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What does a Scrum Master do?

In today’s dynamic business environment, Scrum is widely adopted as a framework for developing and sustaining complex products through transparency, inspection, and adaptation. At the heart of this framework is the Scrum Master—an individual accountable for ensuring that Scrum is understood and enacted as defined in the Scrum Guide 2020.

The role of a Scrum Master has gained significant recognition in the world of product and solution development, particularly within organizations that adopt Agile methodologies. A pivotal figure in Agile and Scrum teams, the Scrum Master ensures smooth collaboration on projects and the successful delivery of products.

According to the Scrum Guide 2020, the Scrum Master is accountable for establishing Scrum as defined in the guide. This means ensuring that the Scrum Team and the organization understand Scrum theory, practices, rules, and values.

Rather than managing the team in a traditional hierarchical manner, the Scrum Master facilitates the adoption of Scrum by ensuring that Scrum events—such as Sprint Planning, the Daily Scrum, the Sprint Review, and the Sprint Retrospective—are effectively conducted and remain time-boxed.

A central responsibility of the Scrum Master is to identify and remove impediments that may hinder the team’s progress. In addition, the Scrum Master coaches the team toward greater self-management and cross-functionality, while also supporting the Product Owner in maintaining a clear and effective Product Backlog.

This role is crucial in promoting a shared understanding of Scrum within the organization and ensuring that both the Scrum Team and the organization sponsoring their work get optimum value and agility by using Scrum.

The Scrum Master is a crucial role within Scrum and Agile teams, facilitating communication, ensuring adherence to Scrum principles, and supporting the team in delivering high-quality products.  An effective Scrum Master does not dictate the workflow of project but enables the team to self-organize and overcome obstacles. 

Key Responsibilities of a Scrum Master

Responsibilities include facilitating Scrum events, removing impediments, and coaching the Scrum Team and external stakeholders in the effective application of Scrum. The Scrum framework is designed to promote collaboration, flexibility, and accountability, with each role playing a vital part in ensuring the success of the project.

A Scrum team typically consists of three core roles:

  • Product Owner: The Product Owner is accountable for maximizing the value of the product resulting from the work of the Scrum Team. This includes managing the Product Backlog by ensuring it is transparent, clear, and ordered to best achieve the product goals. The Product Owner is the primary liaison with stakeholders, making decisions that align with business goals and customer needs.
  • Developers: Developers are the professionals who work together to deliver the product incrementally – i.e. by continuously adding meaningful value in short, iterative cycles. They are self-managing and cross-functional, collectively responsible for determining how to turn the Product Backlog into potentially releasable product increments. The Scrum Guide does not prescribe specific roles for Developers, emphasizing instead the team's autonomy in organizing their work.
  • Scrum Master: As outlined earlier, the Scrum Master is accountable for ensuring that the Scrum Team and the organization understand Scrum theory, practices, rules, and values. The Scrum Master supports the Product Owner and Developers by facilitating Scrum events when needed and by helping to remove impediments to the team's progress.

 

While the Scrum Master’s responsibilities may vary by organization, the Scrum Guide 2020 defines several core accountabilities:

  1. Facilitating Scrum Events: The Scrum Master is accountable for ensuring that the prescribed Scrum events—the Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, and Sprint Retrospective—take place and are effective. This may include facilitating these events as needed.
  2. Removing Impediments: The Scrum Master works to identify and remove any impediments that hinder the Scrum Team’s progress, allowing the team to focus on delivering potentially releasable Product Increments each Sprint.
  3. Supporting the Team’s Focus: By encouraging the Developers in the Scrum Team to focus on Sprint and Product Goals and helping them deflect any external influences that fall outside of the scope of those goals, the Scrum Master helps enable the team to honour its commitments to deliver value to the best of their ability.
  4. Coaching on Scrum Practices: The Scrum Master guides the Scrum Team in understanding and applying Scrum theory, practices, rules, and values. This coaching supports the team in becoming more self-managing and cross-functional. Coaching those outside of the Scrum Team helps maintain optimum conditions for agile delivery by the Scrum Team.
  5. Supporting the Product Owner: The Scrum Master assists the Product Owner in managing the Product Backlog effectively, facilitating stakeholder engagement as required, and ensures that the Scrum Team clearly understands the product goals, scope, and priorities.
  6. Fostering Continuous Improvement: The Scrum Master encourages a culture of continuous improvement by facilitating inspection and adaptation, often through effective Sprint Reviews and Retrospectives and other feedback loops built into the Scrum way of working.

What is the Difference Between a Traditional Project Manager and a Scrum Master?

Although the titles of Project Manager and Scrum Master are sometimes used interchangeably, they represent fundamentally different approaches to managing work.

1. Scope of Responsibilities: Project Managers usually have a broader scope of responsibilities that include managing stakeholders, scope, costs, and timelines.  In Scrum, responsibilities are distributed:

  • The Product Owner is accountable for managing the Product Backlog and maximizing product value.
  • The Developers are responsible for delivering a “Done” increment of product each Sprint.
  • The Scrum Master focuses on facilitating the Scrum process and removing impediments. This narrower focus ensures that the Scrum Master’s role is centered on enabling the team’s adherence to Scrum, rather than managing every aspect of the project.

 

2. Management vs. Facilitation: A traditional Project Manager typically adopts a command-and-control approach—overseeing timelines, resource allocation, and task completion, and making critical decisions about scope, scheduling, and budget. In contrast, the Scrum Master is accountable for establishing and supporting Scrum as defined in the Scrum Guide. Rather than directing the team, the Scrum Master facilitates the Scrum process, coaching the team to become self-managing and ensuring that Scrum events occur effectively.

3. Methodology: Project Managers generally work within traditional methodologies, where phases of development are linear and sequential. The Scrum Master, by contrast, works with an iterative, incremental, flexible, adaptive, empirical way of working. This Agile approach allows Scrum teams to adjust to the reality of changes to needs, requirements and the project environment. In contrast, traditional approaches assume little will change, and encourage planning of the entire project, often in detail, upfront and focus on delivering to that plan.

 

How about Agile Project Management?

A Project Manager following an Agile Project Management approach – as defined by AgilePM® – is complimentary to the Scrum Master role. Items 2 and 3 in the list above simply do not apply – an Agile Project Manager adopts a facilitative style and an agile way of working.

In AgilePM the Project Manager’s focus is on managing the environment in which the project operates, including:

  • Project organisation, stakeholder management and governance
  • High-level planning and scheduling (leading not managing)
  • Coordinating the management of risk and dependencies

What Skills Does a Scrum Master Need?

To be successful, a Scrum Master needs strong communication, leadership, agile project management, and problem-solving skills. To effectively fulfil the accountabilities defined in the Scrum Guide 2020, a Scrum Master benefits from a blend of interpersonal and technical competencies:

  1. Effective Communication and Facilitation: The Scrum Master must be skilled at facilitating Scrum events and ensuring clear, transparent communication among the Scrum Team, Product Owner, and stakeholders. This helps maintain alignment and shared understanding.
  2. Conflict Resolution and Problem-Solving: When impediments or disagreements arise, the Scrum Master needs strong problem-solving capabilities to address and resolve issues, allowing the team to remain focused on delivering a potentially releasable increment.
  3. Lead rather than Manager: Rather than exercising authority, the Scrum Master coaches the Scrum Team to become self-managing. They influence team behaviour by modelling Scrum values and promoting adherence to the framework.
  1. Agile Knowledge: A solid grasp of Agile principles and the Scrum framework—including Scrum events, artifacts (like the Product Backlog), and empirical process control—is essential to support and guide the team effectively.
  2. Emotional Intelligence: High emotional intelligence helps the Scrum Master navigate team dynamics, understand different perspectives, and respond constructively to challenges faced by team members and stakeholders.
  3. Adaptability: Since Scrum is built on empirical process control and continuous improvement, the Scrum Master should be flexible and open to adapting practices as the team and project evolve.

How Much Does a Scrum Master Get Paid?

Salaries for Scrum Masters can vary significantly depending on factors such as experience, location, and industry. In general, however, Scrum Masters are well-compensated due to the high demand for their skills in organizations employing or transitioning to Agile approaches.

  • Entry-Level Scrum Master: For someone starting out, salaries typically range between £45,000 and £65,000 per year in countries like the UK or the U.S.
  • Mid-Level Scrum Master: With a few years of experience, Scrum Masters often earn between £60,000 and £85,000 per year.
  • Senior-Level Scrum Master: Experienced Scrum Masters, particularly those working in large corporations or in industries like finance and technology, can command salaries upwards of £85,000 to £100,000 or more per year.

Geography and industry specialization can significantly affect salary levels. For instance, Scrum Masters working in major tech hubs like San Francisco or New York may earn higher salaries than those in smaller cities or rural areas.

How to Become a Scrum Master

The path to becoming a Scrum Master generally involves a mix of education, certification, and practical experience. With demand for Scrum Masters continuing to grow, it’s an attractive career choice with competitive salaries.

1. Education: A background in IT, product management, or a related field is helpful, though not strictly required. Many Scrum Masters come from technical backgrounds such as software development or business analysis, but this isn't a necessity.

2. Certification: Most Scrum Masters obtain certifications to validate their knowledge of Scrum practices. Consider obtaining certifications such as Scrum Master from APMG and Agile Business Consortium. Certifications like this demonstrate your understanding of Agile principles and the specific responsibilities of a Scrum Master.

3. Experience: While certification can get your foot in the door, experience is key. Many aspiring Scrum Masters begin their careers in Agile teams, taking on roles such as project assistant, project coordinator, business analyst, or product owner before transitioning to the Scrum Master role.

4. Develop key skills:

  • Communication and collaboration: Work on enhancing your communication skills through courses, workshops, and practice. Effective communication with stakeholders and team members is crucial for a Scrum Master.
  • Analytical and problem-solving skills: Strengthen your ability to analyze data, understand market trends, and solve complex problems. Consider taking courses in data analysis, user research, and market analysis.
  • Leadership and decision-making: Hone your leadership skills by taking on leadership roles in projects or teams. Practice making informed decisions and learn to balance stakeholder needs with team capacity.
  • Effective empowerment: Cultivate the ability to empower your team by fostering an environment that encourages self-organization and decision-making. Practice delegating responsibility in a way that builds trust and accountability, enabling team members to take ownership of their work while remaining aligned with agreed outcomes.

5. Build a Network:

  • Join professional communities: Engage with professional communities and events to network with professionals in the field which can provide insights, mentorship opportunities, and potential job leads.
  • Attend workshops and conferences: Participate in workshops, webinars, and conferences focused on Agile methodologies and product development/management. These events offer opportunities to learn from industry experts and keep abreast of the latest trends.

 

6. Apply for roles:

  • Tailor your resume: Highlight your relevant experience, skills, and certifications in your resume. Emphasize your understanding of Agile principles and your ability to manage product backlogs, prioritize tasks, and engage with stakeholders.
  • Prepare for interviews: Be ready to discuss your experience with Agile working, your approach to managing product backlogs, and how you handle stakeholder relationships. Demonstrating your knowledge and passion for the role will make you a strong candidate.

 

7. Continuous Learning: Given that Agile practices evolve over time, continuous learning is critical. Scrum Masters are encouraged to stay updated through books, courses, and workshops. Attending Agile conferences and participating in Scrum communities are also great ways to stay current and network with other professionals in the field.

 

By pursuing the right education, obtaining certification, and gaining experience, anyone can build a rewarding career as a Scrum Master in the ever-growing Agile landscape.