What Is The Role Of The Scrum Master? This Might Surprise You!
The Scrum Master serves all participants of a
Scrum Project and the external stakeholders
to comprehend and apply the Scrum Framework
correctly.
He or she supports the Scrum Team to execute
the Scrum Framework successfully and
contributes them to improve their productivity
and performance continuously.
The role of the Scrum Master is to establish
the Scrum Process in its organization, the new
way of thinking and acting.
Furthermore, the Scrum Master acts as a change
agent. He or she coaches the team to develop
new team norms and standards. The Scrum
Master has its desk somewhere very close to the
rest of the scrum team.
Essential tasks of a Scrum Master owner are:
- To establish the Scrum Framework in his or her business and IT ecosystem,
- To act as a change agent and support the adaptation of existing processes to maximize productivity of the Scrum Team.
- To coach the Scrum Team to understand and live the values of the Scrum Framework,
- To ensure efficient and close collaboration between the Scrum Product Owner and the Scrum Team,
- To remove impediments which hinder the continuity of work,
- To lead progress of work by serving,
- To moderate the Scrum Rituals (Scrum Events).
- To guard the Scrum Team from external interference and interruptions while the team does work it has originally committed for a Sprint.
Easily Learn Scrum and Officially Prove Your Know how
To effectively do this work, a Scrum Master
needs to possess savvy moderation and
coaching skills. He or she needs to be a
continuous learner to inspire others to learn,
change, and grow.
To learn more about Scrum Master's duties as a
facilitator, I recommend you to have a look at this
article: If I had 5 Minutes to explain Scrum
Master As a Facilitator.
To learn more about Scrum Master's duties as a
facilitator, I recommend you to have a look at this
article: If I had 5 Minutes to explain Scrum
Master As a Facilitator.
The Scrum Master is part of the Scrum Team and
acts as a servant-leader for the Scrum Team. In
the beginning, this will be a full-time job so that
the Scrum Master will not be able to contribute
to the Sprint results directly. However, after a few
Sprints, while the Scrum Team approach to the
Performing phase of the Tuckman model, the
initial workload as moderator and coach will
reduce. So, the Scrum Master could actively
contribute to the Sprint goals.
Since there must be trust between the Scrum
Master and the Scrum Team members, it can
always be a good idea that the Scrum Team
chooses its Scrum Master. However, in reality,
the management usually imposes who the
Scrum Master will be. To get the required trust,
the Scrum Master should have no line management
responsibility above the Scrum Team
members. Otherwise, open communication in
the Scrum Team and joint ownership of work and
decision-making ability of the Scrum Team can
suffer.
Guarding The Scrum Team, Removing Impediments
An essential job of the Scrum Master is to
safeguard the Scrum Team from a false sense of
urgency. Line management and the Scrum
Product Owner often attempt to add unplanned
user stories to the Sprint Backlog while the team
focuses on the work of a planned Sprint.
However, one of the critical aspects of the Scrum
Framework is that all user stories are known and
committed only during the Sprint Planning
Meetings. The Scrum Team cannot be forced to
take over new user stories. The job of the Scrum
Master is to ensure that until the next Sprint
Planning Meeting, these new user stories are
stored in the Scrum Product Backlog.
Alternatively, if the ongoing Sprint does not make
any business and/or technical sense to continue,
it can be canceled, and a new Sprint can be
planned.
Scrum Team members should only concentrate
on delivering client value by building potentially
shippable product increment. The Scrum Master
helps by removing impediments that block or
slow down the progress of work.
Examples of removing impediments could be:
- To arrange support, resources,
- To find missing know how, and
- To do hands-on work to help the Scrum Team Members.
Scrum Master as a Change Agent
One of the cornerstones of the Scrum Framework
is the continuous improvement through
Inspect & Adapt.
The Scrum Master hosts and moderates the
Scrum Retrospective Meeting, and his or her job
is then to facilitate, control and measure the
change of the identified shortcomings.
Facilitation of Scrum Rituals (Event)
The Scrum Framework defines several meetings
that have to be organized and facilitated by the
Scrum Master:
- Scrum Grooming (Backlog Refinement) Meetings,
- Sprint Planning Meetings
- Daily Scrum Meetings,
- Sprint Review Meetings, and
- Sprint Retrospective Meetings
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What Is The Role Of The Scrum Master? This Might Surprise You!
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