What is a Scrum Master and How to Become One?

 

The role of a scrum master is key to managing agile projects. If you want to know more about the methodologies to control the relationship with your clients, you’re in the right place. 

Let’s review what the tasks of a scrum master are and how you can become one. We assure you that once you discover the scrum methodology you won’t want to go back. Are you ready to manage your projects more efficiently?

What is the scrum method?

Scrum is an agile way of working in which certain practices are applied to teamwork in order to obtain the best possible result from a project. 

Although the scrum method was originally intended for software development, it can be applied to any type of project.

In the scrum methodology, work is organised in periodic and regular deliveries of the final product. These are organised in short cycles (iterations), ranging from 2 to 4 weeks, at which point a complete result is delivered to the client. 

In addition, the team holds a daily meeting of 15 minutes to synchronise tasks and answer 3 questions:

• What have you done since the last meeting? 
• What are you going to work on today to meet your objectives?
• Are there any difficulties to complete these goals?

On the last day of the iteration, the entire team meets to review how the process has gone. This meeting (called sprint) consists of two parts:

• In the first part, the finished work is reviewed. This can be for internal purposes or serve as a double-check before the work is forwarded to the client.
• In the second part, the team analyses how they’ve worked and what can be changed to improve the result and their productivity.

The scrum master is the person in charge of ensuring that the objectives marked in the sprint are achieved.

What is a scrum master?

A scrum master is the leader of agile teams. They take care of eliminating the obstacles that the team may have to carry out their tasks and ensuring that the objectives set in the sprint are achieved.

The scrum master is responsible for assuring that the guidelines set out in the scrum model are followed. At the same time, they’re also responsible for preparing the product backlog and sprint backlog. 

Therefore, we could say that the role of the scrum master is to intermediate between the client and the scrum team. So the role would be both practical, in terms of working with the team, and managerial in terms of handling the wishes of the client.

Tasks of a scrum master

The tasks of a scrum master include different aspects but the main one is to ensure that the agile principles and rules of the scrum method are followed.

To do this, the scrum master should prepare a list of requirements set by the client to get ready for the next iteration. Besides, they take care of arranging and managing the daily meetings and sprints. 

 

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We could also say they have the role of a team coach, giving them the tools to manage their work. The role isn’t based on giving answers but on asking the right questions so everyone can individually find the solution. 

A scrum master is responsible for the final result that’s delivered to the client. 

Interruptions are one of the biggest threats to productivity. That’s why the scrum master is responsible for preventing bottlenecks. This way, the team can stay focused and do its job as smoothly as possible.

The scrum methodology may seem a bit complex at first glance but it’s worth introducing it to your business. To do so, it might be necessary to complete training in agile methodologies. 

How to become a scrum master

If you’re thinking about becoming a scrum master, besides completing training, there are some skills you should have. 

1. Organisational skills and perseverance

These are fundamental to successfully leading a team as you’ll have to pay attention to many aspects without losing focus. 

2. Empathy and social skills

These skills are needed to deal with both the client and the different members of the agile team.

3. The required training

To introduce you to the scrum methodology, there are several online courses that can serve as a first step. Have a look at the available courses on platforms such as Udemy or Linkedin Learning. 

However, if you’re looking for more in-depth training to become a certified scrum master, you’ll need to go to a centre where you can take courses and certification exams. 

On the website Scrum.org, you can consult a list of international centres that offer this training either in person or remotely. 

4. A certification

To validate someone’s scrum knowledge, a scale is used to indicate the academic levels in points or PDAs (one PDA point is equal to one hour of instructor-led learning).

• Level 1 corresponds to a basic technical level (<120 PDAs). This means you’re able to successfully participate in scrum projects.
• Level 2 is an expert level (<200 PDAs) and implies additional knowledge in the implementation of the agile methodology.
• Level 3 corresponds to an advanced level (>200 PDAs) and implies you have excellent knowledge in agile practices.

Depending on the training you choose, you’ll be able to get certified or accredited as scrum manager. Accreditation involves taking the exam online without supervision, while certification means taking a supervised exam.

Therefore, we could say that certification gives more guarantees than accreditation. However, it all depends on what your goals are. What’s certain is that you’ll notice the benefits of implementing the scrum methodology to manage your projects.