Podcast Summary

Overview

Episode Title: From AI Anxiety to AI Advantage: A Scrum Master's Experimental Approach
Podcast: Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast
Host: Vasco Duarte
Guest: Shawn Dsouza
Date: September 17, 2025

This episode explores the growing influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the IT and Agile landscape, focusing on how Scrum Masters and Agile teams can shift from anxiety about AI's impact to leveraging its advantages. Shawn Dsouza shares real-world experiments, mindset shifts, and practical advice on transforming AI from a source of fear into a tool for team empowerment, efficiency, and growth.

Main Theme

Embracing AI in Agile Work: From Threat to Opportunity

The discussion centers on the "AI wave" currently transforming IT organizations—its potential for both disruption and enhancement of team effectiveness. The episode unpacks how Agile practitioners can respond to AI not with fear, but with curiosity, experimentation, and a focus on enabling team success.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The AI Challenge for Scrum Masters

• AI as a Wave: Shawn describes the pervasive uncertainty and anxiety in the industry:

  "AI is like a wave. And whenever you see a big wave coming towards you, you have three options. Freeze, run, or decide to ride it." — Shawn Dsouza (01:42)

• Industry Impact: Some teams are thriving due to faster delivery enabled by AI, while others are struggling, even facing downsizing (03:24).

2. Shifting the Scrum Master Mindset

• From Anxiety to Experimentation:

  "We as Scrum Masters are already used to dealing with complexity...what gets us through is curiosity, or small experiment, inspection and adaption. I realized—why not apply the same mindset to AI?" — Shawn (03:45)

• See AI as a Tool, Not a Threat: Breaking down AI challenges into bite-sized experiments, focusing on real team pain points.

3. Real-Life Experiments with AI

• Automating User Stories:

  • Shawn recounts helping a Product Owner automate the conversion of one-liner stories from Excel into Jira via Miro AI’s automation (04:36).
  • Impact: This not only saved time but also shifted team perception of the Scrum Master as a facilitator who brings practical value.

  • "It kind of shifted the team's perception of me. So I wasn't just the process police here. I was someone who was making their lives easier." — Shawn (05:33)

  • Created a ripple effect—other teams were inspired and curious.

• Collective Problem-Solving:

  "A good idea expands and spreads, but also that a good idea is built upon, and somebody else comes up with even something we didn't even think about." — Vasco (07:57)

4. How Change Really Spreads

• Focus on Value, Not Just Change:

  "Nobody rejects change. So if something makes their lives easier, they embrace the change." — Shawn (07:04)

• Coaching Opportunity:
  • Encourage teams to see AI-driven changes as ways to relieve friction and automate repetitive work.

  • "If there's something that is changing, how can I take this and help somebody's life be easier?" — Vasco (07:17)

5. Where to Start: Small Wins

• Look for Team Friction:

  "Look for friction within your own team. Notice when people are doing repetitive or low-value tasks...These are like gold mines for AI experiment. Start small and then create something big." — Shawn (09:06)

• Questions Spark Innovation:
  • Focus on retrospective learning; ask, “What could we build to help us with this tool/change?”

6. Highlight: Perplexity AI Experiment

• Scaling Coaching with AI:
  • The central Agile team rolled out key metrics (committed vs. completed, scope change) but lacked bandwidth to help every team interpret the data (09:41).
  • Using Perplexity AI Labs, teams could upload screenshots of dashboards and instantly get tailored insights; used as conversation starters in retrospectives.

  • "AI would give them the insight about how their graph should look like...so they can use this data point as conversation starters." — Shawn (10:42)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On AI as Disruptor and Enabler:
  "On one side you hear about opportunities that AI is creating...but on the other side, it is creating a lot of fear." — Shawn (01:42)

• On Embracing Change:
  "Nobody rejects change. So if something makes their lives easier, they embrace the change." — Shawn (07:04)

• On Starting Small with AI:
  "Start small and then create something big." — Shawn (09:25)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:42 — Shawn describes the AI wave and its challenges
• 03:24 — Examples of AI impacting teams; Scrum Master mindset shift
• 04:36 — Case study: AI automation for user stories
• 05:33 — The positive effect on team trust and perception
• 07:04 — Insight: People embrace helpful change
• 09:06 — Advice: Find team friction as an AI opportunity
• 09:41 — Perplexity AI case study for scaled team coaching
• 10:42 — How AI offers actionable team insights for retrospectives

Takeaways for Practitioners

• Don't view AI as a threat; approach it as a series of small, practical experiments to relieve friction points.
• Focus initial AI adoption on repetitive, low-value tasks that are ripe for automation.
• The Scrum Master’s role can expand from facilitator to practical innovator by delivering hands-on value through tools like AI.
• Change is embraced when it makes people’s lives better; start small, prove value, and share successes to inspire broader adoption.

Conclusion

Shawn Dsouza’s experimental, team-centered approach to AI illustrates how Agile values—curiosity, incremental change, and servant leadership—can turn anxiety into advantage. Practical experiments in automation and AI-driven insights, coupled with a mindset shift, empower teams to ride the AI wave together.