Agile ways of working have brought so many roles: Agile Delivery Lead, Agile Delivery Manager, Scrum Master. Which of these roles are the same and which are different? And if they are different, what is the difference between them? Let's clear the confusion around agile roles!😎
All Agile Delivery Roles Explained
What are Agile Delivery Roles?
Agile Delivery Roles are the roles involved in delivering value to customers and stakeholders using agile methods and practices. In most cases, these roles are based on the proposed Scrum-Roles:
👩🏽🏫Scrum Master: The person who facilitates the Scrum process and helps the team follow the values, principles and practices of Scrum.
🗣Product Owner: The person who represents the voice of the customer and stakeholders and is responsible for defining and prioritizing the product backlog.
👨🏽🔬Development team: The group of people who work together to deliver potentially deliverable increments of the product or service.
However, these roles can be mixed with other roles from different agile frameworks, such as in the SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework):
🚅Release Train Engineer: The person who facilitates and leads the Agile Release Train (ART), which is a group of teams that deliver value in a program increment.
💻System Architect/Engineer: The person who defines the technical vision and architecture for the system or solution delivered by the ART.
⭕Business Owner: The person representing the business interests and needs for the system or solution provided by the ART.
Or also in the Spotify model:
👩🏽💼Group Leader: The person who leads and provides guidance and support to a group of people with similar skills or competencies, such as developers, testers, designers, etc.
🤹🏽♀️Squad Lead: The person who leads a cross-functional team providing a specific function or product area and provides guidance and support to them.
🤵🏽Tribe ladder: The person who leads a group of squads working on related functions or product areas, providing them with strategic direction and coordination.
In addition to these framework-specific roles, of course, we often see "Agile Coaches" training Scrum Masters and the other roles.
All Agile Delivery Roles Explained
Agile Delivery Manager vs Scrum Master
One of the most common questions that comes up regarding the role of Agile Delivery Manager is: "What is the difference between an Agile Delivery Manager and a Scrum Master? Are they the same or different? And if they are different, what is the difference between them?"
The answer is not simple, as different organizations may have different definitions and expectations for these roles. However, here is a general comparison based on some common aspects:
What is an Agile Delivery Manager anyway?
An Agile Delivery Manager is someone who leads Agile delivery teams and ensures that they can deliver value to customers and stakeholders. They are not only coaches or facilitators, but also responsible for the delivery process and results.
You will be responsible for ensuring teams follow agile principles and practices while adapting to the changing needs and expectations of the business and users.
Some of their Main tasks are:
📝Planning and priority setting
🎤Coaching and mentoring
🗣Moderate and communicate
🦸♀️Removing obstacles and solving problems
⏱Measurement and improvement
Differences between Scrum Master and Agile Delivery Lead:
Scrum Master | Agile Delivery Lead | |
|---|---|---|
Responsibility: | Continuous improvement of Scrum | Responsibility for completion |
Activities: | Coaching & Moderation | Coaching & Moderation |
Scope: | A team or project | Multiple teams & projects |
Framework: | Scrum | All agile frameworks |
Focus: | Team Performance & Processes | Added value & results |
As you can see from the table above, there are some similarities and differences between an Agile Delivery Manager and a Scrum Master. Both roles involve coaching and facilitation activities, but they have different responsibilities, activities, a different scopes, use different frameworks, and have a different focus when it comes to results.
A quick piece of information, regardless of what role you have or will have: Managing software developers in regular one-to-one meetings is absolutely key. They are your most important meeting. Do you see it that way too?
In any case, I would like to draw your attention to our free one-to-one meeting software, which has been specially developed for agile teams. Make your 1:1 meetings exciting, measure trends and, above all, make progress in your employee development! Try out one of our templates, see below.
Interactive One-on-One Meeting template
The following one-on-one meeting template is one of many one-to-one meeting question templates in the Echometer software. If you hold regular one-to-one meetings, for example every two weeks, I can highly recommend our one-to-one meeting software. You can try out the tool by simply clicking on the button:
Hold a conversation with an icebreaker
- If you had to describe your emotional state as the weather, what is the weather like in your project or your tasks at the moment?
How is the weather in relation to your employer, your personal life and your private life?
Interactive One-on-One Meeting template
The following one-on-one meeting template is one of many one-to-one meeting question templates in the Echometer software. If you hold regular one-to-one meetings, for example every two weeks, I can highly recommend our one-to-one meeting software. You can try out the tool by simply clicking on the button:
Template part 1: Open conversation with icebreaker
- If you had to describe your emotional state as the weather, what is the weather like in your project or your tasks at the moment?
How is the weather in relation to your employer, your personal life and your private life?
Template part 2: Health check with interactive questions
- Appreciation: I receive recognition or praise for good work.
- Psychological safety: If I share that I have made a mistake, I will not be judged for it.
- Strengths: In the last few weeks I have very often been able to Strengths at work.
- Customer centricity: I know the challenges and problems of our customers. Customers.
- Feedback: I receive constructive feedback on both my work and my personal development.
Note: In this part of the appraisal interview, agreement to more in-depth Health Check items (questionnaire) is asked on a 1-7 scale.
Interactive One-on-One Meeting template
The following one-on-one meeting template is one of many one-to-one meeting question templates in the Echometer software. If you hold regular one-to-one meetings, for example every two weeks, I can highly recommend our one-to-one meeting software. You can try out the tool by simply clicking on the button:
Note: This one-on-one staff meeting template asks for agreement to the Health Check items (questionnaire) on a 1-7 scale.
- Appreciation: I receive recognition or praise for good work.
- Psychological safety: If I share that I have made a mistake, I will not be judged for it.
- Strengths: In the last few weeks I have very often been able to Strengths at work.
- Customer centricity: I know the challenges and problems of our customers. Customers.
- Feedback: I receive constructive feedback on both my work and my personal development.
All Agile Delivery Roles Explained
Agile Delivery Lead vs Scrum Master⚔
Another common question people ask about the Agile Delivery role is: What is the difference between an Agile Delivery Lead and a Scrum Master? Are they the same role or different roles? And if they are different, what is the difference between them?
The answer is: They are different roles.
An Agile Delivery Lead is something like the "Head of Scrum Masters" or "Chief Scrum Master" in the new formulation. He is responsible for leading and managing multiple agile delivery teams or projects within an organization or program.
They are also responsible for aligning the vision and goals of the organization or program with the teams or projects they lead. They also coach and mentor other agile roles, such as agile delivery managers or scrum masters.
Some of their Main tasks are:
🤵🏽Leading and guiding
🎤Coaching and mentoring
🗣Moderate and communicate
🦸♀️Remove obstacles and solve problems
⏱Measurement and improvement
The difference between a Agile Delivery Lead and a Scrum Master therefore lies mainly in the Scope and in the responsibility.
An Agile Delivery Lead works at a higher level and oversees multiple teams or projects, while a Scrum Master works at a lower level and focuses on one team or project.
An Agile Delivery Lead also has more authority and influence over the organization or program, while a Scrum Master has more autonomy and authority within the team.
An Agile Delivery Lead may also have more experience and expertise in agile delivery, while a Scrum Master may have more knowledge and skills in Scrum.
If you want to learn more about what an Agile Delivery Manager/Lead does, read our article:
👉🏽Agile Delivery 1×1
How to become an Agile Delivery Manager?👩🏽🎓
If you are interested in becoming an agile delivery manager, you need to make two key changes in your mindset and approach to agile delivery:
- Accept that Scrum is not the only right solution to work agile.
- Accept that you are not just a coach or facilitator, but also an owner of the delivery process and outcomes.
Of course, these changes are not easy or quick. You may need training, mentoring, or coaching to acquire the skills and knowledge you need to become an agile delivery manager.
You may also need some real-world experience to learn from your successes and failures and receive feedback from your peers and supervisors.
Outlook: The future is "Agile Delivery Manager", bye bye Scrum Master👋🏽
"Agile Delivery Managers" are the agile trend in 2023 as interest rates rise and many companies no longer want to afford a Scrum Master, who often becomes more of a "team coach/feel-good manager".
Instead, companies want to know that their entire budget is going to actual implementation, to people who are responsible for the results.
Upper management will have much less of a problem with having "Agile Delivery Managers" on their payroll than cryptic "Scrum Masters" who refuse to take responsibility for team deliverables.
We will see how this change plays out over the next few years. Let's hope that this change is a good thing for both the teams and the customers.
That's all I have for now. I hope this article helped you learn more about the roles in agile development, especially the difference between an Agile Delivery Manager and a Scrum Master. If you have any questions or feedback, please let me know 😊.
Most Agile Coaches and Scrum Masters run in circles...
...fixing superficial symptoms. Time to use psychology to foster sustainable mindset change.
