We are only strong if we work together: Agile frameworks distribute tasks and responsibilities to the whole team. The Scrum Master plays one of the leading roles. He or she is not a typical boss who is giving instructions, but a so-called Servant Leader who leads the team to successful project completion.
This makes the role of the Scrum Master complex. What exactly does a Scrum Master do? What qualities does he or she need to have for this? And what do classic questions for a Scrum Master job interview look like? I will explain in detail what the role of Scrum Master entails and how you can qualify for this important position in agile teams.
What is a Scrum Master?
Scrum Masters coordinate the development of a product or feature (mostly in a software context) according to the Scrum Framework. They coach team members - in agile methods and in general - so that they are motivated to use their skills in the project. They also ensure that teams adhere to the Scrum Framework. And: It is the Scrum Master responsibility to keep an eye on the project’s schedule.
I must add: This is not a final or complete definition. The role of the Scrum Master is so varied that this brief summary should give you just a basic understanding of the position.
The role of the Scrum Master
Basically, the role of the Scrum Master focuses on implementing agile values and principles into the team and the project. That means: It is the Scrum Master responsibility to turn the way team members think and work agile. For more input on this, check out our article "Putting agile values and principles into practice" . What tasks does the Scrum Master have in his everyday work?
Train
Especially teams that just have a basic understanding of Scrum need the guiding hand of a Scrum Master. He or she familiarizes teams with the guiding principles of the agile concept. In doing so, Scrum Masters take on two main tasks:
1. They train teams professionally in Scrum.
2. They inspire team members by exemplifying Scrum values.
By this, teams not only learn new workflows and methods - such as Extreme Programming - but also experience that iterative, flexible, and autonomous collaboration produces better results than, for example, waterfall.
Most Agile Coaches and Scrum Masters run in circles...
...fixing superficial symptoms. Time to use psychology to foster sustainable mindset change.
Support and Facilitate
Working agile means constantly exchanging ideas. Scrum masters play a central role as moderators and supporters. They ensure that discussions, meetings, and retrospectives lead to the desired result. This is only possible if the participants see a sense and purpose in it. Scrum Masters must therefore clearly set the goal for meetings and encourage communication. But: Scrum Masters should not interfere with the content of projects. They should only guide the process.
Coach
The roles of a Scrum Master also include coaching team members. In doing so, Scrum Masters do not share their experience or give technical advice. Instead, they convey messages that motivate team members to think and act. Their coaching is primarily related to the topics of self-organization, taking responsibility and personal development.
Remove obstacles
It is the Scrum Master's responsibility to make everyday work easier for teams. To do this, they must identify and remove any form of obstacles. These can be for example
- technical problems,
- time-related difficulties,
- communication problems,
- knowledge gaps related to agile working methods,
- personal problems of team members or
- disagreements between team members.
The central task here is to ensure an optimal flow of communication. This is the basis for solving challenges in everyday project work. Scrum masters must create the framework for this. Ideally, team members can then solve their problems themselves.
Role of the Scrum Master: Relationships to other roles in Scrum
Besides the Scrum Master,
- Product Owners,
- Developers,
- Agile Coaches, and
- Release Train Engineers
play an important role in the Scrum concept (the latter, however, only in the scaled agile framework or context). How does the role of the Scrum Master differ from them?
Scrum Master vs. Product Owner
Product Owners define the terms and requirements for a Scrum project. They oversee the tasks in the product backlog and are responsible for the customer value teams produce. Scrum Masters mediate between the Product Owner and the team. They have the team's back by, for example, repeatedly coordinating with the product owner or taking over administrative tasks.
Scrum Master vs. Developer
Developers are the developers of the software. They create plans for sprints and ensure quality by adhering to a Definition of Done. In other words, they are responsible for the quality of a product - from code architecture to usability. Scrum masters, on the other hand, have little to do with the technical development of a product.
Scrum Master vs. Agile Coach
Agile Coaches have a similar role to Scrum Masters, and sometimes they even have the same responsibilities. However, it tends to be the case that Agile Coaches have responsibility over more teams than Scrum Masters. In addition, they are less "limited" to Scrum, but often have a broader skillset than Scrum Masters - e.g., knowledge of Kanban, etc. In some cases, they also supervise a team of Scrum Masters. While Scrum Masters should only have a maximum of 2 teams according to the Scrum Guide, there is no such limitation for Agile Coaches.
Basically, they create frameworks for everyday work that are geared to the needs of teams. They accompany teams in their day-to-day business and get involved from time to time. They work as moderators and facilitators. They are leaders without disciplinary responsibility. Many companies consider their Agile Coaches to be experienced Scrum Masters.
Scrum Master vs. Release Train Engineer
Release Train Engineers oversee a release train in Agile - effectively many teams in a scaled Agile context. Their goal is to simplify program execution, remove obstacles in work processes, and manage risks and dependencies between teams. In this way, the role of the Release Train Engineer is similar to the role of the Scrum Master. However, Release Train Engineers oversee a larger group of people - typically between 50 and 125 people - at a different process level. We explain exactly how a release train works in our article "Release Train in Agile: Everything You Need to Know".
Roles in the Scrum concept: Explaining them with a metaphor
Let's try to explain these roles through a metaphor that might help: a ship on the high seas.
- The Product Owner is the helmsman - Where do we want to go? He sets the vision and decides technical things.
- The Scrum Master moves on a meta-level, so to speak: On the one hand, he is the designer of the ship. Do we want to be a speedboat or rather a stable tanker? On the other hand, he serves as a doctor on the ship: If there are painful problems, he tries to get them out of the way as quickly as possible.
- As mentioned, Agile Coaches are similar to scrum masters. If we want to simplify it: With 4 ships (one ship being one team), there would probably be 2 Scrum Masters, each taking care of 2 ships - and an Agile Coach, who additionally coordinates and supports.
- The developers are the crew, which is responsible for the tasks on the ship.
- Release Train Engineers only come into play when we have a small fleet of 5 - 25 ships (or teams). They coordinate the fleet accordingly at a higher level.
Important: Despite these different roles, it is crucial to keep in mind that there are no official hierarchies in Scrum. This is to ensure that teams make decisions on a technical basis alone. And: that the responsibility lies on the whole team and not on individual team members.
Which characteristics should a Scrum Master have?
You now know the different roles of a Scrum Master. Which characteristics should Scrum Masters possess to be able to take on these roles?
Frustration tolerance: Scrum Masters gradually impart an understanding of the framework to team members. This takes time and perseverance. In many teams, Scrum Masters need repeated attempts until every single employee has internalized the framework in such a way that he or she thinks and acts agile on their own.
Openness: Scrum masters need an open approach to their tasks. This means that they address difficult topics and deal with problems transparently.
Courage: To be able to address difficult topics, Scrum Masters need courage. This has an effect on team members. By being open and courageous, they also dare to communicate difficulties efficiently.
Focus: Scrum masters know when teams need to tackle which challenges. For this, they need a strong focus on what is really important. Once Scrum Masters have set their focus on a challenge, they maintain it until a tangible improvement has occurred or a problem has been solved.
Commitment: Scrum Masters are committed to their team and their company to deliver their best performance. Teams sense this. This way, they build trust to Scrum Masters.
Sense of responsibility: Scrum Masters can and want to take responsibility for their team and their project. They know exactly when to be present and when to hold back and leave the responsibility to the team.
Attentive readers will notice that these characteristics are closely related to the agile Scrum values .
Role of the Scrum Master: It's all a matter of KPIs
You now know the essential characteristics that a Scrum Master should possess. But how do companies know that you actually have these competencies? Because at first glance, these qualities seem as if they are difficult to measure. In practice, however, you can at least try to make the Scrum Master performance measurable - and thus indirectly infer the characteristics of Scrum Masters. How you can do this, shows our article "Scrum Master Performance: 5 important KPIs for evaluation".
The four core KPI levels – or goals – you should be working on as a Scrum Master. You can find more on this in our post Scrum Master Performance: 5 core KPIs.
What skills should a Scrum Master have?
To be able to use the aforementioned characteristics, Scrum Masters must have two essential skills for their daily work:
Observing and listening
Scrum Masters devote a large part of their time to observing and listening. This means they must have the ability to observe complex processes and notice inconsistencies that escape the team. They must listen to team members over and over again and draw conclusions or patterns that can be discussed in a Retrospective to help the project progress.
Communicate
To support team members at every stage, Scrum Masters must be able to communicate empathically and clearly. After all, they talk to different people with different perspectives every day. In particular, Scrum Masters must be able to hold difficult conversations. They must bring problems and solutions succinctly to the point. And: At best, Scrum Masters should have experience communicating with management. For this, it is important that they understand how the management of an organization thinks. It is helpful if they know how a KPI-driven logic of decision makers works. In principle, the ideals of "leading by asking questions" or "helping people to help themselves" applies to them as servant leaders.
What does a Scrum Master resume look like?
There is not just one Scrum Master resume that fits perfectly for this job. This is mainly due to the fact that the training to become a Scrum Master is not uniformly regulated in Germany. Most Scrum Masters have an IT background. That means they have studied computer science, business informatics or a related subject. In addition, there is currently another trend: Scrum Master resumes show that more and more people with a background in education and psychology are opting for a career as a Scrum Master. This is because Scrum Masters do not necessarily need a deep understanding of software development. It can help to better understand certain processes in projects. However, it is not a prerequisite to successfully take on the role of the Scrum Master.
To prepare professionally for the Scrum Master responsibility, a corresponding training is recommended. Depending on the provider, this takes between two days and two months. The costs for this range between 800 and 2500 euros for the PSM1 qualification. Interested parties can undertake the training, for example, at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, TÜV Süd or Haufe Akademie. Renowned US providers are, for example, the Project Management Institute and Scaled Agile.
4 possible questions for a Scrum Master interview
If Scrum Master resumes match an advertised position, a first interview will quickly take place. Scrum Masters are currently in particularly high demand. What you can expect in an interview is difficult to predict. The roles of a Scrum Master are so diverse that every company wants to know something different from you. Nevertheless, to give you a first impression, we have put together a selection of possible questions that might be asked in a Scrum Master job interview:
1. What does Agile mean to you?
At first glance, the question seems to simply ask for a definition of Agile. This is not wrong. But if you want to really score, you should also talk about the importance of Agile for the company and the team as well as the advantages of introducing Scrum. And it can't hurt if you compare Scrum with other project management styles in this context.
2. What are the limits of Scrum from your point of view? When does it no longer make sense to think agile?
A good Scrum Master knows the limits of the framework. He or she knows when it is time to use a different framework for a project. Scrum is designed to adapt quickly to change and efficiently deliver success in short periods of time. So, for example, if you're working on a project that can be planned absolutely, where new customer requests aren't constantly coming in, another framework, such as the waterfall method, may be a better fit.
3. In your opinion, what is the most important agile ceremony?
Agile frameworks like Scrum aim to improve team performance on a regular and evolutionary basis. To do this, it is important to critically review processes and collaboration on a regular basis. Therefore, "retrospectives" are undoubtedly suitable as an answer to this question in the Scrum Master job interview. They uncover hidden hurdles and dissatisfactions in the team and find solutions that decisively promote project progress.
"If you adopt only one agile practice, let it be retrospectives. Everything else will follow."
4. What do you do if a team member can't complete a task for a sprint?
Scrum Masters are always faced with the challenge of keeping their team as effective as possible. At the same time, they must ensure that the needs of all team members are met. So, if a member can't deliver as expected, you should have a face-to-face conversation with him or her. This will help you understand why the person can't complete a task. As a Scrum Master, you should then work out a solution with the person that will help to continue the work successfully. At the same time, you should communicate intermediate statuses to the team so that they do not lose their trust in the team member.
What’s also important: Solve problems the agile way! There are probably 5 approaches to solving a problem. Start trying one of these approaches in the first sprint. Then do your personal retrospective after the sprint to try the next approach if necessary. This way, expectations aren't set too high and hopefully there will be a sense of accomplishment early on. With this approach, you build trust with your team. And: You generate an environment in which employees feel safe and comfortable to express problems. You create psychological safety.
Other possible questions for a Scrum Master interview
In addition, you can prepare for a Scrum Master job interview with these questions:
- What software toolset do you need as a Scrum Master?
- In the team there is a conflict between the product owner and a software developer. How do you proceed?
- Someone from upper management is asking software developers to directly implement their wishes without considering the agile processes. How do you respond?
- Optional: How would you proceed if you wanted to implement Scrum in other teams as well?
The most difficult question in a Scrum Master interview
Our author Christian wrote an exciting article about which question in the job interview is the most difficult for Scrum Masters - and how to answer it in a smart way. Check out our article "The #1 hardest question in a Scrum Master job interview".
Role of the Scrum Master – Conclusion
The role of the Scrum Master is diverse and challenging. This makes Scrum Masters a crucial piece of the puzzle in agile development. For them to tackle projects efficiently, not only they themselves, but all teams and ideally the entire organization must think and act in an agile way. In our Project Scagile, we show you how to achieve this. Therefore, it explains in different workshops which 7 mistakes you should avoid at all costs during an agile transformation. Have a look, the workshops are free of charge.
By the way, if you are still looking for a suitable retro board, our article can help you with the topic: Comparing the 6 best retrospective boards
