Scrum master responsibilities: What does a Scrum master do?

Where does a Scrum master fit in the Scrum process?

The Scrum master acts as a facilitator by managing the exchange of information between team members to remove impediments and ensure the success of Scrum-based projects. A good Scrum master creates an environment in which the rest of the team can thrive.

What does a Scrum master do?

According to the latest version of the Scrum Guide, published in 2020, key responsibilities of a Scrum master are the following:

• Serve the organization by assisting in the adoption of Scrum.
• Serve the team by coaching them on the application of Scrum.
• Serve the developers by causing the removal of roadblocks that hinder the team's progress.

The title of Scrum master sounds highly authoritative and gives many the impression that a Scrum master has command-and-control powers over the Scrum team, but nothing could be further from the truth.

What does a Scrum master not do?

Any discussion about what a Scrum master does is best framed around a discussion of what a Scrum master doesn't do. Responsibilities that fall outside of the Scrum master's purview include the following:

• Writing user stories. The product owner is the one accountable for product backlog items.
• Assigning work. The Scrum master doesn't assign work to developers. Scrum developers are self-organizing and self-managed.
• Stopping a sprint. The Scrum master can't stop a sprint if things go awry. Only the product owner has the power to terminate a sprint.
• Running daily Scrum. A Scrum master doesn't run the daily Scrum. The daily Scrum is managed by the developers -- the Scrum master isn't even required to attend.
• Managing project tasks. A Scrum master doesn't manage budgets, update Jira tickets or oversee staff projects. Those topics simply aren't part of Scrum.

4 key Scrum master responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities of a Scrum master are defined in the Scrum Guide, which is the source of truth for all things related to Scrum. According to the Scrum Guide, the Scrum master's job is to help "everyone understand Scrum theory and practice, both within the Scrum team and the organization."

1. Ensure the effectiveness of the team

The Scrum Guide also asserts that the Scrum master is "accountable for the Scrum team's effectiveness." On the surface, this sounds like an unbounded responsibility, as there is no end to the number of mishaps, planning failures and unforeseen events that could diminish a team's effectiveness. However, the context of the statement is quite specific.

The Scrum Guide's underlying premise is that software development teams work best when they effectively apply the Scrum framework. That means the following:

• Scrum team members actively embrace the five Scrum values of commitment, focus, openness, respect and courage.
• Teams constantly apply the three pillars of Scrum -- transparency, inspection and adaptation -- as product backlog items move toward completion.
• The Scrum team participates together in all five Scrum events.
• The team's effort is always driven by the quest to achieve the overall product goal, the current sprint goal and the quality standard established by the definition of done.

Scrum asserts that teams are most effective when Scrum is applied properly. It's the Scrum master's job to coach the team and organization on effective Scrum adoption. Consequently, the Scrum master is responsible for the Scrum team's effectiveness.

2. Cause the removal of impediments

One of the more cryptic and most misunderstood parts of the Scrum Guide is the statement that the Scrum master helps teams by "causing the removal of impediments to the Scrum team's progress." The Scrum Guide doesn't say the Scrum master removes impediments. That's the misperception; it says the Scrum master causes the removal of impediments.

For example, if a developer has trouble booking a conference room, it is not the Scrum master's job to do it for them.

Instead, the Scrum master might encourage the developer to reach out to the team for insights on how to book the room or even suggest training in the booking system. This is how the Scrum master helps cause the removal of the impediment.

3. Move Scrum forward by pushing back

Pushing back on the Scrum team -- of which the Scrum master is a member -- when problems arise is another common function of the Scrum master.

Scrum is a team-based framework. When impediments arise, the Scrum master should encourage the team to seek collaborative ways to address them, for example:

• Did a developer not complete their work during a sprint? The Scrum master should ask the team how to better support them.
• Did the team fail to achieve the sprint goal? What can the Scrum team do to better articulate a sprint goal next time?
• Is the team completing less work than estimated? What practices might the team apply to improve their estimates?

4. Facilitate developer productivity

Pushing back on management is also a key responsibility of the Scrum master.

Developers want to develop; they don't want to be in meetings all day long. At the same time, stakeholders and management want to be constantly informed about progress.

It's the Scrum master's job to dissuade management from pulling developers into meetings and instead encourage them to look at other indicators for better transparency into the team's progress. Such indicators include the following:

• The sprint backlog, which shows what the team is currently developing.
• The product backlog, which shows how features are prioritized.
• The increments of work presented in the sprint review, which show what has been completed.
• The current, working build that teams continuously deliver to stakeholders.

The job of the Scrum master is to push the organization toward accepting these real, tangible artifacts as measures of progress and to avoid distracting developers with meetings or requests for potentially inaccurate reports.

Keeping developers focused and out of productivity-zapping meetings is a surefire way for a Scrum master to gain the team's appreciation.

Is the Scrum master an accountability, job or role?

The Scrum Guide intentionally describes the Scrum master as an accountability, not a role or a job. The tasks a Scrum master is accountable for -- namely, acting as a leader who serves, while coaching on how to properly apply the Scrum framework -- are clearly stated in the Scrum Guide. However, there's no rule that says the person who has assumed the accountability of Scrum master can't perform tasks not specified by the Scrum Guide.

If the organization wants the person who has assumed the Scrum master role to handle staffing or hire new developers, there's nothing in the Scrum Guide that prohibits it. Just be clear that those functions are not performed in the capacity of a Scrum master, as tasks such as hiring are not something a Scrum master is accountable for.

The Scrum Guide stipulates that every team has one and only one Scrum master. Accountable for the overall effectiveness of the Scrum team, it's a position that's critical for the success of any Scrum-based product management effort.

Darcy DeClute is a technical trainer and Agile coach who helps organizations apply Scrum-based principles to adopt a modern DevOps stack. She is a certified Professional Scrum Master, Professional Scrum Developer and Professional Scrum Product Owner as well as author of Scrum Master Certification Guide.