How can a Scrum Master help avoid UX bugs?

What could have been different in this situation?

First if the team had a Scrum Master she would definitely have intervened in this kind of decision-making and would have facilitated a consensus with all voices heard. The Scrum Master would have given the chance for Steve to sound his concerns and would have probably facilitated deeper analysis or research on the given UX question. Secondly, having so-called experts in a Scrum team makes decision-making distorted sometimes. Having Mary as the UX expert, easily changes the mindset of the other developers and they tend to accept Mary's opinion as more valid in UX questions than anybody else’s, because she is the expert. Saying a claim is true because an authority figure made it is a logical fallacy. While it is true that someone with a deeper knowledge of a certain field may be right in most cases, it is not a guarantee. A well-educated Scrum Master would have stopped this thinking and would have enforced cross functionality and consensus in the team.

In conclusion, although many believe that the Scrum Master doesn't do anything because she is not writing code, but this is a good example of what their Scrum Master can add as value to a team. Having a UX issue can have negative effects on customer ROI and even sales and we all know that fixing a bug is always more costly than doing it right in the first place.

Personal issues could have been caused

On top of all this, Steve may hold grudges against Mary because of that bad decision and because of his own shame of accepting and agreeing with the wrong solution. This can lead to more tension inside the team and more bad decisions. This is why I advocate hiring a Scrum Master for every Scrum team and training the agile mindset to Scrum Masters because these issues matter more than teaching a daily scrum or enforcing a sprint time box.

Instead of having experts or coercion in teams, you should rely on the agile values of openness, respect, and courage… but that's the topic of another blog post: how to facilitate a debate between a junior and a senior the member. The solution is obvious if you practise the agile values.

Mutual respect is the Key

Both the senior and junior must be opened to the opinion of the other and both must respect each other. While mutual respect and openness are important each one must have the courage, especially the junior, to be able to fight for her truth. The senior member has to understand that the juniors may have other insights or may have new ideas that they recently learned perhaps at university, or that their lack of experience also frees them from preconceptions or tradition which may at sometimes be misleading. In the meantime, the junior has to be open to the ideas based on the experience and routine of the senior and must respect that there are certain things you can't learn in school and years or decades of experience can lead to knowledge that may be counter intuitive.

Courage is required by both because it takes courage to stand up to a senior expert, but it also takes courage to admit that the person way more junior has a better idea and you were wrong as an experienced senior. The facilitation of a scrum master is essential in teams where differences in experience or seniority are big.

A Scrum Master is always a great idea

In summary, the role of a Scrum Master goes far beyond managing meetings or enforcing processes. Their presence ensures that every team member’s voice is heard, decisions are balanced, and the team operates with mutual respect and collaboration. By facilitating open discussions and promoting the agile values, a Scrum Master prevents potential conflicts like the UX bug scenario and fosters an environment of trust and innovation.

In agile development, it’s easy to overlook the "soft skills" that glue a team together but these skills are often the key to avoiding costly mistakes and ensuring team harmony. A well-functioning Scrum team isn’t just about adhering to the framework; it’s about building a culture where everyone grows together.