How does a Scrum Master function?

By Nyla Leia On Feb 6, 2019

Team working together on a big IT startup business. Strategy planning meeting. SCRUM task board hanging in a team room full of tasks on sticky note cards. Flat style isolated vector illustration.

The Scrum master would have done Agile Scrum training and has a Scrum Master Certification to teach the team Scrum values. He has no role in product development and is not the team manager. Rather he is known as the Agile Manager or Coach, Iterative Coach or Manager, or simply the Team Coach. Without any authoritative post, this role has to influence team members as a ‘servant-leader’ in his daily functioning.

The Scrum Master is the pivot to the team’s efficiency and productivity. Through the implementation of Agile Scrum core values, principles, and tenets his effective management helps transition the team to an Agile state where desirable outcomes, shorter timelines, greater efficiency, discipline through communication, increased productivity and increased number of marketable products become a reality.

Types of Scrum Master Roles

There are no defining norms or skill tests for mastery over the Scrum Framework. On the work-floor however, the practice of defining the Scrum Master skills by the experience levels has led to certain types of role expectations. They are categorised below

Team members accept to be Rotational Scrum Master when they accept the administrative responsibilities for fixed periods of time on a rotational lap-by-lap basis
Any team member who opts to accept the Scrum Master in addition to other team responsibilities becomes a Partial Scrum Master
Transitioning Agile teams need a designated team member to be a Dedicated Full-Time Scrum Master, at least until the team is well experienced and functions well on its own
When the Scrum Master is well-experienced, he can also function as a Dedicated Full-Time Scrum Master working to transition and handle multiple teams
Some teams may just require the Scrum Master to function as an Agile Coach where his expertise is needed and without being assigned to a particular team

Scrum Master Training

The 3Cs of Scrum and Agile values are communication, collaboration, and contribution from concept to deployment stages of all team members. The Scrum Master needs to have a grasp and practical command over team performance, dynamics and face-to-face communications. This is the ideal Scrum framework where self-organised stakeholders use the Scrum Agile practices to solve, test and correct their issues and achieve goals in team accepted deadlines.

As most of these skills are practical in nature and dependent on learning from working in teams, it is essential the Scrum Master undergoes the Agile Scrum course. This training enables you to apply Agile transformation to your team, organisation and project using resources like Scrum best-practices, Agile techniques, and industry tricks to solve varied environmental issues. The global training materials and hands-on industry-relevant practical labs by industry-drawn certified faculty ensure the practical skills of applying the theory imbibed.

You study the traditional Waterfall versus Agile methods and pick up the practical skills to implement

The Agile Process, Flavours, Project Delivery, Product Backlogs, Planning, and Estimation
Adoption of Agile to software development projects, Advanced Scrum, Kanban suites and Project Simulation
Principles and ethics of Scrum framework concepts, release planning and more

Are you ready to don the hat of the Scrum Master? Start today if you want to be one.