The Scrum Master is one of the three accountabilities in a Scrum Team, alongside the developers and the Product Owner. The Scrum Master makes sure Scrum is applied well, and is therefore accountable for how effective the team is. You can best see them as the team’s coach and process facilitator.
Scrum is characterised by working in short cycles, sprints of one month or less, three accountabilities and a fixed set of events. The Scrum Guide calls the Scrum Master “a true leader who serves”: someone who is not the team’s boss, but helps the team achieve the best result itself.
What does a Scrum Master do?
The Scrum Master works on three fronts, as shown in the image at the top of this article.
For the team
- coaching in self-management and collaboration;
- helping focus on results that have value;
- making sure impediments to progress are removed;
- making sure all Scrum events take place, are positive and productive and stay within their time box.
For the Product Owner
- helping create and maintain a clear Product Backlog;
- helping make the product goal concrete;
- facilitating collaboration with stakeholders.
For the organisation
- leading the adoption of Scrum and training people;
- helping people understand what Agile working and Scrum require;
- removing barriers between teams and stakeholders.
Note: the Scrum Team itself is responsible for the product. The Scrum Master doesn’t decide on the work, but helps the team do it well itself.
The Scrum Master in every sprint
The same events return in every sprint. Below you can see what the Scrum Master does in each event.
This is one of the tools you learn to apply in the Green Belt training.
What skills does a Scrum Master need?
- coaching, and asking questions rather than giving answers;
- listening well, communicating clearly and giving feedback;
- facilitating meetings and workshops;
- raising and handling conflict;
- a feel for the organisation and its relationships;
- patience and perseverance, because teams learn in steps;
- thorough knowledge of Scrum and Agile working.
Why is the Scrum Master so important?
Scrum lets teams decide for themselves, within fixed boundaries such as laws, regulations and budget, how to solve the customer’s question. In every sprint the team itself chooses what the product will look like. That requires a self-managing team, and that doesn’t happen by itself. The Scrum Master guides the team on that path, with knowledge of Scrum and the skills above.
Conclusion
The Scrum Master is indispensable to the daily functioning of a Scrum Team. They make sure the right way of working and events are used, and pay attention to the wellbeing of team members. That makes the Scrum Master important for the organisation too: becoming more agile with self-managing teams doesn’t happen by itself. Want to become a Scrum Master yourself? Take a look at the Scrum Master training course.