Scrum master, a key profession for Scrum project management

In a world whereagility has become essential for adapting rapidly to market changes, the Scrum Master is a key player in the Scrum methodology. A true facilitator, coach and guardian of agile principles, this professional plays a decisive role in the performance of development teams.

This article tells you everything you need to know about the Scrum Master: his day-to-day responsibilities, his place on theScrum team, his role in leading key ceremonies such as planning meetings, his contribution to managing the sprint backlog and user stories, and the qualities required to excel in this role.

What does “Scrum” mean?

Scrum is a modular framework used to develop complex products. Not only is it part of the Agile methodologies but it is the most widespread version in the world today. This method is based on the observation that decisions must take into account the experience of the entire team.

More generally, the general idea is to encourage the cooperation of all team members in a coordinated and organized manner. In practice, as is the case for all Agile methodologies, the Scrum method is based on delivering prototypes of the service, progressively enriched and validated by the customer. These deliveries are carried out using sprints, right up to the final delivery of the product.

At each sprint, the working group presents new operational and implementable functions, which are evaluated by the customer. We then enter into an iterative system that allows us to increase the project’s functionality little by little, but very frequently.

The main advantage for the customer is that his satisfaction is continuously measured against what has already been produced and can be adapted to his demands.

Who makes up the Scrum Team?

Three roles are identified in the Scrum methodology: the Product Owner, the Scrum Master and thedevelopment team.

The Product Owner

Its role is to define the work to be done. To do this, he gathers the voices of stakeholders, end-user needs and market requirements. Based on these elements, he or she sets development priorities for the Scrum team.

The Scrum Master

Also known as the “scrum master”, he’s the facilitator who ensures that the team adheres to Scrum principles and practices. His role is detailed below.

The development team

Generally made up of between 3 and 9 people, this team actually implements the requested functionalities. Sometimes, the Scrum Master is also part of the development team.

Thus, the product owner, the scrum master and the development team together form the Scrum Team. As in any project, clearly defining the roles of the different players on a project team is essential to ensure effective collaboration and the achievement of set objectives.

The role of the Scrum Master in an agile project

If we were to summarize this role in one sentence, we could say that it consists of verifying that the “daily scrum” is successful. The scrum is a daily meeting. The method’s creators, Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, borrowed the term from the world of rugby. In the context of sport, it refers to the situation in which team players form a compact unit pushing in the same direction.

At the end of the day, the Scrum Master is simply the leader at the service of his team. It facilitates self-regulation, implements visual management tools and stimulates the different actors in order to make them more productive. He is in no way a project manager. He/she takes care of everything outside the team, such as relations with external stakeholders. He/she must ensure that the team is focused on producing the required service.

Although different from traditional models, the Scrum Master’s role is nevertheless part of a global governance approach adapted to agile methods, ensuring that projects are aligned with the company’s strategic objectives.

The Scrum Master’s daily challenges

In his daily practice, the Scrum Master faces several challenges:

1. 1. Obstacle management: identify and eliminate obstacles that prevent the team from making effective progress on sprint backlog tasks.
   2. Ceremony facilitation: organizes and facilitates the various Scrum meetings (sprint planning, daily scrum, sprint review, retrospective).
   3. Team coaching: Helps the team to continuously improve by adopting agile best practices.
   4. Team protection: Protects the team from outside interference and ensures that it can focus on the sprint objectives.
   5. Facilitating communication: Ensures that information flows efficiently between all team members and with stakeholders.
   6. Interface with traditional governance: Unlike traditional projects which rely on a steering committee for their governance, the Scrum Master must often act as an interface between the agile team and the company’s more traditional governance structures, translating progress and requirements into a language that all parties can understand.

The essential qualities of a good Scrum Master

Who can be assigned as a scrum master? Some believe that the leader, or more specifically the manager, should hold this position. But this choice is not a good one. The Scrum Master‘s strength lies first and foremost in his human and professional qualities.

In fact, in addition to showingempathy towards the team, he or she must be passionate about the Scrum methodology. It must be able to facilitate the integration of a way of working without imposing it. Conveying the importance and significance of each step is essential.

An excellent Scrum Master must therefore be a good teacher. Authoritarian people are generally considered unsuitable for this key role.

Indeed, they seem incompatible with the missions of the Scrum Master and the concept of the “servant leader”. The latter is a facilitator for the team, making the work flow smoothly, removing obstacles that the team finds during the Sprint, exchanging with other collaborators and advising them on difficult choices. It brings out the team’s ideas and the commitment they are willing to make.

In some organizations, the Scrum Master may evolve into a Service Delivery Manager role, broadening his or her scope to include the overall management of IT service delivery, while retaining his or her agile approach and focus on customer satisfaction.

The Scrum Master as an agile coach and catalyst for self-organization

This is one of the most difficult tasks for the Scrum Master. Teams are usually used to receiving work and requests in push mode. They often tend to get used to the fact that an executive usually makes the decisions, and find it difficult to get used to taking on new responsibilities.

To achieve this goal, the scrum master must teach the team to live as a self-sustaining social unit. He/she must guide the members to work together, to organize themselves to develop the functionalities that the Product Owner needs and to manage the concept of transversality. They must convey the idea that they are primarily responsible for the functioning of the team.

Produce more in a serene environment

As previously stated, the scrum master is there to improve productivity or rather to be the “nudge” that will stimulate and help the team. Talking about increasing productivity in a context such as that of agile methods may seem inappropriate.

Generally speaking, when we talk about productivity, we tend to refer to the number of people in a team, or the amount of work each member can deliver.

Increased productivity means ensuring the group’s sustainability over time, without the need for overtime and without pressure from external factors, while still providing the services required.

Conclusion: the Scrum Master, the cornerstone of successful agile projects

The Scrum Master’s role is fundamental to the success of agile projects. As facilitator, coach and protector of the team, he creates the optimum conditions for the team to deliver value efficiently and sustainably.

His ability to manage the Scrum Ceremonies, to facilitate the creation and follow-up of the sprint backlog, to help the team define and realize relevant user stories, and to effectively facilitate planning meetings makes him a key player in the Scrum methodology.

In a world whereagility has become essential to adapt quickly to change, the Scrum Master represents a strategic investment for any organization wishing to improve its ability to deliver quality products in line with user expectations.

At SQORUS, our Scrum Master experts support organizations in their agile transformation and in the effective implementation of the Scrum methodology, guaranteeing the success of your development projects.