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For an Agile environment to be successful, everyone on the team and in the company must buy into the Agile mindset. At Integrant, we do everything we can to ensure that agile is more than just a methodology. Every one of our team members is in an Agile state of mind.  

But who keeps track of all this? How do we ensure the success of our Agile process?

One way to get the job done right is with a scrum master.

The scrum master role is critical to the success of any project working in agile. To understand the importance of this role, you need to understand the anatomy of a scrum master.  

Who Carries Out the Assessment?

The Agile assessment is typically led and managed by the scrum master. The scrum master is responsible for focusing on the success of the team, product owner, process, and environment. A large part of this responsibility is being able to assess the Agile process appropriately and accurately.  

What is a Scrum Master?

A Scrum Master oversees the process of the scrum framework in a specific software project. You can think of a scrum master as a guide who takes the team, client, and stakeholders through the software development lifecycle. A scrum master is someone who is completely devoted to the Agile way of life and will go to no end to ensure the success of the Agile framework within a project.

Responsibilities of a Scrum Master

So, what does a scrum master do? Let’s get into it.

A scrum master carries a lot of roles and responsibilities. As the facilitator of Agile within a particular project, there are several people the scrum master is responsible for communicating with.  

Scrum Team Commitments 

• Works to ensure that all requirements, goals, and scope are clearly communicated from product owner to scrum team.
• Helps to direct the team in the most efficient way possible by providing tools that will aid in project prioritization.
• Provide the proper techniques to help the team work cross-functionally to get the job done right.
• Works to relieve project roadblocks by implementing agile assessments that will help the team remain on track with the project timeline.
• Creating and planning project sprints for the team to follow.
• Creating and carrying out agile assessments at various points of a project. Taking the data from these assessments and analyzing how well the agile environment is performing and deciding if anything can/needs to be changed to better the agile performance.

Client and Stakeholder Commitments

• Keeping project stakeholders up-to-date with the progress of sprints and project requirements is critical to keeping up with transparency efforts.
• Setting up meetings as necessary to help with relaying information and project status to clients and stakeholders.
• Relaying agile-related comments, concerns, and requests between clients and team members.
• Taking in client and stakeholder needs and requests to create the most efficient agile plan for the project roadmap. 

Key Characteristics of a Scrum Master

What does it take to be a successful scrum master? 

Because scrum masters are connected to so many players within a software development lifecycle, it's important that they demonstrate the below characteristics: 

Responsible

Being responsible in any position is a given. For a scrum master, having responsibility will aid in the in-the-moment need for guidance and coaching that can come up at any time during a software project. 

Committed

Committing to an agile way of life is the only way to get the job done right. A scrum master must have a sense of commitment to the team, client, project, and most importantly, to agile. 

Collaborative

Collaboration is an important component of both Integrant and agile. A scrum master may be a one-person position, but being a team player is critical when it comes

to problem-solving. 

Communicative

At Integrant, excelling at communication has been a huge part of our 30 years of success in software. Since a scrum master is a facilitator of agile, communication skills need to be top-notch to appease team members, clients, and stakeholders.  

Quick on Their Feet

Problems can arise at any point in the software development life cycle. Being able to quickly identify an agile roadblock and work together with the team to dissolve it can't be done without quick thinking.

Why Do I Need a Scrum Master?

The value of a scrum master is plentiful. For the client and stakeholders, a scrum master is critical for facilitating information and updates on the project throughout each sprint. The scrum master also serves a valuable purpose for the clients and stakeholders being that a large part of their job is to make sure the project remains on track and everyone is aligned on project roadblocks and goals so that the team can tackle them together. 

For the team, a scrum master's role is critical to improve Agile methodology via facilitation and coaching. This ultimately leads to a more efficient, successful project outcome.  The scrum master can spot areas within a project that might be unclear or present roadblocks down the road and provide techniques and tools to solve these problems ahead of time. They also work tirelessly to ensure the agile environment is working successfully so remaining team members can continue to focus on their respective roles uninterrupted.  

Scrum Master vs. Agile Coach

An agile coach is someone who helps teams within an organization achieve an agile environment by developing the appropriate teams and culture.

So, how is this different from a scrum master? Simply put an agile coach works with many teams while a scrum master works with one team. Let’s take a look at this example: 

Scenario A consists of a company looking to make the transition to agile and needs guidance on how to create a successful agile environment. 

Scenario B is a particular team within an agile organization that needs help implementing, assessing, and ensuring the success of agile in their upcoming project.

Which role is the best fit for each scenario?

Scenario A requires an Agile coach.

Scenario B requires a scrum master.

While the roles may sound similar, in practice the scrum master and Agile coach carry out two different jobs. 

Wrap Up

As more and more companies make the switch to the agile environment the need to understand the different roles that come together to make agile work is critical to project success. The anatomy of a scrum master is an excellent place to start when researching more about the importance of the role and will help guide anyone towards making a more informed decision when deciding on software firms to work with.

If you’re ready to work with an experienced agile team that can take your project from idea board to reality, reach out to one of our experts today! 

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