New Scrum Master guide covers both theory and practice

Scrum, a team-oriented framework used for software development project management, employs a disciplined and reiterative process. But it is also designed to be able to respond to changing customer requirements and unanticipated challenges. In other words, Scrum is both a focused methodology but also a complex one.

In his new book The Professional Scrum Master (PSM I) Guide, author Fred Heath aims to prevent others from some mistakes he's made during his path from novice to expert. The book is also intended to help readers pass the PSM I certification exam.

Heath approaches his topic from two directions -- theoretical and practical. The first half of the book, subtitled "The Scrum Framework," focuses on the theoretical underpinnings of the methodology. It starts with a chapter on the principles and values of Scrum. The second half of the book, subtitled "Scrum in Action," zeroes in on the practical ins and outs of application and being a Scrum Master.

The importance of understanding both theory and on-the-ground implementation is a lesson Heath said he learned the hard way. "When I first started working in Scrum Teams I steeped myself in the theory but could not put it into a practical context. I could describe all the scrum roles, events and artifacts but when someone asked me what we should do in our first sprint, or how to deal with refactoring tasks, I just couldn't answer."

Heath's goals for the book overall are also twofold, he said: to help readers pass the PSM I certification exam and to prepare them for being a certified Scrum Master in a typical organization, dealing with issues faced regularly by Scrum Masters.

Want to learn more? See the box, below, to download a short section from Chapter 1, and then learn more about the book and how to obtain your own copy.

More on The Professional Scrum Master (PSM 1) Guide

Read a short section from Chapter 1 "What is Scrum?"

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