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This week on the podcast, Dan Neumann is joined by his collaborator, Sam Falco! Together they\\u2019re going to be tackling three Scrum-related questions that they dug up on Quora.

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Sam finds himself running into these particular questions fairly frequently. In fact, every new client seems to have a set of similar questions! So if you\\u2019ve ever pondered, \\u201cWhat is better: one-week or two-week sprints,\\u201d \\u201cWhat is the scrum master\\u2019s role,\\u201d \\u201cWhat are the tasks that a scrum master has to perform,\\u201d or \\u201cWhat are the first things a scrum master should do when starting at a new organization?\\u201d... tune in!

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And if you have any questions you\\u2019d like to hear answered in a future episode, you can email them to Podcast@AgileThought.com or Tweet @AgileThought using #AgileThoughtPodcast!

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Key Takeaways

\\u201cDo you prefer one-week or two-week sprints? And why?\\u201d

The Scrum guide says up to a month

Sam doesn\\u2019t have a preference between one-week or two-week sprints as it depends on what the situation (and organization) calls for

The key is to balance how much time it will take for the development team to do the work with the risk the organization is willing to absorb by not releasing (i.e. if an organization can wait three weeks without messing with the scrum team\\u2019s sprint goal \\u2014 then three weeks is a good length)

Sam recommends that teams brainstorm their definition of \\u2018done\\u2019

Either way, it\\u2019s important for the organization and team to maintain focus for the sprint duration, no matter the length

A short sprint means there\\u2019s less to plan, less to review, less retrospective, and it scales more linearly

All-in-all: it really depends!

\\u201cWhat is a scrum master role? And what are the tasks that a scrum master has to perform?\\u201d

Scrum masters are responsible for coaching the product owner, the development, and the organization

Through transparency, inspection, and adaptation they should be working to improve the system over time

They should be always be asking: \\u2018What value are we getting out of this activity?\\u2019

They have to remove impediments for the scrum team (once it is clear that the team cannot clear them)

They must coach and protect the team

They should help those outside of the team to understand how to interact with the team

They need to coach the team and the organization how to work in Scrum

They need to work with the organization on how to spread Scrum (as well as agile values and principles)

The scrum master has to do whatever is necessary to help the team be successful

\\u201cWhat are the first things a scrum master should do when starting at a new organization?\\u201d

When you\\u2019re coming into a new organization as a scrum master, you should give the team that you\\u2019re going to work with a reason to trust you (Sam recommends creating a \\u201cmind map\\u201d of yourself and modeling some vulnerability)

Have a group AMA as well as one-on-ones with each member of the team to build trust

Ask the team what their challenges are, listen to them, and address those first

Build a report with the dev team and the product owner

You should be networking within the organization and learn who\\u2019s who

If it\\u2019s a completely new organization, you want to establish good Scrum practice from the get-go, explain the \\u2018why\\u2019 behind the Scrum Guide, and make sure that the team is engaging in good Scrum practice

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Mentioned in this Episode:

Quora

Mind map

Agile Coaches\\u2019 Corner Ep. 1: \\u201cDo Scrum Well Before Scaling!\\u201d

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, by Cal Newport

Agile 2019 Conference

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can\'t Stop Talking, by Susan Cain

Quora Questions:

\\u201cDo you prefer one-week or two-week sprints and why?\\u201d Asked by Sara Morsi

\\u201cWhat is a scrum master role? What are the tasks that a scrum master has to perform?\\u201d Asked by Rashmi Pathak

\\u201cWhat are the first things a scrum master should do when starting at a new organization?\\u201d Asked by Alex Dolphin

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Sam Falco\\u2019s Book Picks:

Arcade Perfect: How Pac-Man, Mortal Kombat, and Other Coin-Op Classics Invaded the Living Room, by David L. Craddock (Author) and Milan Jaram (Illustrator)

Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World, by Cal Newport

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