This document presents a competency framework to help ScrumMasters and coaches understand their level of competency in various domains. It includes four levels - New, Shu, Ha, Ri - to assess competency in areas like Agile principles, processes, practices, facilitation, teaching, leadership, coaching, technical skills, and business understanding. The framework is intended as a tool for self-reflection and identifying next steps for personal growth.

1. Competency Framework for Coaches and ScrumMasters
This framework was developed to help ScrumMasters and coaches understand where they are on
their journey. It is a tool to help them reflect and identify potential next steps for personal growth.
Intentionally this framework lacks statements such as “As a ScrumMaster I must do this …”, instead
statements are more like high level goals for each competency. There are a number of reasons for
this:
The world is rarely so simplistic that even in similar situations you can apply the same
practices and expect the same results.
Every organisation will be different, we cannot presume to tell you what you must do as a
ScrumMaster (no-one can).
Therefore this is a framework to be adapted for your situation; however we have found that keeping
it high level is better. Rather than it being a detailed set of things you must do it is preferable to use
it as a basis for collaborative sessions with a more experienced coach, your managers, your team or
your peers.
Scoring
There are four levels against each competency:
New – What are the rules
Shu – Follow the rules
Ha – Break the rules
Ri – Become the rules
For each level there is some guidance about what it means to have achieved that level of maturity in
that competency. Choose the level that you feel embodies where you are against that competency.
If for example you feel you don’t quite make it to the Ha level then you are currently Shu.
That leads you to the useful stuff, what do I need to do to move from Shu to Ha.

2. Agile
New Shu Ha Ri
Principles
(Agile Manifesto, Agile
Principles and Lean Principles)
The principles are not
something we do, but they
guide our thinking and actions
when approaching new
situations. They also help us
apply processes and practices
in the way they were intended.
New to helping
teams adopt Agile
Understandsthe Agile
principles and manifesto.
Able to help a team adopt
Agile principles.
Recognises when decisions help or
hinder the adoption of Agile
principles.
Able to help those outside of your
immediate team adopt Agile
principles.
Understands how lean principles can
benefit Agile approaches.
Able to apply Agile principles
naturally in all situations.
Able to help small to large
organisations adopt Agile
principles.
Respected outside of the
immediate work environment as
somebody who lives the Agile
principles.
Processes / Frameworks
(E.g. XP, Scrum, Kanban,
Crystal, DSDM, FDD, etc.)
New to helping
teams adopt Agile
processes.
Understands at least one
process framework and
can apply it as intended.
Can compare and contrast the
differences between different Agile
approaches.
Helps the team evolve the process
that is most suitable for them.
Helps the organisation evolve the
process that is most suitable for
them.
Respected outside of the
immediate work environment as
somebody who knows about at
least 1 Agile process/framework.
Practices
(E.g. Continuous Integration,
TDD, Refactoring, User Stories,
BDD, Visual Management,
Pairing, Collaborative Design,
Estimation, Story Mapping etc.)
New to helping
teams adopt Agile
practices.
Can help a team adopt at
least one practice that
helps them to deliver
successfully in an Agile
environment.
Understands the benefits of a wide
range of Agile practices and can help
the team adopt them as appropriate.
Can help teams apply existing
practices in a more Agile way, i.e.
Collaborative Design over design
upfront, testing right from the start.
Can apply Agile practices beyond
the team.
Respected outside of the
immediate work environment as
somebody who knows about at
least 1 Agile practice.

3. Core
New Shu Ha Ri
Facilitation New to facilitation. I am able to apply
facilitation techniques of
others and use them in
the way they were
intended.
Facilitates teams
retrospective.
Facilitates requirements
workshops.
Able to use facilitation techniques in
contexts other than they were
intended.
Able to adapt existing facilitation
techniques.
Does not dominate, able to facilitate
from the side of meetings /
workshops.
Use your facilitation skills in any
context.
Able to facilitate meetings for
senior leaders.
Develop own techniques to use
when facilitating.
Teaching New to teaching
Agile.
Conveys knowledge to
individuals in your team.
Delivers existing training.
Adapts existing training to meet your
context.
Build training from scratch and
deliver.
Able to train the trainer.
Make use of multiple learning
styles.
Leadership New to leading in
an Agile way.
Removes impediments.
Ability to recognise and
understand your moods
and their impact on
others.
Able to guide the team through
continuous improvement.
Serves the team.
Encourage leadership in others.
Ability to control or redirect
disruptive impulses before acting.
The propensity to suspend
judgement to think before acting.
Ability to understand the emotional
make-up of other people.
Ability to find common ground and
build rapport.
Exhibits empathy with others.
Outside of your team you are
seen as someone who develops
the organisation.
Agent for change.
Comfortable with who you are.
Confident with ambiguity.
Openness to change.
Optimism even in the face of
failure.
Skilled in treating people
according to their emotional
reactions.

4. Coaching and Mentoring New to coaching. Able to observe what’s
going on in the team and
feedback.
Able to mentor the team
in at least one area.
Guides the team through conflict.
Able to ask powerful questions that
will move the team forward.
Give feedback without interpretation
or judgement.
Able to mentor in a number of areas.
Able to mentor outside of team.
Able to guide other leaders.
Creates awareness by presenting
hard facts even if difficult – Be
the mirror.
Mentor other leaders in the
organisation.
Domain
New Shu Ha Ri
Technical
(This is about focusing others
on Technical Excellence.)
Little
understanding of
the tools,
technologies or
techniques used in
Engineering.
You have some
understanding of tools,
technologies and
techniques (TDD, Pairing,
Continuous Delivery, etc.)
that are used in
Engineering.
You have enough understanding of
tools, technologies and techniques
that are used in engineering.
You understand engineering
techniques that might help the team
improve and you can articulate
those ideas to your team.
You understand engineering
techniques that might help the
organisation improve and you can
articulate those ideas to others in
the organisation.
Able to coach people hands on in
technical practices.
Business Little
understanding of
the business
strategy or domain.
You have some
understanding of the
business strategy and
domain that helps you
guide the team.
Understands what is
valuable to this business.
You have enough understanding of
the business strategy and domain to
help you guide the team.
Able to guide the team and Product
Owner on what is valuable.
You have enough understanding
of the business strategy and
domain to help you guide others
in the organisation.
Able to guide the organisation on
what is valuable.