A question paraphrased from an email just received. It’s from the first team to anoint one of the new Scrum Masters for a group I coach. The reason not everyone on the team answered the 3 questions in standup …and as long as I’m just throwing in links it’s not just standing up, by the way… is because some really good discussions emerged that people were interested in. What part of the Scrum Master’s Role could help empower the team to stay focused?

Before digging in to that, I’ve also expanded a little on this definition of the role. I guess I would maybe change conflict resolution to “facilitate communication between roles”. I should also add, perhaps, mine for conflict” as well.

To get straight to the point, who is involved in the conversation? The right Scrum Master would ensure these people get together, outside the standup.

Personally, I am a little forgetful and cannot remember who is involved in every conversation. When I hear people talking, I write down who is talking, and why. This amount of time may allow for the issue to be resolved. While I want conversations to emerge between people, I gently remind them that this is solution-izing and that we need to get all the way around the circle within 15 minutes. I also try to ensure people are standing in a circle, as well.

At the end of the standup, I run through for the team who I believe needs to follow-up and as I’ve jotted down the reason these people were talking, I can also address that if they ask me why. I allow for people to add themselves to the list. I believe it’s then up to them to figure out how best to get together for the solution-eering.

At the end of standup I also go through known impediments worked on yesterday, today, and what is keeping them from being removed.