Scrum Master vs. Project Manager: The Similarities & the Differences
We are often asked about the difference between a scrum master and project manager in our scrum and project management training. While this might not be a difficult question for professionals who have spent considerable time in the domain, it sure looks confusing for young professionals. The question also troubles freshers, who are planning to build their career in project management.
In this article, we clear these doubts and will discuss questions like:
- * Who is a Scrum Master?
- * What are the Scrum Master’s roles and responsibilities?
- * What Scrum Master’s do not do?
- * Who are Project Managers?
- * What are the roles of Project Managers?
Along with this, we will also discuss the similarities and differences between the two roles.
Let’s start by understanding the two roles in detail.
The Scrum Master
Who is a Scrum Master?
A scrum master is a person who is responsible for ensuring that the Scrum framework is being implemented properly by the scrum team. He does so by promoting and supporting the team, as defined in the Scrum guide. Scrum is a framework, and scrum masters make sure the team understands what scrum is. It is the job of Scrum master to make sure that the team enacts the scrum principles, rules, and values.
Roles & Responsibilities of Scrum Master
Scrum Master is a servant/leader who offers his/her support to the product manager. The duties of Scrum Master generally includes:
- * Helping the product manager to manage the product backlog effectively
- * Helping in communicating product needs to the development team
- * Ensuring that the product manager knows how to manage the product backlog
- * Facilitating Scrum events
- * Coaching the development team to understand and follow scrum rules
- * Helping in removing roadblocks to the team’s progress
- * Assisting in maintaining team dynamics and delivering high –value results
- * Contributing to the implementation of the scrum on an organizational level
What do Scrum Masters not do?
A scrum master’s roles can be more aligned to that of a coach, and he/she does not pay a lot of attention to the day-to-day activities. Scrum Masters do not perform tasks like:
- * Creating and maintaining business cases
- * Addressing changes and change requests
- * Solely designing the project plans
- * Gauging team progress and quality