The 3 Scrum Roles and Responsibilities Explained

Scrum, a type of project management methodology, has many fans. It’s the most commonly used Agile methodology, with 63 percent of Agile adopters using Scrum or a Scrum-related hybrid, according to a Digital.ai survey [1]. The three roles you can expect to find on a Scrum team are Scrum Master, product owner, and development team, each with responsibilities for making a Scrum project successful. Explore each career’s responsibilities and average salary.

What is a Scrum Master?

A Scrum Master is the person responsible for implementing Scrum, setting sprints, coordinating between parties, and acting as a coach and leader for all team members. The average US base salary for a Scrum Master in Scrum is $103,955 [2].

What are the three Scrum roles?

A Scrum team consists of three roles: the Scrum Master, the product owner, and the development team. While a project only has one Scrum Master and one product owner, you will generally have several development team members. 

Scrum teams are small by design. The Scrum Guide recommends 10 or fewer total members to ensure optimal communication and productivity [3]. Explore the responsibilities and average salaries of each of these roles.

1. Scrum Master

Average annual base salary in the US (Glassdoor): $103,955 [2]

As a Scrum Master, you will be responsible for ensuring that a Scrum team is operating as effectively as possible with Scrum values. This means you will keep the team on track, plan and lead meetings, and work out any obstacles the team might face. You might also work in a larger role within an organization to help it incorporate Scrum concepts into its work. Because they are both a leader and a behind-the-scenes supporter, they are often described as the “servant leader” of the Scrum team.

Scrum Master responsibilities

Scrum can look different from organization to organization and team to team, making the specific tasks of a Scrum Master varied. Broadly, however, a Scrum Master might have the following responsibilities:

• Facilitate daily Scrum meetings (also called “daily standups”). 

• Lead sprint planning meetings.

• Conduct “retrospective” reviews to see what went well and what can be improved for the following sprint.

• Keep a pulse on team members through individual meetings or other means of communication.

• Manage obstacles that arise for the team by communicating with stakeholders outside of the team.

Read more: 7 In-Demand Scrum Master Certifications

2. Product owner

Average annual base salary in the US (Glassdoor): $106,768 [4]

As a product owner, you will ensure the Scrum team aligns with overall product goals. You will understand the business needs of the product, like customer expectations and market trends. Because you understand how the Scrum team fits into bigger-picture goals, product owners usually stay in touch with product managers and other stakeholders outside the team. 

Product owner responsibilities

Product owners might find themselves with the following responsibilities:

• Manage the product backlog by ordering work by priority.

• Set the product vision for the team.

• Communicate with external stakeholders and translate their needs to the team.

• Make sure the team is focused on hitting product needs through communication and evaluating progress.

3. Development team

As a member of the development team, you will be doing hands-on work to complete tasks in a Scrum sprint. This means development team members can be computer engineers, designers, writers, data analysts, or any other role needed to reach sprint goals. The development team doesn’t just wait for orders; they usually collaborate to map out goals and plans for achieving them.

Development team responsibilities

Not all development team members will always have the same responsibilities. For example, if you’re updating a website, you might have a front-end engineer, user experience (UX) designer, copywriter, and marketing professional all working on the same Scrum team. The responsibilities of a development team will also depend on the end goals of the Scrum team. Broadly speaking, however, you might find that a development team can be tasked with the following:

• Help in sprint planning and goal setting.

• Lend expertise to program, design, or improve products.

• Use data to find best practices for development.

• Test products and prototypes, plus other forms of quality assurance.

Learn more about Scrum roles on Coursera

Scrum is a popular way to organize workflow and involves three main careers: the role of Scrum Master, product owner, and development team member. Whether you’re an aspiring Scrum Master or trying to incorporate Scrum principles into your team, learning more about the project management methodology is the first step to getting started. If you’re looking for a place to start, check out the Google Project Management: Professional Certificate. A course dedicated to Agile and Scrum concepts can provide a solid foundation to begin.

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