Scrum is an agile framework that is primarily used for managing knowledge work, with an emphasis on software development. It is designed for teams of three to nine people who break their work into actions that can be completed within time-limited iterations. This approach encourages adaptive planning, evolutionary development, early delivery, and continuous improvement.
Contrary to traditional project management ideologies, there is no explicit role as a project manager in Scrum. Instead, there are three key roles that are integral to effective Scrum:
- Scrum Master
- Product Owner
- Development Team
Understanding the Integral Roles in Scrum
Let’s briefly go through each role:
- Scrum Master: The Scrum Master is a servant-leader who helps the team self-organize, self-manage, and deliver the highest value work possible. The Scrum Master does whatever is needed to help the team perform at their highest level. This could involve removing organizational impediments, facilitating meetings, and helping the team stay on track with Scrum principles and values.
- Product Owner: The Product Owner is the person in charge of maximizing the value of the product or software being developed. This is achieved by prioritizing the backlog, defining the product vision and ensuring that the team is working on the highest value features.
- Development Team: The Development Team is the core of the Scrum team. They are the ones who deliver potentially shippable increments of a product at the end of every Sprint.
Comparing Traditional Project Management Roles and Scrum Roles
| Roles | Project Manager | Scrum Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Decision Making | Centralized | Decentralized |
| Planning | Long-Term Planning | Short-Term Planning (Sprint by Sprint) |
| Responsibility | Single Point of Responsibility | Shared Responsibility among team members |
| Communication | Hierarchical Flow | Open and direct among team members |
| Risk Management | Extensive upfront risk planning | Just in time risk management |
Unlike project managers, Scrum roles do not have absolute authority over the team but work together to ensure the team is progressing and producing the needed results. The Scrum Master ensures that the team is working as per the values and principles of Scrum. The Product Owner ensures that the team is working on the right things. The rest of the team ensures that the right things are developed in the right way – creating valuable, quality software.
Scrum Roles in Practical Application
An example can be related with a construction project. In a traditional project managed construction, a designated project manager would be responsible for planning, executing and closing the project and managing risks along the way. In a Scrum model, there would be no project manager but a Scrum Master who facilitates the process, a Product Owner who defines what needs to be built and prioritizes these, and a Development Team who decides how to build and delivers it.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the reason Scrum does not have a Project Manager is that it is a team-oriented approach that encourages shared responsibility. The roles in Scrum are designed to remove hurdles and maximize value creation, allowing everyone to contribute their best towards creating high-quality software. The Certified Scrum Master (CSM) exam focuses on these aspects of Scrum. It tests understanding of the Scrum Framework, including team roles, activities, and artifacts, and proficiency in helping a Scrum team deliver high value and high-quality products.
Practice Test
True or False: Scrum framework consists of a unique role called a Project Manager.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Scrum does not have a project manager. Responsibilities of traditional project management roles are divided among three Scrum roles: the Product Owner, the Scrum Master and the Development Team.
The Scrum Master in a Scrum framework is equivalent to the Project Manager in traditional project management. Is this statement true or false?
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Scrum Master is not a project manager but a servant-leader for the Scrum team, facilitating the team’s progress toward their goals and removing any impediments they encounter.
Who in the Scrum team takes up the tasks traditionally done by a Project Manager?
- A) Scrum Master
- B) Product Owner
- C) Development Team
- D) All of the above
Answer: D) All of the above
Explanation: In Scrum, the responsibilities of a traditional project manager are divided among the three roles: the Product Owner, the Scrum Master, and the Development Team.
Why doesn’t Scrum have a Project Manager role?
- A) Scrum believes in self-organizing teams
- B) Scrum believes in centralizing authority
- C) Scrum believes in having a single decision-maker
Answer: A) Scrum believes in self-organizing teams
Explanation: Scrum believes that each self-organizing team knows best how to do their work and thus doesn’t need a project manager to tell them what to do.
In a Scrum framework, who is responsible for the success of the project?
- A) Scrum Master
- B) Product Owner
- C) Development Team
- D) All of the above
Answer: D) All of the above
Explanation: Everyone in the Scrum team shares accountability for the success of the project. This is a shift from traditional project management where the project manager is often primarily responsible.
True or False: Scrum eliminates the need for management.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Scrum does not eliminate management but rather changes the nature of management, from command-and-control to serving and facilitating the work of self-organizing teams.
The roles of Scrum Master, Product Owner, and Development Team in Scrum are similar to the roles of Project Manager, Sponsor, and Project Team in traditional project management. True or False?
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: While there are some similarities, the roles in Scrum and traditional project management have significant differences, both in function and philosophy.
In Scrum, who is responsible for managing risks and issues?
- A) Scrum Master
- B) Product Owner
- C) Development Team
- D) All of the above
Answer: D) All of the above
Explanation: In Scrum, risk and issue management is a shared responsibility among the Scrum Master, Product Owner, and Development Team.
Project Manager’s task of decision-making is performed by ___________ in Scrum.
- A) Scrum Master
- B) Product Owner
- C) Development Team
- D) Both B & C
Answer: D) Both B & C
Explanation: In Scrum, the decision-making tasks of project management are shared between the Product Owner, who makes decisions about what should be built, and the Development Team, who makes decisions about how to build it.
True or False: The absence of a Project Manager in Scrum means there is a lack of leadership.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Scrum does not have a project manager, but it does have leadership roles in the form of the Scrum Master and the Product Owner, as well as leadership displayed by the self-managing Development Team.
Interview Questions
Why doesn’t Scrum include a project manager role?
Scrum framework is based on self-organizing teams where decision-making rights have been delegated to the team members in a delegated leadership model. The leadership role in Scrum is shared among Scrum Master, Product Owner, and Development Team.
Who performs the role of a traditional project manager in Scrum?
The responsibilities of a traditional project manager are divided among the three Scrum roles: Product Owner, Scrum Master and the Development Team.
Does the Scrum Master behave like a project manager?
No, the Scrum Master is a servant leader who facilitates the Scrum process, removes obstacles and helps the team in its pursuit of the Sprint Goal. They do not manage the team or the project like a traditional project manager does.
If there’s no project manager, who communicates with stakeholders in Scrum?
The Product Owner is primarily responsible for stakeholder management in Scrum. They manage the product backlog, ensure the team is working on the highest value features, and keeps stakeholders updated.
How are project management tasks like planning and reporting handled in Scrum without a project manager?
Planning is a team activity in Scrum, done during Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, and Sprint Review. Reporting is part of the Sprint Review and transparent through tools like the product backlog, sprint backlog, and burn-down charts.
Without a project manager, who manages risks in Scrum?
Risk management is incorporated in Scrum principles like working in increments, transparency, and constant feedback which allows risks to be identified and addressed early.
Who manages resources in Scrum which normally comes under the project manager’s purview?
The team manages resources in Scrum by deciding themselves what they can achieve in each sprint based on available resources.
How are project manager’s task of setting goals and targets achieved in Scrum?
Goals and targets are set collaboratively through events like sprint planning and are evaluated in the sprint review. The Product Owner is primarily responsible for defining the goals for the product.
Why was the decision made to exclude Project Managers from Scrum?
The idea is to promote a self-organizing team with distributed leadership rather than a hierarchical model. This approach is found to be more effective in terms of collaboration, innovation and productivity.
Without a project manager, who is responsible for quality in Scrum?
The entire team is responsible for quality in Scrum. The Development Team ensures each increment of the product is “done” and potentially shippable, adhering to the “Definition of Done” which should incorporate quality standards.
Is Scrum against project management principles?
Not at all. Scrum is a framework that replaces some conventional project management practices with more agile practices, but many fundamental project management principles, such as planning, prioritizing, and controlling risks, still apply.
Can a project manager become a Scrum Master or a Product Owner?
Yes, a project manager can transition to either a Scrum Master or a Product Owner role, or even to a member of the Development Team, depending on their skills and interests.
Who manages the scope of the work in Scrum, which is a project manager’s responsibility in traditional project management?
The Product Owner manages the scope of the work by maintaining the product backlog, however, scope related decisions like what can be achieved in a sprint is decided by the Development Team.
In the absence of a project manager, who ensures workflow in Scrum?
The Scrum Master ensures seamless workflow by removing any impediments the Development Team faces during a Sprint.
Without a project manager, who handles conflict in a Scrum team?
The Scrum Master plays an important role in facilitating team conflict resolution. However, being a self-organizing team, the team itself is expected to manage and resolve conflicts.
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