of skills, experience and values of all team members. | Exercise a two-way learning approach; absorb from others’ expertise, and share your own. |
Scrum Value – Focus:
Focus implies a complete concentration on completing the tasks and meeting the team’s Sprint goals. As a ScrumMaster, maintaining focus helps the team avoid unnecessary distractions, thereby ensuring optimal productivity.
Spend time working on your time management techniques. Clear guidelines about task assignments, along with a visible, up-to-date task board, can also increase focus by ensuring everyone knows their role.
Scrum Value- Openness:
Openness in Scrum refers to transparency about work, progress and barriers to all stakeholders. Your role as a ScrumMaster includes fostering a culture of openness which helps in decision making, mitigating risks and resolving issues more effectively.
One way to improve openness is by implementing effective communication channels for your Scrum team. A continuous update to all stakeholders about the progress of the project will also help in creating a transparent environment.
Scrum Value – Respect:
Respect denotes acknowledging the skills, experience and values each team member brings to the table. As a ScrumMaster, fostering mutual respect contributes to a collaborative and harmonious work environment.
The best way to improve respect is to instill a two-way learning approach in your team. When team members learn from one another’s expertise and share their own, it creates an atmosphere of mutual respect and continuous improvement.
In conclusion, transforming into an effective ScrumMaster requires internalizing and aligning yourself to the Five Scrum Values. As you strive for advanced certification, an in-depth analysis of your fulfilment of these values can prove invaluable, illuminating your strengths and areas for potential growth. Regardless of your level of mastery, remember that with Scrum, the journey towards improvement is continuous.
Answer the Questions in Comment Section
True or False: In Scrum, the value of commitment is about ensuring all tasks are completed within the sprint.
• True
• False
Correct Answer: True
The Scrum value of “Openness” is related to:
• a) Transparency and communication
• b) Time management
• c) Risk assessment
• d) Both a and c
Correct Answer: a) Transparency and communication
Select all that apply: The values in the Scrum framework include:
• a) Respect
• b) Honesty
• c) Openness
• d) JavaScript
Correct Answer: a) Respect, c) Openness
True or False: Understanding and adhering to Scrum values ensures optimum results in the project output.
• True
• False
Correct Answer: True
What does the “Respect” Scrum value mean in terms of team interactions?
• a) Treating teammates with courtesy
• b) Valuing diverse capabilities and perspectives
• c) Reporting to your Scrum Master
• d) Both a and b
Correct Answer: d) Both a and b
Why should a Scrum Master “Analyze Their Fulfillment of The Scrum Values”?
• a) To gain insight into team performance
• b) To become more aware of personal misconceptions and biases
• c) To follow the Scrum guide
• d) Both a and b
Correct Answer: d) Both a and b
For the Scrum value of ‘Focus’, the team and stakeholders must:
• a) Work on many tasks simultaneously
• b) Focus on the work of the current sprint
• c) Focus on future sprints
• d) Both a and c
Correct Answer: b) Focus on the work of the current sprint
True or False: It is not necessary to consistently review and reflect on how you can improve adherence to Scrum values.
• True
• False
Correct Answer: False
As a Scrum Master, taking feedback from your team to improve your understanding of Scrum values is an element of which value?
• a) Openness
• b) Respect
• c) Focus
• d) Commitment
Correct Answer: a) Openness
The Scrum value of ‘Courage’ is shown by:
• a) Completing all tasks within the sprint.
• b) Willingness to challenge the status quo and work towards a beneficial change.
• c) Writing code for the product.
• d) Documenting everything that happens during the sprint.
Correct Answer: b) Willingness to challenge the status quo and work towards a beneficial change.
Single Select: The five values of scrum are respect, commitment, focus, courage, and:
• a) Integrity
• b) Openness
• c) Honesty
• d) Empathy
Correct Answer: b) Openness
This blog post was incredibly insightful for my A-CSM exam prep!
I feel confident in my commitment and courage values, but I think I need to work on openness. Maybe I should have more transparent communication with the team.
Excellent post! I believe I’m strong in focus and courage, but respect is something I need to continuously develop.
Thanks for sharing this!
I think I often struggle with the Courage value, especially when it comes to pushing back on unrealistic deadlines.
Great insights, but I wish the post included more real-life examples.
I appreciate the detailed explanation of the Scrum values. Focusing on continuous improvement really resonated with me.
Openness is my weakest area. Any tips on how to improve that?