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There are no PMs in actual Scrum. Scrum Teams are self-managing, so there's no need for a PM. There's a direct relationship between the Client and the Scrum Te

by lo_fye 2y ago

There are no PMs in actual Scrum. Scrum Teams are self-managing, so there's no need for a PM. There's a direct relationship between the Client and the Scrum Team. Where most companies screw up is in their business model. You can't charge a flat fee for fixed project description and call it Scrum. Scrum is iterative, by design. It's supposed to evolve with the CLient's needs and desires. They want to be able to change the scope, the price, and the timeline on a whim. If you aren't billing per-Sprint, then you're going to have a constant "charge the Client for a change request" mentality, which makes them feel like they're being Nickel and Dime. It's much better to say "We welcome your changes at any time for any reason. It may not fit in the next Sprint, but we can always put them in the one after that." In Sprint-based projects the Client has to be free to terminate the agreement at any time, if they feel they're not getting enough value in exchange for their money. This is why constantly delivering value to the Client is key. When they charge a flat fee, they feel they need a PM to make sure they don't lose money. And how can you know if you're losing money? You force people to track their hours back. It all gets toxic. When the Client pays per Sprint, as long as each Sprint is profitable and delivering value, it can be a huge profit center that has no end date. Often times, Clients will just keep adding features forever instead of stopping at the flat fee end date.

_heimdall 2y ago
I could have been more clear there, "PM" has many different meanings these days. I've never been on a team using scrum that didn't have a project manager or product manager as part of scrum (or both). Most often they have been my scrum leader. Scrum is supposed to be self-guided, but I have never seen it implemented on a team of any scale. I also wouldn't expect a team without PMs, whether that's project managers or product managers, to be very effective. Someone needs to be focused on keeping the project moving, and often the skills needed for a scrum leader/master overlap greatly with project managers. Someone also needs to be focused on the product and how the team's efforts fit into the longer term product goals. If that isn't anyone with a PM title it will be someone else playing that role with everything but the title.

by lo_fye 2y ago

_heimdall 2y ago

I could have been more clear there, "PM" has many different meanings these days. I've never been on a team using scrum that didn't have a project manager or product manager as part of scrum (or both). Most often they have been my scrum leader. Scrum is supposed to be self-guided, but I have never seen it implemented on a team of any scale. I also wouldn't expect a team without PMs, whether that's project managers or product managers, to be very effective. Someone needs to be focused on keeping the project moving, and often the skills needed for a scrum leader/master overlap greatly with project managers. Someone also needs to be focused on the product and how the team's efforts fit into the longer term product goals. If that isn't anyone with a PM title it will be someone else playing that role with everything but the title.