#193 – Having Technical Knowledge

You don’t have to be technically well-versed in software development to be an awesome Scrum Master. The Scrum Master is, however, accountable for the Scrum Team’s effectiveness, and not understanding how the Developers work can be an obstacle to honoring that accountability.

Therefore, we urge you, as a Scrum Master, to do two things: 1) explain to the Developers that it’s actually an advantage that you’re not “bugged down” by having too much knowledge of their technical practices because it’ll allow you to see the bigger picture, suggest out-of-the-box improvements and challenge their approaches, and 2) ask a Developer if you can sit in on some of their work; it’ll show that you actually have interest in their craft which, in turn, will make it easier for you to get through with your improvements and experiments later.