Scrum MaRCster – your remote-controlled (Scrum) Marc is here

Some weeks ago, Jeff Sutherland introduced Scrum Sage, a custom-trained ChatGPT

I was curious and tried some Scrum questions on Scrum Sage:

To be honest, I was not impressed; I was disappointed. Particularly as this ChatGPT is bold, content – and plain wrong with its answer. Although the Daily Scrum is there to ensure efficiency and focus towards the Sprint Goal, it is not about the Scrum Master attending the Daily Scrum, it is about the Developers risk-managing, synching and creating a plan for the day in order to meet the Sprint Goal.

I was disappointed that this advice sets you up for a classic micro-managing Scrum Master creating a Zombie Scrum. A common antipattern, btw.

Introducing Scrum MaRCster

So I decided to train (and continue to train) my own Scrum GPT, which comes with no extra charge beyond openAI’s base fee (20$/month): the Scrum MaRCster – a remote-controlled Scrum Master built and trained by me. A virtual copy of me, but looking more cyberpunk than I do 😎

This GPT is also not perfect, but it answers the above question more like I would do😇:

The Daily Scrum is exactly 15 minutes long to keep the meeting concise and focused on inspection and adaptation of the current Sprint’s work. This time constraint encourages efficiency and ensures that the meeting remains a quick synchronization rather than turning into a detailed discussion, which can be reserved for follow-up meetings if necessary. The purpose of the Daily Scrum is for the Developers of the Scrum Team to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt the Sprint Backlog as necessary, adjusting the upcoming planned work. Limiting the meeting to 15 minutes helps maintain the rhythm and routine without imposing a significant time burden on the team, thereby supporting the Scrum principle of maintaining a sustainable pace of work. This timebox is designed to be long enough for a team to quickly share updates and plan for the next 24 hours but short enough to keep the meeting from interfering with the actual work that needs to be done.

Go ahead and work with your virtual copy of the Scrum MaRCster 👉🏻 instant access here.

I will continue to train and revisit the Scrum MaRCster and stay curious about how that technology evolves further.

And: Scrum MaRCster needs your help!

In order to make the Scrum MaRCster better, I need your help: play around with this virtual copy. Let me know what you like and what you do not like. Comment 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻 below or 👉🏻 contact me directly.

This helps me improve the training. 🙏🏻 Thank you!

Ahh, and: no, I do not fear that this will replace me in the near future 😂

[18.2.2024 Update:] I revisited Scrum Sage – and it is learning, too. He now answers the question above:

“The Daily Scrum is designed to be exactly 15 minutes long to maintain focus and efficiency. This time constraint encourages team members to communicate their updates succinctly and clearly without delving into prolonged discussions or problem-solving, which can be reserved for follow-up meetings if necessary. The 15-minute duration is long enough to allow each team member to share their progress, plans for the day, and any impediments they are facing, yet short enough to prevent the meeting from interfering with the actual work that needs to be done. This brief meeting format helps keep the team aligned on their goals and fosters a rhythm of regular communication, contributing to the iterative, incremental nature of Agile development practices.”

I am still not happy (focus on the Sprint Goal is missing), but at least the Scrum Master-centric answer from last time is gone.