The Scrum Master is a facilitator who helps a development team follow the Scrum framework and deliver high-quality products. The Scrum Master is responsible for facilitating Scrum events, removing obstacles that may be preventing the team from delivering high-quality products, coaching and mentoring team members on the principles and practices of Scrum, and protecting the team from external distractions or disruptions. The Scrum Master helps the team understand and follow the Scrum framework, and ensures that they are able to deliver high-quality products incrementally.
Rresponsibilities of the Scrum Master
Some specific responsibilities of the Scrum Master include:
- Facilitating Scrum events: The Scrum Master is responsible for facilitating the four defined Scrum events: the Sprint Planning meeting, the Daily Scrum, the Sprint Review, and the Sprint Retrospective. This includes helping the team prepare for these events, keeping them focused and on track, and ensuring that they are productive and effective.
- Removing obstacles: The Scrum Master is responsible for helping the team overcome any obstacles or roadblocks that may be preventing them from delivering high-quality products. This may involve working with other teams or departments, negotiating with stakeholders, or finding creative solutions to problems.
- Coaching and mentoring: The Scrum Master is responsible for helping the team understand and apply the principles and practices of Scrum. This may involve coaching team members on how to work effectively in an agile environment, helping them understand their roles and responsibilities, and providing guidance on how to improve their skills and performance.
- Protecting the team: The Scrum Master is responsible for protecting the team from external distractions or disruptions that may interfere with their ability to deliver high-quality products. This may involve setting boundaries, negotiating with stakeholders, or ensuring that the team has the resources and support they need to be successful.
The role of the Scrum Master is defined in the Scrum Guide as:
The Scrum Master is accountable for establishing Scrum as defined in the Scrum Guide. They do this by helping everyone understand Scrum theory and practice, both within the Scrum Team and the organization.
The Scrum Master is accountable for the Scrum Team’s effectiveness. They do this by enabling the Scrum Team to improve its practices, within the Scrum framework. Scrum Masters are true leaders who serve the Scrum Team and the larger organization.
The Scrum Master serves the Scrum Team in several ways, including:
- Coaching the team members in self-management and cross-functionality;
- Helping the Scrum Team focus on creating high-value Increments that meet the Definition of Done;
- Causing the removal of impediments to the Scrum Team’s progress; and,
- Ensuring that all Scrum events take place and are positive, productive, and kept within the timebox.
- Helping find techniques for effective Product Goal definition and Product Backlog management;
- Helping the Scrum Team understand the need for clear and concise Product Backlog items;
- Helping establish empirical product planning for a complex environment; and,
- Facilitating stakeholder collaboration as requested or needed.
- Leading, training, and coaching the organization in its Scrum adoption;
- Planning and advising Scrum implementations within the organization;
- Helping employees and stakeholders understand and enact an empirical approach for complex work; and,
- Removing barriers between stakeholders and Scrum Teams.
Source: ScrumGuides.org
The following articles provide more details and expanding on the definition:
