What kind of role is a scrum master? What is Scrum in Agile Development?

1. What is “Scrum development”, one of the agile development methods?

Agile development is a method of repeating development in a short span and flexibly responding to changes and additions of client requirements.

Scrum development is one of agile development, and a team called Scrum is formed, and the product owner (responsible for delivery), scrum master (support for the entire team), etc. play their respective roles and plan together with the development team. It is a method to proceed.

By repeating the development process in a short period of time, we constantly ” visualize ” the situation, find problems, and create deliveries while making improvements.

1.1 Flow of Scrum development and how to proceed

In Scrum development, system development is carried out by repeating a series of processes (usually 2 to 4 weeks) called “design-> development-> testing-> improvement” called sprint .

-Manage tasks in the product backlog (description of product functions in story format) with 4 statuses, and develop high-priority tasks from Todo (incomplete) tasks by sprint.

・ Check the progress in the daily scrum (daily meeting by development members).

-Demo the product developed in the sprint review and check whether it meets the functional requirements and whether there is any improvement.

After one sprint, the client evaluates the product and development team.

Development of a team that divides roles! What is the difference between Scrum and Agile development?

2. What is a scrum master?

In Scrum development, we form a team called “Scrum”. It is composed of the following members, each of whom plays a role.

◆ Product owner

A product owner is the person who has the final say and responsibility for the product you create .
You are responsible for keeping up to date with a to-do list called the “Product Backlog”.

◆ Scrum Master

As the leader of the Scrum team, the Scrum Master will support the development members and provide explanations to outsiders to understand the value of Scrum development.
It’s often confused with the product manager of waterfall development.
Scrummaster does not make top-down decisions or work orders, helping product owners and development team members keep their plans running smoothly .

◆ Development team members

In waterfall type development, roles such as blog rammer, tester, outline designer, and detailed designer are decided, but in Scrum development, all the people involved in development are grouped as “team members”.
We don’t divide by role because we focus on providing maximum value as a team .

3. [Practice] Role and work content of Scrum Master

The role of the Scrum Master is to help the Scrum team understand the theory and values ​​of Scrum and to put it into practice correctly.

As the leader of the so-called development team, he is responsible for keeping the plan running smoothly. We will create an environment where development members can perform tasks efficiently, check them, and manage them so that they can complete all tasks within the period.

The specific work contents are the following three.

3.1 Support development members

In order to be able to carry out a series of processes (sprints) of “design-> development-> test-> improvement” in Scrum development without delay , we advise development members on Scrum’s theory, way of thinking, approach, etc. Has a role to support.

If there is an obstacle (problem) that occurs during development, it is my job to work on solving it and to create an environment for the plan to proceed smoothly.

3.2 Communicating the value and theory of Scrum development to project stakeholders

After understanding the theory and significance of Scrum development, we will explain the benefits and values ​​of Scrum development to outsiders involved in the plan.
You need to communicate closely with your customers and always think about what you can do to make your plan a success.

3.3 Support product owners

The product owner is the person in charge of development who performs the work necessary to create a product that meets the needs of the client. Create a product backlog (a story of product functions) and manage the progress of tasks and schedules.

The Scrummaster must also support the product owner in Scrum development to ensure that the plan goes smoothly .

4. The responsibility of the Scrum Master

The responsibilities that the Scrummaster undertakes are defined as follows:

Reference source: Scrum Master ｜ Agile Alliance

It is important to play a role with these things in mind.

4.1 Scrum development case

From here, we will introduce the specific roles and working styles of Scrum Masters and how to proceed with Scrum development in the field through three cases.

◆ Retty smartphone app development team

The story as an example of Scrum introduction in Retty is introduced.

Although he tried to switch from waterfall development to agile development, some people said that it did not penetrate well.

Retty explains how agile was permeated and helped improve team productivity and satisfaction. There is also a story from the scrum master at the site, so it is summarized in a very easy-to-understand manner.

Source: Scrum implementation procedure learned from examples-What Retty did to avoid task personalization and improve team development capabilities | Engineer Hub

◆ Large-scale scrum case in recruiting lifestyle

When doing a large-scale Scrum, it is necessary to have the understanding of the person responsible for the entire business unit and the understanding of many other stakeholders. The cases unique to such large-scale Scrum are summarized in an easy-to-understand manner.

Source: Large Scrum to Start Small | SlideShare

◆ Case study at Pixiv Inc.

This is an example of Pixiv’s team building.

For Scrum, the rules of the framework are described in the Scrum Guide, but there are many people who can not move it as they want. It will be a material that I would like such people to see. You can understand how to incorporate Scrum as a whole.

Source: Pixiv’s first! Team Building for Large Teams | SlideShare

5. Frequently Asked Questions / Q & A about the role of Scrummaster

We have compiled a list of frequently asked questions and Q & A about the role of Scrum Master.

5.1 What is the difference between agile development and waterfall development in the first place?

While agile development is a method of repeating small processes of “design-> development-> test-> improvement” , waterfall development is a process of “analysis-> design-> development-> test-> maintenance”. It is a method to execute in order from .

The merits of agile development are that it is possible to respond flexibly and flexibly, and that development efficiency and speed are good.
Since implementation and testing are repeated for each function, there are advantages such as no need for modification, improvement of development efficiency, and easy progress because it proceeds while communicating with customers.

The advantage of waterfall development is that the processes are clearly separated, so even inexperienced engineers can easily participate because they can concentrate on the work of the person in charge. If you have clear goals such as specifications and issues, select this development method.

What is the difference between agile development and waterfall development? Can they be used together?

5.2 What is the difference between the roles of Scrum Master and Project Manager?

The difference between the roles of Scrummaster and Project Manager lies in ” Do you have a perspective that maximizes the strength of your team in the long run? “

A term defined by Scrum is impediment (obstacle) . The main mission is to move to remove this, and if you find a failure, encourage the entire development team to resolve it, or list it to make it easier to deal with the failure. It will be the role of the master.

The main mission of the project manager is to “make a plan and make steady progress”, and it is a person who takes responsibility for the short-term goal of the project rather than a long-term strategy, and this point is Scrum It makes a big difference between the roles of the master and the project manager.

5.3 Do I need a qualification to become a Scrum Master?

There are various qualifications related to agile development and scrum master, such as ” certified scrum master “, ” PSM “, and ” LSM “, but there is no national qualification, and even if you do not have a qualification, you cannot become a scrum master. Is possible.

However, acquiring qualifications is effective for improving skills, and depending on the company, there are qualifications that can be targeted for salary increases / promotions or can be utilized in the field. Therefore, there will be no loss in acquiring it.

6. Summary

This time, I explained the role of Scrum Master in Scrum development and the difference from waterfall development, which is often compared. The work of the Scrum Master is diverse and also a difficult role.
However, as a leader of the development team, it can be said to be an indispensable person to support team members and product owners and lead to the success of the plan. We hope that you read this article carefully and use it to facilitate your planning.