Scrum is one of the most commonly used Agile frameworks. A majority of the organizations that adopt Agile use Scrum or Scrum hybrid. It is a Project Management methodology on which the teams build their processes. The basic structure for assigning work, conducting regular meetings, and artifacts is provided by Scrum. It being a popular Agile framework, helps teams to deliver products through well-defined roles and events. Each Scrum Team is different from the others but they all have a common goal and that is to deliver the incremental value of high quality to the customer. Every member of the Scrum Team has his own unique skills and contributes in his own way to the overall success of the project. In a framework like Scrum, complex adaptive problems are addressed and products of high value are delivered efficiently and productively. 

However, Scrum does not provide a standard model within which every kind of team can work. Every team has to have people who have skills specific to the requirement of that particular project. So, for every project, the structure of the team would be different. The more complex the problem, the teams need better skills and have to do more work. The teams are required to have the flexibility to adapt to change as they go along. Scrum provides a lightweight structure to work in this fast-paced, ever-changing, and highly competitive world. And this structure contains three roles. Assigning roles to the people who work as per the Agile framework is one of the important features of Scrum. The question is often asked: a Scrum Team consists of which 3 roles? The 3 Scrum roles are the Developers, the Scrum Master, and the Product Owner. In this article, we will have a detailed look at each of these roles and the responsibilities attached to them.

Scrum Teams are usually self-organized and do not have any hierarchy. The successful implementation of the Scrum framework depends on the commitment of each individual towards it. Therefore, it becomes very important that everyone clearly understands the framework and boundaries of their roles and accepts the responsibilities attached to them. One thing to be understood clearly here is that the Scrum roles are not job titles. They are roles defined for specific functions. Having a skillful and efficient Scrum Team involves filling all three roles carefully. However, the success of the team will depend on the collective qualities of the Scrum Team. So, let us now get down to understanding the three roles in Scrum one by one.

Three roles of a Scrum Team

1. Developers

This is the first one of three roles of Scrum. Developers are a group of people who perform the actual hands-on work to complete and deliver the desired tasks in a Sprint. They develop the Product Increments for which a commitment has been made. Developers usually consist of 3 to 9 members and is self-organized. All these members should have the skills required to develop and deliver the requested product or service. All the team members are not necessarily engineers, as the perception may go. According to the Scrum guide, Developers may comprise architects, designers, programmers, writers, data analysts, Quality assurance experts, etc. as the need may be. The bottom line is that all of them are professionals. And as we can see, the development team is a cross-functional team. They should work together and meet the Sprint Goals. Since the Developers are self-organized, they don't have to look anywhere for instructions. The members collaborate among themselves to set the team goals and make plans to reach them. When the development team is assembled, it usually takes some time before they get familiar and comfortable with each other and start to collaborate in a realistic manner. That is when they are able to reach the full utilization of their combined skills and expertise. So, it is always better to have consistency in the development team for changing it frequently may affect the overall performance of the team. The members of the team cooperate to make sure that the information flows through the team smoothly and issues are resolved quickly. 

Let us now look at the responsibilities of a Developers. These include:

• To help in Sprint Planning and setting the goals
• To build the product or service asked for
• To deliver ready-to-ship products or service
• To be self-organized and independent. It should be able to decide its own workload and the process to complete it.
• It has to be cross-functional with the inclusion of all the skills required to create and deliver the product or service. It must include members with different skill sets.
• The development team has to have the autonomy that has to be complemented by accountability
• The team should be able to use data effectively so that the best practices for development can be identified
• The team members must work with full dedication on whichever product or service they are working on
• To make a decision on the number of items to be made in a particular sprint and the best way to achieve this
• It should be able to take decisions collectively, meet daily to discuss issues, and exchange ideas

2. Scrum Master 

The second of the 3 roles of Scrum is the Scrum Master role. The Scrum Master is the glue that keeps everything and everyone together and makes sure that the Scrum is being carried out well. Scrum Master collaborates with the Product Owner to spell out the value and helps the development team in delivering that value. He or she is basically a servant leader which is leadership in a supportive role. The Scrum Master ensures that the Scrum Team works with maximum effect. This means they help in keeping the team aligned and on the right course, plan meetings, and resolve any issues the team might be facing or any hindrances they might be having. A Scrum Master manages the Scrum process but not the development team. The Scrum Master may assume a bigger role also to help the organization in incorporating the Scrum concepts. Scrum Master does all he or she can to help the team and the Product Owner in achieving their goals. The Scrum Master educates and guides people in using the Scrum skillfully. He or she helps the Product Owner in understanding and communicating the value better, handling the backlog, and breaking the work into smaller parts. We have seen that the development teams are self-organized but it is the Scrum Master who helps them self-organize and self-manage. Scrum Master also ensures that the Scrum practices are being followed by everyone. At the end of a development cycle, during the review, the Scrum Master guides the team in making changes and improvements for the next development cycle. The main responsibilities of a Scrum Master are described below.

• To help the development team to focus on the results and reach the "done increment"
• Enable and organize daily Scrum meetings
• Lead the meetings held for planning sprints
• To ensure that the process runs smoothly
• To help in removing impediments to achieving higher productivity
• To act as a servant leader who helps and encourages the development team to self-organize
• A Scrum Master facilitates close cooperation among all the functions and works on any issues related to resources
• He or she keeps a close watch to see if the Scrum practices are being followed diligently
• Keeps close contact with individual team members either through one-to-one discussions or by way of other types of communication
• A Scrum Master tries to insulate the team members from distractions - both internal as well as external

In short, a Scrum Master is not a typical manager or leader but an influencer and a coach who does not command or control directly.

3. Product Owner

This is the last but certainly not the least of the 3 roles in Scrum. A Product Owner is one who makes sure that the team is in tune with the overall product goal and delivers the maximum value. The Product Owner is the representative of the business and guides the development team about what are the important things to be delivered. A Product Owner knows what are the requirements that the product or service is expected to fulfill. He or she understands the customer needs and market trends. Since the Product Owners understand what role the team has to play in achieving the broader goals, they maintain close contact with the product managers and other stakeholders. They are expected to identify such features that will maximize the Return on Investment (ROI) and prioritize them. They decide which features should be taken up first in the next sprint. They regularly change the priorities and refine the priority list based on the changed requirements. Providing the business vision and the requirements for the product are the domains of the Product Owner. The Product Owner acts as a link between the business and the team. There can't be multiple Product Owners for one product or service. For every product or service, there is only one Product Owner who becomes the voice of the customer representing his needs and expectations. Having technical knowledge is not essential for a Product Owner but he or she is supposed to have certain other competencies like the ability to manage deadlines and have an understanding of the best practices. The Product Owner should be able to understand the product or service requirements and explicitly explain them to the Scrum Master and the development team. The ability to organize and prioritize features is a necessary skill that a Product Owner is expected to possess.

Let us now see what are the responsibilities of a Product Owner.

• A Product Owner is the owner of the product backlog and is responsible for managing it. This means the Product Owner must have knowledge of everything that is there in the product backlog and whosoever puts anything in it must inform the Product Owner
• The Product Owner is responsible for managing releases. As there are frequent releases and deliveries can be made at any time, the Product Owner must know when the releases should be or can be made
• He or she is responsible for setting the priorities for the items in the product backlog
• If the Product Owner feels that a Sprint Goal is unnecessary, he can cancel the sprint
• The Product Owner is responsible for creating the product strategy and setting its direction along with setting the short and long-term goals
• To provide information about the product or service to the Scrum Master, development team, and other stakeholders
• To be aware of the needs of the customer and explain them to the development team
• To make decisions about the release schedule of the product features
• To regularly coordinate with the development team so that queries can be cleared and decisions can be made quickly
• Stakeholder management is another responsibility that a Product Owner has to shoulder. There would be multiple stakeholders in any product or service. The Product Owner must coordinate with all to ensure that the development team is delivering value to everyone's satisfaction
• And lastly, the Product Owner is responsible for the budget and profitability of the product or service. In other words, he or she is responsible for the ROI.

So, we have described all the 3 roles in Scrum. These cover three major realms of responsibility in any Scrum Team. These are very simple roles in the description. You can now see in which role you fit the best. Each of these roles requires its own unique set of skills and competencies and is critical for the success of every project in its own way. We are sure we have been able to clearly bring out the requirements and responsibilities of each role.  

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