The following exchange took place in the comments to an answer to another question How do I manage development with testing and get proper reporting in JIRA?, which seem to highlight a different viewpoint between the principles of Agile, which is all about delivery of value, and the desire of a Resource Manager to keep people working / contributing at all times. I have highlighted the key elements in Bold. There is a fundamental difference between these positions, so what is, or what should be, the role of a resource manager in an Agile (Scrum) environment?

Please don't answer this by reference to deploying multidisciplined teams - that's not my question. It is purely to do with the organisational roles of resource managers in an Agile environment, and how much they should be involved / interested in what individuals are doing on a daily basis.

"For example... why is development wrapping up at 5pm on Friday, instead of at 5pm on Thursday so the work can be tested on Friday?" - let's say they will finish on Thursday, so what will they do on Friday?? – user48230 yesterday

@user48230 That's the 100% utilization fallacy. The goal isn't to keep people busy; the goal is to deliver increments of value on a dependable cadence. You have implemented the wrong goal. – Todd A. Jacobs ♦ 16 hours ago

@ToddA.Jacobs - you do have a point, 100%. still, as a resource manager I also have to ensure that people are delivering value on Friday 9-17 while QA is finishing up the testing. – user48230 15 hours ago 1

@user48230 No. In a Scrum environment, the "value" being delivered on Friday is the demonstration/review with the stakeholders, not "more work." If no one else takes this into account, I'll write a longer answer when I can. Value in Scrum isn't about busy-ness; it's about consistency, quick feedback, and collaboration. – Todd A. Jacobs ♦ 13 hours ago