Noortje already had a lot of experience as a product owner. At Enexis, she swapped that substantive role for the facilitating function of scrum master. And she's loving it. “I enjoy challenging the environment and helping people and teams in their development. Enexis gives you a platform. In other places, developers often assume the role of scrum master 'on the side'. Here, you get the space and confidence to make the most of the role.” 

Responsibility in the right place

Enexis’ entire IT department works according to the SAFe methodology. Noortje plays her part in it. “In the Maintenance and Troubleshooting value chain, I am the scrum master of two teams that develop and maintain Mendix mobile apps (DevOps) These are important for the maintenance and troubleshooting of gas and electricity grids. My goal is to give the team members the confidence to do their job well. And to properly designate responsibility so that we help each other achieve a successful sprint. If I notice that someone is stuck or that a process isn’t running smoothly, I have my colleagues go back to basics and think about the project’s goal. They often come to a solution themselves.” 

Space for the softer side

Originally, Enexis was a fairly bureaucratic organisation with a rules-based, procedural structure. According to Noortje, that has changed in all the right places. “The great thing about Enexis is that the entire IT organisation and management have embraced agile working. There is real space for people here and many opportunities to develop. In fact, it’s actively encouraged. This makes it easier for me to take a softer approach to people. I’m not saying that it’s all sweetness and light. We still need to take steps in the cultural change towards an environment in which IT development is closer to the end user. Where the end users say what they want and IT determines how we can achieve it. To do that, you have to know each other well and speak each other’s language.”

''THE ENTIRE IT ORGANISATION AND MANAGEMENT HAVE EMBRACED AGILE WORKING. THERE IS A REAL SPACE FOR PEOPLE AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT HERE.''

Noortje - Scrum Master

 

Doing what you do best

Collaboration and coordination across the boundaries of teams and value chains is essential for moving agile working to an ever higher level. “Like many big organisations, Enexis has guilds,” says Noortje. “For example, for scrum masters, product owners and anyone in a change function. Those guilds function really well and are supported. Management involvement helps with this. Management has an eye for people’s talents and experience. I had already experienced the SAFe methodology implementation with other employers. That’s why I was involved in designing the scrum teams in my value chain together with a colleague from the business. I really like it here. I’m given the freedom to do what I do best.” 

''THE ROLE OF SCRUM MASTER IS VALUED HERE. YOU GET THE SPACE AND CONFIDENCE TO MAKE THE MOST OF THE ROLE.''

Noortje - Scrum Master

 

Want to know more?

If you’d like to know more about the world of IT within Enexis, why not read the stories of some of our other colleagues? Do you have any questions about the role of a scrum master? Noortje will be happy to chat with you about it during a digital coffee chat.  If you’re curious about the various possibilities within Enexis, please click here for our current job openings.