I'm now officially a Certified Scrum Developer® (CSD®) and a Certified ScrumMaster® (CSM®) through ScrumAlliance.org. I already have my Professional Scrum Master™ (PSM I) certification through Scrum.org. I've never been interested in certifications in general, but the content of study for these certifications are especially meaningful to me. I'm very excited to put these values and skills into practice to pursue my mission of helping everyone lead their team become the best team they’ve ever worked on.

An opportunity to put my skills into practice emerged when I found out about an open position to help build a system that could help state governments make more informed decisions about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. I reached out to the local consulting company and found their culture to be exactly the kind I value and I'm glad to say that I've recently accepted their offer of employment. I'll be working on a team soon where I'll be serving as both a Developer and a Scrum Master. I'm very much looking forward to stepping into these roles and making a difference. I hope the project helps save some livelihoods, and perhaps even some lives.

“It’s easy to focus on the Developer’s deliverable list and forget to prioritize the Scrum Master’s duties.”

However, I do have some anxiety about the largely differing nature of the two roles I'm attempting to fulfill and the risk of having both at the same time. The Scrum Guide says the Scrum Master can be on the Development Team if they are executing the work of the sprint, so I'm not playing outside the rules of the game. Nevertheless, a mentor of mine has suggested that being a Developer means you have a list of deliverables that are easy to check off one at a time, but being a Scrum Master is far less task-oriented and involves a people-oriented set of skills such as mentoring, coaching, facilitating, and educating. As a result, it's easy to focus on the Developer's deliverable list and forget to prioritize the Scrum Master's duties.

I have experience in many of the arenas a Scrum Master is responsible for, though some more than others. I have been leading teams for years without an explicit leadership title, and will continue to do the same. I have mentored many junior engineers in both their software skills and their careers. I instructed the both instructors and classrooms at Eleven Fifty Academy. I have facilitated team meetings, technical book clubs, architectural refactoring processes, testing strategy reorganization, and more. I have also even coached my team on developing a debate culture to polish ideas until we were comfortable trying something new.

I know I have the skills necessary to fulfill my roles, and I know I will fail, succeed, and learn an enormous amount along the way. I intend to find myself some Agile allies and push the company's vision and their values of empathy and community as far as I can during my tenure. Despite any anxiety I have, I am even more excited and curious about the opportunity and I'm ready to dive in so I can maximize my contribution to the company, to the community, and to the nation.

Photo by Roberto Nickson on Unsplash