Who is a Scrum Master?

Magdalena Czech – Customer-success-oriented agile enthusiast with 7+ years of experience in product development, design and team management at tech companies. Specializing in building strong, self-organizing teams delivering high-quality outcomes with maximum business value. With ITDS since 2022.

In the simplest terms – a Scrum Master is responsible for the right implementation and use of scrum in a given organisation and a team. But what is scrum, anyway? Scrum is a way of conducting projects and developing applications which aims at maximising the achieved value.

With scrum, we have a certain “set” of events, roles and values which construct the way we work and the way we approach software development. A Scrum Master helps understand and implement these elements, so that the team and various processes can be as effective as possible.

What does working in scrum look like?

Working in scrum is based on the so-called sprints – fixed, repetitive cycles of work. A sprint can last for 1-4 weeks, and it results in a value increment which was previously defined and planned with the business unit. As a part of the methodology, we receive several events and artefacts. The most important ones include: sprint retrospective, sprint planning, daily scrum, product or sprint backlog, and increment. A person responsible for defining the product value, requirements and, more broadly, its vision and contact with the business is a Product Owner, whereas the Development Team is responsible for producing the planned value at the end of a sprint.

What are the day-to-day responsibilities of a Scrum Master?

Everyday work of a Scrum Master strongly depends on the team’s development level, as well as product maturity and business environment. However, the basic parts of the Scrum Master’s day will definitely include: conducting and facilitating team meetings, supporting the Product Owner in the process of managing and planning a product, supporting the team in daily problems and solving them.

How can one become a Scrum Master?

What is the best strategy to become a Scrum Master if you do not have any experience? It is a good idea to get some solid theoretical knowledge, starting with checking out a Scrum “handbook” – the Scrum Guide and widely accessible online resources (podcasts or blogs run by Scrum Masters / Agile Coaches, or organisations and associations which promote agile software). Summing up your knowledge by passing the PSM 1 examination (scrum.org) will definitely give you an advantage. It is currently one of the most commonly required certificates listed in job ads.

If you are a beginner or an aspiring Scrum Master, it will certainly be a good idea for you to implement the scrum elements in your current team, even if it is not really IT-related. Many of the solutions known from the scrum theory support work organisation and are applicable in many or even most areas. A smart implementation and measurement of used elements will be a great conversation topic with your future employer. Another effective way of becoming a Scrum Master is to start your adventure in a scrum team in a different role: a developer team member or a Product Owner. In this case, you can take over some of the Scrum Master’s responsibilities and see for yourself whether it is the right path for you – and then change your role gradually.