Roles & Responsibilities of the Product Owners and Scrum Masters

Roles & Responsibilities of the Product Owners and Scrum Masters

Before we get into the discussion about the roles and responsibilities of the product owner and scrum master, we want to make clear that the ‘team is the heart of the scrum. There are two key people who are responsible for making sure that the team is successful. They are Product Owner (PO) and the Scrum Master.

Product Owner (PO)- The PO is responsible for the direction the team is heading. The PO owns the relationship with the stakeholders. They set the vision for the final products so everyone knows what needs to be built. They also create the road map so everyone understands how to attain the vision. That feedback becomes new requirements, new user stories. All the user stories are the product back log.

Scrum Master- While the product owner is completely focused on the stakeholders and the product, the scrum master is solely focused on the team. They are the process owner for the scrum team.

Scrum masters are the guardians of the scrum framework. They ensure that the team stays within the guardrails of scrum. They facilitate the scrum meetings, also known as ceremonies. They ensure the ceremonies are taking place at the right time with the correct attendees. They are the enforcers but there's also a softer side to the scrum master role. They are also the guardians of the team. A huge portion of the scrum master role is to ensure the team health is protected by limiting distractions and keeping the team from over committing.

While the PO wants a product developed and released quickly, the scrum master wants the team to work at a sustainable pace. The scrum master then is the counter point to the product owner's drive toward the vision.

Both roles are essential to a healthy and successful implementation of scrum. While these are the basics of the roles, there's so much more that top notch POs and scrum masters can do to be more effective. There's a whole world beyond the basics for these roles.