Succeeding with Agile

Internal or External ScrumMasters

A common question is whether teams should use ScrumMasters from within the company or whether outside experts should be brought in. The long-term answer is easy: Having skilled ScrumMasters is a critical requirement and as such they should reside within the organization. You should not use contract ScrumMasters over the long-term.

But it is hard to learn a new skill until you’ve seen someone else demonstrate it. Learning how to lead without authority, when and how to nudge a team toward adopting new engineering practices, when it’s OK to intervene, and so on can be difficult. Therefore, many organizations benefit from bringing in an outside consultant as a ScrumMaster initially. This outsider may act as the ...