A modern agile development scrum team should be self managing. You don’t need a Project Manager to manage the team nor do you really require a dedicated “Team Lead” to lead the team. It doesn’t mean there is no room for either a Project Manager or a Team Lead to exist within a modern agile development scrum team. Having said that, let me share with you my personal experiences of how to run an agile development team in an efficient way as a Project Manager/Team Lead.
Having the right people in the team
First things first. The need to get the right people in the team.
Having a good PO
A PO (Product Owner or in some companies their title is Product Manager) is required to own the piece or pieces of software that particular agile development scrum team is building. By owning; that person is required to clearly specify the requirements in terms of what needs to be done and to confirm the acceptance of the completeness of a given business or technical feature being developed.
A BA (Business Analyst) can exist too within the team to assist the PO in translating the business requirements into something a Developer/Engineer and/or Testers/QA Engineers can understand so that they can develop and test the code respectively. Ultimately, I don’t feel it is vital to have a BA in the team if the PO is doing that kind of job themselves.
Furthermore, being a good PO means you don’t become a ‘Yes’ person all the time and accept anything that comes your way. Being a good PO means you should also be comfortable in asking and challenging business features that is being developed too.
Let the Scrum Master facilitate
It’s important to have a dedicated Scrum Master within the team to ideally run and facilitate or coordinate all the agile ceremonies (agile meetings) which I will discuss more further below. Furthermore, a dedicated Scrum Master can help unblock any impediments any of the team members currently facing, and also driving progress along. After all, that is the role of a dedicated Scrum Master.
