What is a scrum master?
by Admin
Posted on 16-12-2022 09:20 AM
Summary: the scrum master helps to facilitate scrum to the larger
team
by ensuring the scrum framework is followed. He/she is committed to the scrum values and practices, but should also remain flexible and open to opportunities for the team to improve their workflow. As the title implies, the scrum master is the master of scrum, who ensures the scrum framework is followed. Scrum has a clearly defined set of roles and rituals that should be followed and the scrum master works with each member of the scrum team to guide and coach the team through the scrum framework.
A scrum master leads a scrum. Scrums are daily meetings conducted by agile, self-organizing teams that allow the team to convene, share progress and plan for the work ahead. Some teams have a fixed scrum master, while others alternate the role with various team members occupying the position on different days. No one approach is right, and teams can choose to appoint the scrum master role as best fits their needs. During the daily meetings, the scrum master asks the team members three questions: what did you do yesterday? what will you do today? are there any impediments in your way? the scrum master then uses the answers to those questions to inform tactical changes to the team's process, if necessary.
Teams are composed of individual people who exhibit specific abilities, competencies and expertise. They understand the team collectively and individually and identify weaknesses, strengths and areas of improvement. Scrum managers or a scrum master exhibit such a process to ensure team success in achieving goals. A scrum master or scrum expert is a project management professional who manages and leads team members' efforts to achieve collective success. A scrum master uses project management methodologies, tactics and competencies based on the agile framework to deliver such responsibilities. Scrum masters work on interpersonal levels between team members and scrum management to ensure that the full potential of every working individual in the team is optimally utilised.
While the scrum master and product owner work closely together, these roles are very different. A scrum master leads the agile development team and supports the product owner by relaying updates to relevant employees. Product owners manage the product backlog and ensure the company gains maximum value from the product. The product backlog is a crucial component of agile product development. It contains all of the tasks needed to be completed during the project. The product owner must make this resource readily available to the scrum master and ensure it accurately reflects the needs of the customer, business, and any other relevant stakeholders.
Do I need a scrum master?
The scrum master is the team role responsible for ensuring the team lives agile values and principles and follows the processes and practices that the team agreed they would use. The responsibilities of this role include:
clearing obstacles
establishing an environment where the team can be effective
addressing team dynamics
ensuring a good relationship between the team and product owner as well as others outside the team
protecting the team from outside interruptions and distractions.
The scrum master role was created as part of the scrum framework. The name was initially intended to indicate someone who is an expert at scrum and can therefore coach others.
Scrum master is perhaps the most widely-recognised role within a scrum team. This could be because scrum masters play such a key part in implementing scrum effectively during a project. The role of scrum master aligns closely with the more traditional role of "project manager". Let’s take a closer look at what a scrum master does and where they fit in within the scrum team.