Hello Agile and Scrum Enthusiasts,
Last month we talked about what type of questions to expect during an interview for a Scrum Master position. One thing I had mentioned was, more importantly you should know what questions you should ask when interviewing with a company.
I have interviewed a lot of people, and I usually start the interview with explaining the position and the team structure. At the end of the interview, I ask, “Do you have any questions for me?” I find most Scrum Masters say, “None that I can think of. You already answered my questions.” This answer or a similar answer is usually indicative of one of the three things listed below:
- You understand everything very clearly, and there are no questions or unknowns left to answer.
- Most of us make this mistake – I have made it too. It is not possible to know everything, but you should know what you absolutely must know.
- You are desperate for the position, and will take it no matter what.
- So, no point in asking any questions, right? Probably not. Many-a-times, we make the mistake of taking up a job that is not right.
- Many years ago, when I was at the beginning of my career, I was straightaway offered a lead role for an engineering team, with a promise to travel overseas in under 6 months. Only catch was the company wanted to keep my original qualifications and passport till they sent me on an overseas project. I was young, naïve, and desperate, and wanted to take the job. But my Uncle stopped me from taking that job, saying I will not be happy there.
- You should always know and think through what you are getting into. Ask yourself, if I was not desperate, will I take this job?
- You do not have experience working in this position or role, and do not know what questions to ask.
- Whether you realize it or not, if you do not ask any questions, you make the interviewer think about your experience and credibility.
It might indicate other things, but these are three primary things that are indicated when you do not ask any questions to your interviewer. It is important to ask questions. If you are interviewing for a Scrum Master role, what questions should you ask? Here are some tips. This is not a complete list, but some questions I believe will give you a lot of insight about the role, team, mindset, culture, and the organization. Remember to ask different questions to each interviewer, but ask the same question to 2-3 people and match their answers.
- How many failed Sprints do you have every quarter (follow-up question – How many successful Sprints do you have every quarter)?
- The ratio will tell how mature the organization is in using Scrum.
- Secondly, if the organization tends to think of “not finishing everything forecasted” as a failure, you may need to work on mindset when you join.
- Do the teams produce a shippable Increment every Sprint?
- Answer to this question will tell you about the maturity of DevOps – CI & CD in the organization.
- It will also be indicative of commitment to quality.
- How closely do I need to work with the Project Manager? (Follow-up question – How is the responsibility split between Scrum Master and Project Manager?)
- Remember there is no project manager role on a Scrum Team. If this role exists it indicates that the organization is probably not as agile as you may think.
- However, if such a role exists, you should know very clearly how it compliments (or contradicts or overlaps) what you would do, if you were to join.
- What kind of reports will I have to create every week?
- A report-heavy organization in my observation, also tends to be hierarchical with lesser autonomy for the team to do the work.
- Also, if there are too many reports needed, it could also indicate that the product is in trouble or is poor in quality.
- What is the ratio of real work to politics in the organization?
- Any answer that says there is too much politics, is going to make your life as a Scrum Master difficult.
- How much is too much politics? It is up to every individual. For me, it is “more politics than actual work” even if it is 1% more. But that is me. You might have a different threshold.
- How long are your Scrum Events?
- If the answer is longer than what Scrum Guide says, it indicates that there are probably too many unnecessary conversations happening during these events – a lot more coaching and mentoring that you will have to do as a Scrum Master.
- Will I be playing any other role than a Scrum Master role?
- If the answer is “yes,” it indicates a difficult position. A Scrum Master cannot be a Product Owner due to conflict of interest as I mention in my class. A Scrum Master also cannot be a Development Team member. They are two very different roles and eventually you might end up not doing a good enough job in any.
- If the answer is “You will be a Scrum Master on multiple teams,” ask how many teams. Scrum Master is a full-time job for a growing and new team, if done right. Ideally you should work with only one team. However, most organizations do not allocate enough budget for this position and expect Scrum Masters to support multiple teams. If you are good, you might be able to help 2 teams. 3 teams will definitely be a stretch and not sustainable for longer duration.
Hope you find these questions insightful. If there are other questions you ask during your interview for a Scrum Master position, do share those with me. I would love to hear those.
I continue to pray for all our well-being and for the world to get back on its feet and start running again, much healthier than what it is today.
May God bless us all!
Punita Dave
