Scrum is an exercise embarked upon by the Scrum team to design and deliver effective software to the customers. In doing this, there are important scrum roles and responsibilities that the team must perform to ensure that they are successful in their quest.

 There are three vital scrum roles which are the Product Owner, the Scrum Master, and the Scrum development team. Each of these has a clear role to play in the success of software development projects.

 In this article, we will discuss the Scrum roles and responsibilities and how a team can carry them out in their projects.

 

scrum roles

 

Scrum Master Responsibilities: List of the most effective skills required to discharge them properly

 

The Scrum Master is saddled with the task of assisting the product group to learn and apply the Scrum methodology to accomplish the desired business values.

 One of the scrum roles expected from a Scrum Master is that he should motivate the development team and the Product Owner to achieve optimum performance.

The following are the top 7 responsibilities of a Scrum Master, who…

  • … is responsible for training the team: one of the Scrum roles of a Scrum Master is to coach the team members. He must ensure that the members are up and doing in their roles and responsibilities, keep them accountable for their actions, and ensure that they are well-organized and productive. 
  • … manages and drives the agile process: another scrum role of a Scrum Master is the proper management of the project scope and timeline to enhance the efficiency of the team.
  • … guards them against external interference: he ensures that the team embraces effective communication with the use of the right channel that protects them from third-party interference.
  • … manages the team activities: he must manage the team properly by creating an enabling environment that promotes openness, respect, and honesty among them.
  • … must promote effective communication:  effective communication in a Scrum project cannot be over-emphasized. The onus is on the Scrum Master to ensure that the scrum team communicates properly in the course of the project development.
  • … addresses the impediments of the project: he should be anticipatory in dealing with any challenge that could arise in the project. Again, he should identify, track, and remove any impediment that could pose a threat to the project
  • … should offer the right leadership: another scrum role expected from a Scrum Master is that he must come up with new innovative solutions that can spur the team to success in the project. Again, he must have a listening ear that entertains contributions from the stakeholders of the project and he should leverage the potentials in each team member.  

The use of a tool like Sinnaps, an online project management tool will help a Scrum Master in discharging his roles and responsibilities because it is a planning tool that assists in proper planning of activities.

 

All about Scrum

 

Agile Scrum roles: The highlight of these roles during the lifespan of the project.

 

Agile Scrum is used extensively by business organizations because it helps create a framework that defines the roles and responsibilities of every worker in an establishment. 

One of the basic goals of the agile scrum roles is keeping the entire scrum team on the same page throughout the lifespan of the project.

 The major objective of an agile scrum is to galvanize a team of 4 – 10 people, provide them with regular details of their work activities, and share the vital information about the project. 

No doubt, every scrum team must have a Product Owner and Scrum Master. The other members of the Scrum team are a scrum development team and stakeholders. The team must strive to perform the Scrum team roles and members must be alive to their responsibilities in the project. 

The Agile Scrum Master and Product Owner role and responsibilities differ in the project. The role of the Scrum Master is to remove the obstacles that could truncate the goals of the project and enforce the Scrum ceremonies and processes in the project.

 The Product Owner is responsible for creating the vision of the project and painstakingly communicates it to the other key stakeholders. Also, he can alter the scope of the project and he is responsible for the return on investment (ROI) in the project. 

The scrum development team is responsible for every task that drives the team to the fulfillment of their sprint goals. They work with the Scrum Master to prioritize the items from the product backlog in the scrum planning. They must participate in every Scrum meeting to ensure that new findings are implemented in the project.

On their part, the stakeholders are responsible for the following Scrum roles:

  • They maintain a healthy relationship with the Product Owner to share every detail relating to the project.
  • They are responsible for disseminating their wishes and concerns to the Product Owner.
  • They keep taking updates regarding any change in the plans of the project. 

 

Scrum project manager: Who is a project manager in Scrum?

 

The question in the mind of everyone is what is the role of a project manager in Scrum? Without mincing words, the roles of a scrum project manager cut across a Product Owner, Scrum Master, and the development team.

 As a Product Owner, a Scrum project manager grooms and refines the product backlog, he communicates frequently with the relevant stakeholders. He helps in facilitating a conversation with stakeholders in the direction of the product backlog during the sprint review meeting. Also, he is responsible for sharing and maintaining the budget of the project.

 The role of a Scrum product manager can be likened to a Product Owner. However, the roles and responsibilities of the Scrum product manager change at a different stage of product development.

Furthermore, as a Scrum Master, he is responsible for coaching the development team, guarding the team against changes during the sprint. 

A scrum project manager as a development team member takes work into a sprint and makes a decision on who does what and when the tasks must be done. The development team carries out a daily scrum to update one another on the status and plan for the daily task. 

In the Scrum project, there is no need for a project manager who directs proceedings, because scrum teams are always self-organizing and collaborative.

 

Agile Scrum Master: get to know the roles of the agile Scrum Master in product development

 

An agile Scrum Master is responsible for facilitating the activities of the agile development team. He is responsible for the management of the exchange of information between members.

 An agile Scrum Master practices the Scrum methodology that aids the team to attain self-organization and make changes rapidly based on agile principles. During the Scrum stand-up of the development team, the agile Scrum Master is responsible for asking the following question:

  • What did you do yesterday?
  • What will you do today?
  • Are there any obstacles in your way? 

The use of agile product management with scrum aids business organizations in creating products that meet the satisfaction of the customers. 

In recent years, a notable transition has been made from the scrum to Kanban; hence the need to assign a leader similar to what is obtainable in the Scrum. In Kanban, a kanban Scrum Master is someone that manages the iteration process of a project with the use of a kanban board to remove any impediment in the project.

 

Scrum planning

 

Scrum planning is an event where the team determines the product backlog items they will work on during the sprint. They also discuss their initial plan for finishing those product backlog items. The use of the right Scrum planning tool aids the scrum team in creating their scrum project plan.

For instance, Sinnaps is an agile tool that can be leveraged for Scrum planning. It allows you to create, visualize, and share your roadmap to keep everyone on the same page. It will filter your backlog items according to the chosen column. It can track time and customize your notifications. 

Other Scrum online tools are Jira, ClickUp, MeisterTask, and Axosoft.

Furthermore, a sequel to sprint planning is the Sprint Retrospective. This takes place after the sprint and before the next sprint planning.

 It is a Scrum meeting held to find ways and means of identifying potential pitfalls, previous mistakes, and design new ways to avoid previous mistakes. It is always attended by the Product Owner, Scrum Master, development team, and stakeholders. 

The use of the Scrum dashboard helps the Scrum team in monitoring the current sprint status, overall sprint completion progress, velocity by day, week or month, and closed story points in time.

 

Agile -Scrum – Kanban/Scrum value

 

Agile, Scrum, and Kanban are used in software development projects.  Agile principle promotes continuous delivery of functioning software, close communication among the project teams, and high adaptability to changing needs. 

Scrum offers a framework within which people can address complex adaptive problems while productively and innovatively creating products of great value to customers.

On its own, Kanban provides the software development team with a simple approach that aims for on-time delivery without over-stressing the members of the team. 

It involves the usage of the Kanban board for the management of the activities of the project by visualizing the workflow in different formats such as charts, tables, and diagrams. 

However, some teams have combined both Kanban and scrum principles and it has assisted them in minimizing the batching of work and aids the team in attaining the flexibility to adapt and change to stakeholder and production requirements without stress. 

In comparing Kanban vs. Scrum based on cadence, Scrum uses regular fixed length sprint usually 2 weeks while Kanban embraces a continuous flow.

In terms of method of release, Scrum is done at the end of each sprint while Kanban is continuous delivery. 

Also, based on specific roles for teams, scrum teams have different scrum roles such as Product Owner, Scrum Master, and development steam, but in Kanban, no role is required. In terms of key metrics, scrum uses velocity while Kanban uses lead time and cycle time.

 A tool like Sinnaps is useful for agile teams in managing their projects easily. It is also embedded with the Kanban board to aid the visualization of their project performance.

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