The ScrumMaster is responsible
for making sure a Scrum team lives by the values and practices of Scrum. The
ScrumMaster is often considered a coach for the team, helping the team do the
best work it possibly can. The ScrumMaster can also be thought of as a process
owner for the team, creating a balance with the project's key stakeholder, who
is referred to as the product owner.
The ScrumMaster does anything
possible to help the team perform at their highest level. This involves
removing any impediments to progress, facilitating meetings, and doing things
like working with the product owner to make sure the product backlog is in good
shape and ready for the next sprint. The ScrumMaster role is commonly filled by
a former project manager or a technical team leader but can be anyone.
The ScrumMaster is also often
viewed as a protector of the team. The most common example is that the
ScrumMaster protects the team by making sure they do not over-commit themselves
to what they can achieve during a sprint due to pressure from an overly
aggressive product owner. However, a good ScrumMaster also protects the team
from complacency.
Many who are new to the
ScrumMaster role struggle with the apparent contradiction of the ScrumMaster as
both a servant-leader to the team and also someone with no authority. The
seeming contradiction disappears when we realize that although the ScrumMaster
has no authority over Scrum team members, the ScrumMaster does have authority
over the process. Although a ScrumMaster may not be able to say, “You’re
fired,” a ScrumMaster can say, “I’ve decided we’re going to try two-week
sprints for the next month.”
The ScrumMaster is there to help
the team in its use of Scrum. Think of the help from a ScrumMaster as similar
to a personal trainer who helps you stick with an exercise regimen and perform
all exercises with the correct form. A good trainer will provide motivation
while at the same time making sure you don’t cheat by skipping a hard exercise.
The trainer’s authority, however, is limited. The trainer cannot make you do an
exercise you don’t want to do. Instead, the trainer reminds you of your goals
and how you’ve chosen to meet them. To the extent that the trainer does have
authority, it has been granted by the client. ScrumMasters are much the same:
They have authority, but that authority is granted to them by the team.
A ScrumMaster can say to a team,
“Look, we’re supposed to deliver potentially shippable software at the end of
each sprint. We didn’t do that this time. What can we do to make sure we do
better the next sprint?” This is the Scrum- Master exerting authority over the
process; something has gone wrong with the process if the team has failed to
deliver something potentially shippable. But because the ScrumMaster’s
authority does not extend beyond the process, the same ScrumMaster should not
say, “Because we failed to deliver something potentially shippable the last
sprint, I want Tod to review all code before it gets checked in.” Having Tod
review the code might be a good idea, but the decision is not the ScrumMaster’s
to make. Doing so goes beyond authority over the process and enters into how
the team works.
