Scrum Master
Characteristics and Responsibilities
Scrum Masters are those who fully understand Scrum, and help the Scrum Team by coaching them, and ensuring that all Scrum processes are implemented correctly. The Scrum Master is a management position, which manages the Scrum process, rather than the Scrum Team. S/he is a servant-leader for the Scrum Team.
Besides ensuring that the Development Team understands and uses Scrum correctly, the Scrum Master also tries to remove impediments to the Development Team, facilitates their events, and trains and coaches them. The Scrum Masters help the Product Owners too, by helping or consulting them on finding techniques, communicating information, and facilitating related events.
The responsibilities of the Scrum Masters are not limited to the Scrum Team. They should also help those outside the Scrum Team understand the appropriate interactions with the Scrum Team to maximize the value created by the Scrum Team. The Scrum Master usually leads the organization in its effort to adopt Scrum.
It is possible for a single person to be both Scrum Master, and a member of the Development Team, although this is not recommended. Being a Scrum Master of a project might not occupy 100% of the time of a person; in this case, the best solution is to assign that same person as the Scrum Master in more than one project, rather than making them a member of the Development Team.
Scaling
There’s one Scrum Master role per team in scaled Scrum. However, a single person can be the Scrum Master of more than one team.
External Resources
- Scrum Guide, a definition of the Scrum framework by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland
- Nexus Guide, a framework for scaling Scrum by Ken Schwaber et al.
- The Scrum Master Training Manual, a free ebook on Scrum, and the Professional Scrum Master™ (PSM™ I) exam
- Scrum Awareness, a free email course on Scrum framework