The three roles of SCRUM

Within the Scrum Framework three roles are defined:

• The Scrum Team
• Scrum Master
• Scrum Product Owner

Let’s see in details the main features for each role.

The SCRUM Team:

The Scrum team includes the product owner, ScrumMaster, and the team members. Within the Scrum Framework all work delivered to the customer is done by dedicated Scrum Teams. A Scrum Team is a collection of individuals working together to deliver the requested and committed product increments. Scrum teams should be five to nine team members, dedicated to the life of the project.

Scrum teams plan, estimate, and commit to their work, rather than a manager performing these
functions for them. The end goal of the team is to deliver a potentially shippable product increment that meets an agreed-upon Definition of Done each and every sprint.

The SCRUM Master:

The Scrum Master is part of the Scrum Team and acts as a servant-leader for the Scrum Team.

The Scrum Master has several important responsibilities:

• Guard the Scrum Team from external requests and disruptions
• Act as a change agent and adapt processes to maximize productivity of the team
• Coach the Scrum Team
• Remove impediments for the Scrum Team
• Ensure efficient communication between the Scrum Team and the Scrum Product Owner
• Facilitate the various Scrum Events

The SCRUM Product Owner:

Most of the responsibilities of the classical product manager and the project manager are combined within this single role. The product owner is responsible for the product’s success.

The product backlog, or list of items to be completed by the Scrum team, is ordered by the product owner so as to reflect his most valuable requests or changes for the product in development. The product owner, since he is representing the “what” and “why” of the system, should be available to the team to have regular dialogs about the requirements in the product backlog. As a consequence this means of course that the Scrum Product Owner has to work very closely with the Scrum Team and coordinates their activities over the whole lifetime of the project.

The main responsibily of the SCRUM Product Owner are:

• Managing the Scrum Product Backlog
• Release Management
• Stakeholder Management
• Work closely with the Scrum Team