The 3 Roles in Scrum

7 min readFeb 13, 2023

There are three roles in Scrum to ensure that the project is delivered efficiently and effectively. Each role has distinct responsibilities and accountability, and they work together to achieve the project goals.

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Having these three distinct roles helps to ensure that all aspects of the project are properly managed and that there is a clear division of responsibilities and accountability.

Product Owner

The Product Owner is responsible for defining and prioritizing the product backlog (a list of features and requirements for the product) and ensuring that the team is working on the most valuable items. They are the voice of the customer and make decisions about what should be included in the product.

Defining and prioritizing the product backlog: The Product Owner is responsible for creating a list of features and requirements for the product and ensuring that the most valuable items are at the top of the list.
Being the voice of the customer: The Product Owner acts as the primary point of contact between the development team and the customer. They ensure that the team has a clear understanding of the customer’s needs and expectations and that the end product meets these requirements.
Making decisions: The Product Owner makes decisions about what should be included in the product and what the priority should be. They are the ultimate decision-maker and are responsible for ensuring that the team is working on the right things.
Managing the backlog: The Product Owner is responsible for maintaining the product backlog and ensuring that it is up-to-date. They add, remove, and update items in the backlog as needed.
Collaborating with the development team: The Product Owner works closely with the development team to understand the feasibility of the product backlog items and to provide clarifications and answers to any questions the team may have.
Accepting or rejecting work results: The Product Owner is responsible for accepting or rejecting the work delivered by the development team at the end of each sprint. They ensure that the work meets the customer’s requirements and that the product is on track.

Scrum Master

The Scrum Master is responsible for facilitating the Scrum process and removing any obstacles that the team may face. They ensure that the team is following Scrum principles and practices, and help the team to continuously improve.

Facilitating the Scrum process: The Scrum Master is responsible for ensuring that the Scrum framework is followed and that the team is adhering to the rules and practices of Scrum.
Removing obstacles: The Scrum Master helps the team to remove any obstacles that may be hindering their progress. They work with the team and other stakeholders to resolve any issues and keep the project moving forward.
Supporting the team: The Scrum Master acts as a coach and mentor for the team, providing guidance and support to help the team to reach their goals.
Protecting the team: The Scrum Master protects the team from external distractions and interruptions, ensuring that the team has the time and space they need to focus on delivering the product.
Improving processes: The Scrum Master helps the team to continuously improve by facilitating retrospectives and suggesting changes to the Scrum process as needed.
Promoting Scrum values: The Scrum Master is responsible for promoting the values of Scrum, such as transparency, inspection, and adaptation, and ensuring that the team is following these values.
Enforcing rules: The Scrum Master is responsible for enforcing the rules of Scrum and ensuring that everyone involved in the project is aware of and following these rules.

Development Team

The Development Team is responsible for delivering the product. They are self-organizing and cross-functional, meaning they have all the necessary skills to complete the work without relying on others outside the team. The Development Team works closely with the Product Owner to understand the requirements and to estimate the effort required to complete each item in the product backlog.

Delivering the product: The Development Team is responsible for delivering a potentially shippable product increment at the end of each sprint.
Self-organizing: The Development Team is self-organizing, meaning they have the flexibility to determine how best to complete the work required to deliver the product.
Cross-functional: The Development Team is cross-functional, meaning they have all the necessary skills to complete the work without relying on others outside the team.
Collaborating with the Product Owner: The Development Team works closely with the Product Owner to understand the requirements and to estimate the effort required to complete each item in the product backlog.
Estimating work: The Development Team is responsible for estimating the amount of effort required to complete each item in the product backlog.
Committing to work: At the start of each sprint, the Development Team commits to completing a specific set of items from the product backlog.
Delivering work results: At the end of each sprint, the Development Team delivers the work they have completed to the Product Owner for acceptance or rejection.
Continuous improvement: The Development Team continuously improves by retrospecting and suggesting changes to the process and their approach to delivery.

Working together

The Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Development Team work together to deliver the product in Scrum.

The Product Owner and Development Team work closely together to ensure that the team has a clear understanding of the customer’s requirements and that the product being delivered meets these requirements. The Product Owner provides the Development Team with a prioritized list of items from the product backlog, and the Development Team is responsible for delivering the work. The Product Owner also accepts or rejects the work delivered by the Development Team at the end of each sprint.
The Scrum Master acts as a coach and mentor for the Development Team, helping them to remove obstacles and achieve their goals. The Scrum Master also helps the Development Team to continuously improve by facilitating retrospectives and suggesting changes to the process as needed. The Development Team is responsible for delivering the product and following the rules of Scrum, and the Scrum Master is responsible for enforcing these rules and ensuring that everyone is following the Scrum framework.
The Product Owner and Scrum Master work together to ensure that the team is focused on delivering the most valuable items from the product backlog. The Product Owner provides the Scrum Master with information about the customer’s requirements and priorities, and the Scrum Master helps the Product Owner to ensure that the Development Team is working on the right things. The Scrum Master also helps the Product Owner to remove obstacles that may be hindering progress and to make decisions about the product backlog.

Overall, the three roles in Scrum are interdependent and work together to ensure that the product is delivered in a timely and efficient manner. The Product Owner provides the vision for the product, the Scrum Master ensures that the process is followed, and the Development Team is responsible for delivering the work.

What can go wrong?

Like anything, things can go wrong. From experience, here is a list of some things to look out for.

Misaligned goals: If the Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Development Team have different goals or priorities, it can lead to misunderstandings and conflicts that hinder progress.
Lack of communication: If the Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Development Team do not communicate effectively, important information may be missed, leading to errors and delays in delivery.
Resistance to change: If team members are resistant to change and unwilling to adopt the Scrum framework, it can lead to frustration and a lack of progress.
Unclear responsibilities: If the roles and responsibilities of the Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Development Team are not clearly defined, it can lead to confusion and delays in delivery.
Inadequate resources: If the team lacks the necessary resources, such as time, budget, or personnel, it can impact their ability to deliver the product.

Avoiding things going wrong

To address these challenges, it is important for the team to regularly communicate and work together to align their goals and priorities.

The Scrum Master can play a key role in facilitating communication and resolving conflicts.

It is important for the team to continuously reflect on their processes and make changes as needed to improve their performance.

Best size for a Scrum Team

The “Two Pizza” rule is a commonly used reference to describe the ideal size of a Scrum team. The idea is that a Scrum team should be small enough that it can be fed with two pizzas. The size of the team is limited because larger teams can lead to communication problems, slow decision-making, and reduced collaboration.

You should be able to feed a Scrum Team with two pizzas (5–9 people)

According to this rule, a Scrum team should have between 5 to 9 members. This size allows for a diverse range of skills and perspectives, while still allowing for effective communication and collaboration. Additionally, a team of this size is typically small enough to be agile and flexible, allowing them to quickly adapt to changes and deliver high-quality results.

In general, a Scrum team that is too small may struggle to deliver a complex product, while a team that is too large may become unwieldy and inefficient. The “Two Pizza” rule provides a simple, memorable way to think about the ideal size of a Scrum team.

Wrapping Up

In Scrum, the 3 key roles are the Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Development Team. The Product Owner is responsible for defining and prioritizing the product backlog. The Scrum Master facilitates the Scrum process and removes obstacles for the team. The Development Team is responsible for delivering the product.

These roles work closely together to ensure the delivery of a valuable product.

Further articles explore the 3 roles of Product Owner, Scrum Master and the Development Team in more detail.