The following article is part of the self-preparation for the modern BVOP® Scrum Master Certification program.
The role of a Scrum Master encompasses a diverse set of responsibilities that play a pivotal role in ensuring the successful adoption of the Scrum framework within an organization. Let's delve deeper into these key responsibilities:
- The need for a Scrum Master role
- The successful Scrum Master
- Key responsibilities of the Scrum Master role
- Scrum Master role as a servant leader
- Collaboration with the Development Team
- Organizing meetings
- The Scrum Master is a Coach
- Removing obstacles and problems
- Interpersonal problems and team conflicts
- Collaboration with the Product Owner role
- Who should be the Scrum Master?
- Working hours of the Scrum Master role
- Scrum Master role as part of Development Team
Eliminating Obstacles
A Scrum Master serves as a guardian of the team's progress. This involves identifying and removing any impediments or roadblocks that might hinder the team's ability to deliver value. Whether it's addressing technical issues, resource constraints, or organizational bottlenecks, the Scrum Master works tirelessly to create a conducive environment for the team's productivity.
Protecting the Team
The Scrum Master acts as a shield for the Scrum Team, safeguarding them from external distractions and undue pressure. By ensuring that the team can focus on their work without unnecessary interruptions, the Scrum Master enables a more efficient and productive work environment.
Assisting in Scrum Events
Scrum ceremonies, such as Sprint Planning, Daily Standups, Sprint Reviews, and Sprint Retrospectives, are critical to the Scrum framework's success. The Scrum Master plays a pivotal role in facilitating these events, ensuring they are conducted effectively, and that their objectives are met. This includes guiding the team in timeboxing discussions and helping them achieve the intended outcomes.
Collaboration with the Product Owner Role
Effective collaboration between the Scrum Master and the Product Owner is essential for aligning the development team's efforts with the product vision. The Scrum Master assists in maintaining a healthy balance between customer needs, business priorities, and technical feasibility. This partnership helps refine the Product Backlog and ensures that the team is working on the most valuable items in the Sprint.
Coaching and Guiding Product Stakeholders
Beyond the Scrum Team, the Scrum Master extends their coaching and guidance to all product stakeholders, including business stakeholders. They educate stakeholders about Scrum practices and principles, fostering a common understanding of how Scrum works. By doing so, the Scrum Master promotes transparency and collaboration, reducing misunderstandings and misalignment.
In essence, the Scrum Master role is multifaceted and demands a combination of interpersonal skills, coaching abilities, and a deep understanding of Scrum principles. By effectively carrying out these responsibilities, a skilled Scrum Master can be instrumental in enabling teams to reach their full potential, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, and ultimately delivering value to the organization and its customers.
Scrum is a style of work that strives to maintain sustainable productivity for teams. Problems can quickly arise if the roles within the team and organization are not clearly defined and understood, and the team members do not follow the goals and purposes of the roles.
The Product Owner role represents the voice of consumers and the desires of stakeholders and businesses. The development team develops all these needs qualitatively.
The need for a Scrum Master role
Throughout this process, there is a need for a role that takes care of all parties and strives to comply with Scrum's rules and principles. Otherwise, chaos, micro-management, and disruption to the teams would emerge. Such negative situations can lead to a decline in motivation, defects in the product, difficult product maintenance, divergence of plans, and potential failure.
The Scrum Master role ensures that all possible negative results do not happen.
The Scrum Master strives for teams to work according to the principles and practices of Scrum.
The Scrum Master role, like all other roles in Scrum, has no authority to manage people, work, or anything. However, it has authority over everything related to Scrum processes, events, rules, ideas.
The Scrum Master acts as a leader for the team, not as a manager. Leads the team toward their goals.
The successful Scrum Master
The successful Scrum Master is committed and focused on the development of others and of the organization’s Scrum culture.
Key responsibilities of the Scrum Master role
Key responsibilities of the Scrum Master role include:
- Monitoring and eliminating obstacles in the workflow.
- Protecting the team from unwanted outside interference.
- Assistance with meetings and Scrum events.
- Collaboration with the Product Owner role.
- Coaching and guidance of all product stakeholders (Scrum team and business stakeholders) on Scrum practices and concepts.
The Scrum Master must be able to represent the significance of Scrum clearly and without complex and disturbing terminology.
Scrum Master role as a servant leader
A servant leader is a popular term used to describe the Scrum Master in two words. The traditional style of leadership is usually understood as the expression of power by one person. The understanding of the serving leader is the opposite. The needs of others are first and foremost. Teams are being helped to do their jobs well and grow.
The highest priority for the Scrum Master role is to encourage and assist the Development team in maximizing their potential and productivity, in developing their skills, and in increasing the value they create.
Collaboration with the Development Team
Protection of the team
The Scrum Master role acts as a buffer between the team and all external influences, problems, and processes.
The Scrum Master protects the Development team from the Product Owner
BVOP brings a further understanding of the team’s protection from external stakeholders. It introduces the protection of the team from the Product Owner role. The Product Owner role is part of the Scrum team, therefore it is assumed that he or she knows and fully understands the principles and rules of Scrum. However, this is not always the case. Product Owner roles in different teams and organizations can have different interests, work styles, and can be driven by certain actions depending on many factors.
The Scrum Master protects the Development team from the Development team
BVOP focuses on the important topic regarding the protection of the Development Team from its members.
Sometimes team participants may wish to manage their colleagues. In the classic management method in organizations, this would not be a problem and is even considered a positive situation.
According to Scrum rules, such management should not be accepted. Respect and equality should motivate team members and develop their creativity. Team leaders can often naturally lead to micro-management, individual decision making, assignment, and all Scrum principles will gradually be broken.
The Scrum Master role should be aware of such possible and potential violations of the Scrum rules. He or she should have a clear mind, insight, and the skills to evaluate any possible situation.
Organizing meetings
Scrum teaches that the Scrum Master role supports the team. However, there are no clear rules as to who organizes team meetings. We want to focus on the fact that a very appropriate role for this is the Scrum Master role.
Only if the team needs it, the Scrum Master role organizes meetings and events and invites everyone who needs to attend. He or she shares instructions, prepares attendees for meetings, explains discussion topics, and reminds of the Scrum rules.
If teams are disorganized and chaotic, the Scrum Master role restores order. For example, if a Product Owner role avoids an important meeting or provision of information, their presence and assistance needs to be sought.
The Scrum Master is a Coach
Coaching is not just about the rules and principles of Scrum. The motivation, ambition, and focus of the team must be maintained.
Some team members may not understand the terminology or practices used by the rest of the team. The Scrum Master role helps everyone around to get into Scrum's atmosphere and ideas.
Removing obstacles and problems
Every team, project, and organization has problems and obstacles of many kinds that can arise at any time.
The Scrum Master is actively working to resolve situations that impede the Development Team. If the Development Team is experiencing some deficiencies and is unable to do its job well and progress on the developments (technology, tools, or whatever), the Scrum Master role must have the ability and authority to fill the deficiencies immediately.
The Scrum Master does not work to remove obstacles and problems by taking self-directed decisions and actions. The options are always discussed with the team in advance to provide the best solution for them. Whenever possible, the Development Team should solve its problem by itself in the best possible way. The Scrum Master role only supports this activity.
Interpersonal problems and team conflicts
Interpersonal problems and team conflicts are also important occurrences where the Scrum Master role must be involved to solve problems in the most constructive way possible for both the team and the product.
Collaboration with the Product Owner role
The Scrum Master serves as a coach and a supporting role for both the Development Team and the Product Owner role. An important aspect of working with the Product Owner is clarifying User Stories that need details and care for the Product Backlog, which needs to be prioritized and detailed for the next iteration.
Who should be the Scrum Master?
It is of particular importance that the Scrum Master and the Product Owner roles are not taken over by the same person in the Scrum team to avoid conflicts of interest.
If the same Scrum team member is Scrum Master and Product Owner, the Product Owner functions excel and the focus is solely on the product and its fast development. In the end, the Scrum Master role loses some of its importance.
In another unpleasant situation, there may be a Scrum Master that also performs Product Owner functions, which can lead to too much focus on the Scrum team and impair the product’s progress and value.
Both roles require a considerable amount of invested time, and to be performed by one Scrum team member would be difficult. Organizations, teams, products, and business stakeholders may suffer losses.
Working hours of the Scrum Master role
There is much discussion as to whether the Scrum Master role is a full-time position or a part-time role. The official Scrum manuals do not answer these questions either. So we have to think logically again.
For some teams and projects, a part-time Scrum Master role might be enough. In this case, everything has been polished over time, and the problems are resolved and reduced. Everyone in the organization follows the Scrum principles. Business stakeholders look forward to the team completing the planned work at the end of the Sprint. The team is self-organized and focused on its goals.
In another case, if the team is new or Scrum is still an incomprehensible matter to everyone around, the Scrum Master role would be necessary and of particular importance, daily and throughout the working hours.
As the team cultivates respect, work, value, and collaboration, and business stakeholders become accustomed to the ideas of Scrum, the Scrum Master role gradually becomes simply a mentor who is always available and around. The critical need to solve problems and organize events is likely to decrease.
In this way, a Scrum Master can have the capacity, capability, energy, and time to serve multiple teams within the organization at a time.
Scrum Master role as part of Development Team
Another common practice in Scrum teams is to have the Scrum Master take on the role of a technical person who is part of the Development Team. In this case, every time the team needs their Scrum mentor and assistant, the developer takes on the Scrum Master role and ceases to act as a Developer.
Although there are pros to the Scrum Master role being taken over by the Development role, this configuration has its logical drawbacks as well.
In addition to being distracting for a team member to change roles constantly, the Development Role is not likely to fully understand the business needs of the team and the organization. Assistance to the Product Owner role may also be detrimental.
The following issues related to chapter "The Scrum Master role" are included in the certification exam. The sequence of questions is presented in the table.
The data is current as of October 4, 2024, 7:58 pm
| ID | Issue | Time | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Key responsibilities of the Scrum Master role | 60 sec | SM, PO |
| 1 | Scrum Master role as part of Development Team | 60 sec | SM, PO |
| 2 | Collaboration with the Development Team | 60 sec | SM, PO |
| 3 | Interpersonal problems and team conflicts | 60 sec | SM, PO |
| 4 | Collaboration with the Product Owner role | 60 sec | SM, PO |
| 5 | Protection of the team | 60 sec | SM, PO |
| 6 | Working hours of the Scrum Master role | 60 sec | SM, PO |
| 7 | Scrum Master role as a servant leader | 60 sec | SM, PO |
| 8 | The Scrum Master protects the Development team from the Product Owner | 60 sec | SM, PO |
| 9 | Removing obstacles and problems | 60 sec | SM, PO |
| 10 | Who should be the Scrum Master? | 60 sec | SM, PO |
| 11 | The Scrum Master is a Coach | 60 sec | SM, PO |
| 12 | Organizing meetings | 60 sec | SM, PO |
| 13 | The need for a Scrum Master role | 60 sec | SM, PO |
| 14 | The successful Scrum Master | 60 sec | SM, PO |
| 15 | The Scrum Master protects the Development team from the Development team | 60 sec | SM, PO |
Comments from the BVOP™ community on "The Scrum Master role"
Summary
The Scrum Master's responsibilities include removing obstacles, protecting the team, assisting in Scrum events, collaborating with the Product Owner, coaching and guiding stakeholders on Scrum practices. Scrum aims to maintain sustainable productivity for teams, but problems can arise if roles are not defined and understood. The Product Owner represents the voice of consumers and stakeholders, while the development team meets their needs.
The Scrum Master role is necessary to ensure compliance with Scrum's rules and principles, prevent chaos and negative situations that can lead to failure. The Scrum Master has authority over Scrum processes, events, rules, and ideas, but not over people or work. They act as a leader for the team and strive for them to work according to Scrum principles. The successful Scrum Master is committed to developing others and the organization's Scrum culture.
The Scrum Master has key responsibilities such as monitoring and eliminating obstacles in the workflow, protecting the team from outside interference, assisting with meetings and Scrum events, collaborating with the Product Owner, and coaching and guiding all product stakeholders on Scrum practices. They must be able to represent the significance of Scrum clearly and act as a servant leader, prioritizing the needs of others and helping teams to do their jobs well and grow. The highest priority for the Scrum Master is to encourage and assist the Development team in maximizing their potential and productivity.
The Scrum Master role serves as a buffer between the Development team and external influences, protecting them from problems and processes. BVOP emphasizes the importance of protecting the team from the Product Owner, as their interests and work styles may differ. The Scrum Master also protects the team from its own members, as micro-management and individual decision-making goes against Scrum principles. The Scrum Master must be aware of potential violations and have the skills to evaluate any situation.
The Scrum Master role is responsible for organizing team meetings and events if necessary, and ensuring that attendees are prepared and aware of the discussion topics and Scrum rules. The Scrum Master also restores order if the team is disorganized or if important information is missing. Additionally, the Scrum Master serves as a coach to maintain the team's motivation, ambition, and focus, and helps team members understand Scrum terminology and practices.
The Scrum Master is responsible for resolving obstacles and problems that hinder the Development Team's progress. They must have the authority to address deficiencies and discuss options with the team to find the best solution. However, the Development Team should solve problems on their own whenever possible, and the Scrum Master only supports this activity. Additionally, the Scrum Master must address interpersonal problems and team conflicts in a constructive manner for the benefit of both the team and the product.
The Scrum Master works closely with the Product Owner to clarify User Stories and prioritize and detail the Product Backlog. It is important that the two roles are not taken on by the same person to avoid conflicts of interest and maintain the importance of the Scrum Master role. Combining the roles can lead to a focus on either the product or the Scrum team, resulting in losses for the organization, team, product, and business stakeholders.
The Scrum Master role can be either full-time or part-time depending on the needs of the team and project. If the team is experienced and follows Scrum principles, a part-time Scrum Master may be sufficient. However, if the team is new or unfamiliar with Scrum, a full-time Scrum Master is necessary. As the team becomes more self-organized and stakeholders understand Scrum, the Scrum Master role becomes more of a mentor and problem solver. Eventually, a Scrum Master can serve multiple teams within an organization. The official Scrum manuals do not provide a clear answer to this question.
The Scrum Master may also act as a technical member of the Development Team, but this can be distracting and may lead to a lack of understanding of business needs and hinder the Product Owner's assistance.
- Previous article The Development Team
Hello. I want to share my story. I wanted to become a Scrum Master at my company. However, this is what happened before I was fired for this desire of mine.
Our organization was quite large with many offices and teams. My team was 8 Developers and our boss - a total of 9. The Deputy Director and Director were her supervisors. There was a lot of staff turnover due to the tension in the team. The style of management was terrible.
Co-workers were divided into young and old and specialists and non-specialists. This created an unacceptable working atmosphere of constant stress, gossip, escape from responsibility, and low product quality.
My job position was at the next level after the boss. At this professional level, we were a total of 4. In her absence, she was replaced mainly by me and one of the other three colleagues.
The team was mainly involved in system administration and software development support. These products were used in our company. We also implemented external software products. We conducted training, created documentation, etc.
Programming was required rarely, and it was done by me and a few remote programmers. External partners also participated in software development. In fact, I was involved in most of the team's processes and was familiar with the project. Due to the nature of the work, my idea was to split the teams into two Scrum groups. I wanted one Scrum Master for each team.
So we would have two teams with a minimum of 3 developers and one Scrum Master for each team.
One team had to include system administrators to prepare documentation and participate in decision-making related to the purchase of hardware. The other team had to include 3 members plus a Scrum Master. This team had to perform software support, user documentation, and training.
The purchase of software and the development of new ones had to be agreed together by the two teams.
The aim was to divide the work so that it was clear who was doing what and to avoid conflicts. On the other hand, the daily meetings, in my opinion, would give a clearer picture of what is being done and what our progress is.
In addition, such distribution would reduce the boss's direct contact with the entire team. She only had to meet the Scrum Master roles, which would also benefit the peace and good relationship.
In terms of competence, I had many suggestions for organizing training. My goal was the following. People who are sent to such training can then pass on what they have learned to others.
In my opinion, it was easier to share knowledge in these individual teams. Each team would have one representative at the general meetings. This was my vision to improve the work environment. Of course, none of this happened and I lost my job.
Can you tell me where you think my mistake was? What was wrong with my ideas? Thanks.
Our favorite Agile framework unfortunately does not include risk management as a topic and often colleagues ask me who manages risk in Scrum.
It should be borne in mind that like many things in Scrum, risk management is not the responsibility of the Scrum Master role. The Scrum Master should be able to help the team monitor for risks and train them in methods for identifying and assessing risks. However, risk management is an activity of the whole team. Some risks may extend beyond the Scrum Team throughout the organization.
Scrum helps the team mitigate risks by creating a stable team and frequent delivery of product increments. With a stable team, it is easier to calculate costs. With frequent releases, the team can put something in the hands of users regularly and receive feedback.
Stakeholders know that they are very likely to receive an improved product at least once in each Sprint. This allows them to decide if it is possible to proceed based on team performance, realized value, and potential value in the Product backlog.