The Scrum Master is responsible for establishing/establishing Scrum and coaching the Scrum Team, as described in the Scrum Guide. He/she does this by helping both the Scrum Team and everyone in the organization to understand and apply Scrum theory.
The Scrum Master is a facilitator who ensures that the Scrum Team follows the processes it has agreed to implement.
The Scrum Master is responsible for the effectiveness of the Scrum Team. They do this by ensuring that the Scrum Team improves their practices within the Scrum framework.
The Scrum Master skillfully removes obstacles and distractions that prevent the Scrum Team from achieving its goals. He or she acts as the link between the Scrum Team and people or teams outside the team.
The Scrum Master serves the Scrum Team and the organization as a true leader.
Scrum Master Tasks
The Scrum Master is not the project manager or the person who makes decisions on behalf of the Scrum Team and tells them how things should be done. The Scrum Master is the person who observes whether the process complies with the Scrum framework, coaches the understanding and implementation of Scrum, and works with the rest of the team to make corrections and improvements where necessary in the process.
The Scrum Master role includes, but is not limited to, the following responsibilities.
1. Process Lead
The Scrum Master works to ensure that the Scrum values are maintained and that the processes are in line with the Scrum framework so that the Scrum team can achieve high performance.
2. Coach
Coaches for the understanding and implementation of Scrum and Agility at organization and team level; acts as a trainer for the understanding of roles, values, goals of Scrum rituals.
3. Leadership
The Scrum Master takes on the leadership role for change, for the implementation of Scrum. It serves the Scrum Team and the organization in different ways for the correct and successful implementation of Scrum.
4. Eliminating Barriers and Solving Problems
The Scrum Master works with team members to identify obstacles that may prevent progress in the Sprint, to recognize unwanted deviations, if any, and to prevent and eliminate them.
The Scrum Master protects the team from distracting external factors and interventions and helps the team to stay focused during the process so that the team can achieve its goals and produce a valuable output.
5. Facilitator
The Scrum Master acts as a facilitator to optimize the process, to encourage team members to collaborate, to help the team understand and achieve common goals. It helps the team not only for the Scrum rituals to be effective and efficient, but also for the integration of the team into the organization and by facilitating intra-team relations.
How to Become a Scrum Master
Scrum Master Job Description Qualifications
Many companies looking for Scrum Masters include the following prerequisites in their job descriptions.
Required Experience and Training
Job postings typically require a Scrum Master to have a bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related field. In addition, experience in software development using Agile practices may also be desirable.
Excellent Oral and Written Communication Skills
The Scrum Master works to remove communication barriers and facilitate collaboration between the Scrum Team and other key stakeholders, so good verbal and written communication skills are expected. Naturally, the Scrum Master should also feel comfortable communicating directly with individuals and teams. In addition, being able to use advanced communication tools such as Scrum/Kanban board, burndown chart, video and audio communication technologies will be an advantage for the Scrum Master.
Scrum Master Sertifikası
Scrum Master sertifikası alabileceğiniz kurumlar mevcuttur. Scrum Master arayan her şirket bu sertifikayı bir gereklilik olarak görmese de iş başvurularında size avantaj sağlayabilir.
Scrum Master Training
Since Scrum is an agile approach that supports bottom-up management, Scrum Teams do not have a specific leader and teams manage themselves to achieve their goals.
Because Scrum is so flexible, Scrum Master training/certification options are varied. It will be to your advantage to do the necessary research to understand the most suitable ones for yourself.
Difference Between Scrum Master and Product Owner
Both the Scrum Master and the Product Owner have similar tasks in that they are responsible for managing and optimizing the backlog. They both work to deliver a successful product.
Product Owner is the person who knows the product vision and goals and reflects them correctly in the Product Backlog. It is the Product Owner’s responsibility to know customer/stakeholder and market demands, manage and prioritize the Backlog accordingly, and maximize product value. Product Owner’s focus is on the bigger strategy.
The Scrum Master, on the other hand, is less concerned with long-term strategy and instead focuses on more immediate issues. The focus is on the tactics the team will implement to work most efficiently. He or she is responsible for the process to ensure that Scrum is implemented correctly and that the value of Scrum is maximized and maximized.
Conclusion
A Scrum Master is a person who knows agile practices, connects and coaches teams between different roles and stakeholders to reach their goals in the most efficient way by using these practices. The fact that he/she registers himself/herself with various trainings and certificates can make him/her valuable in the eyes of employers.