Key takeaways
- The Scrum Guide 2020 speaks of accountabilities rather than roles: Scrum Master, Product Owner and Developers.
- The Product Owner is accountable for maximizing the value of the product and for effective Product Backlog management.
- The Scrum Master is accountable for the Scrum Team's effectiveness and serves the team, the Product Owner and the organization.
- Developers are accountable for creating a usable Increment each Sprint and for meeting the Definition of Done.
- The Scrum Team is self-managing and cross-functional, with no sub-teams or hierarchies.
Roles or accountabilities?
Earlier versions of the Scrum Guide spoke of "roles". The 2020 Scrum Guide speaks of accountabilities: what each member is answerable for. The three accountabilities are the Product Owner, the Scrum Master and the Developers. Together they form one Scrum Team, with one shared objective: the Product Goal.
The Product Owner
The Product Owner is accountable for maximizing the value of the product resulting from the work of the Scrum Team. They are also accountable for effective Product Backlog management, which includes:
- developing and explicitly communicating the Product Goal;
- creating and clearly communicating Product Backlog items;
- ordering Product Backlog items;
- ensuring that the Product Backlog is transparent, visible and understood.
The Product Owner may delegate some of this work, but remains accountable. The Product Owner is one person, not a committee. They may represent the needs of many stakeholders, but anyone wanting to change the Product Backlog has to convince the Product Owner, and the whole organization must respect their decisions.
The Scrum Master
The Scrum Master is accountable for establishing Scrum as defined in the Scrum Guide and for the Scrum Team's effectiveness. The Scrum Guide describes Scrum Masters as true leaders who serve the Scrum Team and the larger organization. They serve:
| The Scrum Master serves... | For example by... |
|---|---|
| The Scrum Team | Coaching self-management and cross-functionality, helping the team create high-value Increments that meet the Definition of Done, causing the removal of impediments, and ensuring that all Scrum events take place and are positive, productive and kept within the timebox. |
| The Product Owner | Helping find techniques for effective Product Goal definition and Product Backlog management, and facilitating stakeholder collaboration as requested or needed. |
| The organization | Leading, training and coaching the organization in its Scrum adoption, and removing barriers between stakeholders and Scrum Teams. |
The Developers
Developers are the people in the Scrum Team who are committed to creating any aspect of a usable Increment each Sprint. The word does not mean only software developers: designers, testers, analysts or writers can all be Developers. They are always accountable for:
- creating a plan for the Sprint, the Sprint Backlog;
- instilling quality by adhering to the Definition of Done;
- adapting their plan each day toward the Sprint Goal;
- holding each other accountable as professionals.
One team, no hierarchy
The Scrum Team is cross-functional, meaning its members have all the skills needed to create value each Sprint. It is also self-managing: members decide internally who does what, when and how. There are no sub-teams and no hierarchies, and the team is typically 10 people or fewer. When a team becomes too large, it should consider reorganizing into multiple cohesive Scrum Teams that share the same Product Goal, Product Backlog and Product Owner.
Common mistakes
- The Scrum Master as project manager: assigning tasks or reporting status to management undermines self-management.
- The Product Owner as a proxy: a Product Owner without the authority to decide on the Product Backlog cannot maximize value.
- "Developers" meaning only programmers: everyone who creates the Increment is a Developer.
- Sub-teams inside the Scrum Team (testers, front-end, back-end): Scrum has no sub-teams.
Which certification for which role?
| Role | Starting level | With experience |
|---|---|---|
| Scrum Master | Certified Scrum Master (CSM) | Professional Scrum Master (PSM) |
| Product Owner | Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) | Professional Scrum Product Owner (PSPO) |
| Developer | Certified Scrum Developer (CSD) | Scrum Global Expert (SGE) for senior practitioners |
Not sure? Read Which Scrum certification should you choose?
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, The Scrum Guide, November 2020.
- Manifesto for Agile Software Development, 2001.
- SCRUM Framework, How our certification exams work.
Exam content is based on the Scrum Guide by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0). SCRUM Framework is an independent certification body. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Scrum.org, Scrum Alliance or Scrum Inc., whose names and trademarks belong to their respective owners.
