What It Means
A ScrumScrumA lightweight framework, defined in the Scrum Guide, in which a small team delivers work in fixed-length Sprints of one month or less and adjusts after each one. See more Master is the member of a Scrum TeamScrum teamThe small, self-managing group that does the work in Scrum: one Product Owner, one Scrum Master and the Developers, typically 10 or fewer people. See more accountable for how effective the team is. Under the 2020 Scrum Guide, they get there by helping the team improve its practices within the Scrum framework, and by making sure Scrum is understood and used the way the guide describes. The guide calls them leaders who serve, and their help reaches beyond the team to the Product OwnerProduct ownerThe one person on a Scrum Team accountable for maximizing the value of the product and for managing the Product Backlog, including the order of its items. See more and the wider organization.
Try It: See Who the Scrum Master Serves and How
Pick who the Scrum Master is helping to see examples from the 2020 Scrum Guide, in plain words.
- Coaching members to manage themselves and cover each other's skills
- Keeping the focus on finished, valuable work
- Getting blockers removed
- Making sure the events happen, stay useful and end on time
- Finding ways to define the Product Goal and manage the Product Backlog
- Helping the team see why backlog items need to be clear and short
- Bringing stakeholders together when asked or needed
- Leading, training and coaching the company as it adopts Scrum
- Helping staff and stakeholders understand an evidence-based way of working
- Clearing barriers between stakeholders and Scrum Teams
How People Say It
- "Ask the scrum master to book the retro."
- "Our scrum master keeps the daily to 15 minutes."
- "Can you help us get this blocker cleared?"
The Breakdown
What a Scrum Master does, step by step through a Sprint
- Before Sprint PlanningSprint planningThe Scrum event that starts each Sprint, where the whole Scrum Team agrees why the Sprint is valuable, what can be done in it and how the work will get done. See more, check that the Product Owner has the backlogProduct backlogIn Scrum, the ordered list of everything needed to improve a product, and the single source of work for the Scrum Team. See more ordered and ready to discuss.
- During planning, help the team agree one Sprint GoalSprint goalThe single objective a Scrum Team sets for one Sprint, agreed at Sprint Planning, which gives the team a shared focus while leaving room in the exact work. See more and keep the meeting inside its timebox.
- Each day, make sure the Daily ScrumDaily scrumThe 15-minute Scrum event where the Developers meet each working day to check progress toward the Sprint Goal and adjust their plan. See more happens and ends within 15 minutes, and take away the blockers it surfaces.
- At the Sprint Review, help the team show finished work and hear from stakeholders.
- In the retrospectiveSprint retrospectiveThe last Scrum event of each Sprint, where the Scrum Team looks at how it worked and picks the changes most likely to make it more effective. See more, help the team pick one or two changes and follow up on them next Sprint.
Who assigns the work. The guide describes a team with no hierarchy, so a Scrum Master doesn't assign tasks. The Developers plan their own work, and the Scrum Master coaches them to do it well.
Short version to try today. If your team already meets daily, time the next meeting. If it runs past 15 minutes, suggest moving problem-solving to right after it with only the people involved, which is Buhata's own suggestion.
Where It Comes From
The Scrum Master accountability comes from the Scrum Guide by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, whose November 2020 edition describes it as accountable for the Scrum Team's effectiveness and, as Scrum.org explains, switched from the word roles to accountabilities, so Scrum Master names a set of duties inside one team.
Good to Know
Plenty of job ads use "scrum master" for project coordinators, and the duties vary by company. The 2020 Scrum Guide is the reference for what the accountability means in Scrum itself, and it's free to read at scrumguides.org. Training and certificates are sold by several organizations; this page doesn't compare them, so check what a given employer asks for.
FAQ
What does a Scrum Master actually do?
They are accountable for the Scrum Team's effectiveness. In practice that means coaching the team, getting blockers removed, making sure the events happen and stay within their timeboxes, and helping the Product Owner and the wider company use Scrum well.
Is a Scrum Master a project manager?
Not in the Scrum Guide's terms. The guide gives the Developers the job of planning their own Sprint work, and the Scrum Master helps them work well rather than handing out tasks.
How many Scrum Masters does a team have?
One. The 2020 Scrum Guide describes a Scrum Team as one Scrum Master, one Product Owner and the Developers.
Do It in Buhata
Team Space, Rhythms (Team X) and Calendar
Set up the Daily Scrum and the retrospective in Rhythms, the standup and review threads in the Team X add-on, so the team posts its updates in one place.
Open BuhataRelated Terms and Categories
- Scrum team
The small, self-managing group that does the work in Scrum: one Product Owner, one Scrum Master and the Developers, typically 10 or fewer people.
- Product owner
The one person on a Scrum Team accountable for maximizing the value of the product and for managing the Product Backlog, including the order of its items.
- Scrum
A lightweight framework, defined in the Scrum Guide, in which a small team delivers work in fixed-length Sprints of one month or less and adjusts after each one.
- Daily scrum
The 15-minute Scrum event where the Developers meet each working day to check progress toward the Sprint Goal and adjust their plan.
- Sprint retrospective
The last Scrum event of each Sprint, where the Scrum Team looks at how it worked and picks the changes most likely to make it more effective.
Sources
Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, The 2020 Scrum Guide (scrumguides.org); Scrum.org, "What You Need to Know about the 2020 Scrum Guide"; Scrum.org, "Accountability, Responsibility and Roles"
- scrumguides.org/scrum-guide.html
- scrumguides.org/docs/scrumguide/v2020/2020-Scrum-Guide-US.pdf
- www.scrum.org/resources/blog/what-you-need-know-about-2020-scrum-guide
- www.scrum.org/resources/accountability-responsibility-and-roles
Last updated .