As an IT consultant, programmer, or project manager, you know this: Companies are increasingly relying on agile working methods. And that creates new roles and jobs. A sought-after expert is the Scrum Master. What makes his work so special?

Short definition: What is a Scrum Master?

The Scrum Master takes on a role in a Scrum team. Its main task is to mediate, moderate, and coach between the various team members. He also ensures that the Scrum rules are adhered to.

What is Scrum?

Before we go into more detail about the role of the Scrum Master, we need a brief explanation of what Scrum means.

Scrum is not an abbreviation for a longer word. Instead, the inventors Hirotaka Takeuchi and Ikijiro Nonakadas had the arranged scrum in rugby in mind – this is called “scrum” in English.

In rugby, teams receive instructions from their coach, but they have to during the game the athletes organize themselves as small units and quickly apply tactics. This is also what Scrum, as a form of agile project management, is about: The goal is outlined, there are many steps to be taken with small, flexible solutions on the way to fulfillment. however, Scrum is not the ultimate answer. In practice, it has been shown that many companies start with Scrum teaching and tailor it individually over time.

What positions and roles are there in Scrum?

There are three important roles in Scrum:

• the Scrum Master
• the Product Owner
• the team, for example, a software development team

Scrum or the agile process is a component of lean management or lean development (which also includes the lean startup method). A core element is the short, repetitive development steps – the so-called sprints.

Is a Scrum Master a project manager?

No. A project manager is used in classically organized projects (for example using the waterfall method), but not in agile developments based on Scrum.

There are many technical overlaps between Scrum Master and Project Manager (project manager), but there are also some differences. A few examples:

• The project manager distributes the tasks to the team members. In agile development, the team members look for their own tasks, the Scrum Master is there to advise.
• Time, budget, and quality – these things are determined by a project manager. In a Scrum process, the Product Owner takes on this task. The Scrum Master supports him in fulfilling the goals.
• A project manager often plays the fire brigade and has to extinguish all trouble spots in a project. The Scrum Master, on the other hand, helps the team members to resolve errors and problems independently.
• When it comes to communication, he is at the top: the project manager. Not so the Scrum Master. He ensures that the hierarchies remain flat and that all those involved exchange information directly with one another.

That means: In Scrum, the tasks of a project manager are distributed among several people – the Scrum Master, the Product Owner, and the team.

Scrum Master vs. Product Owner: What are the differences?

Like the Scrum Master, the Product Owner (PO) has a role in the Scrum process, which has various tasks. Many of them are similar to that of a product manager and project leader.

That means that a product owner has the economic success of a product or the product vision in mind. To this end, he defines, among other things, the product properties and prioritizes them.

The Scrum Master ensures that the team can meet the requirements without leading the team. Instead, he acts as a moderator and coach (which is why the Scrum Master is also known as an agile coach), which is a link between development and the product owner.

In agencies that carry out commissioned work for customers, a product owner is a person at the client. He gives the direction in the form of the product backlog. The Scrum Master sits in the agency and mediates between the team (internal) and the PO (external).

What are the tasks of a Scrum Master?

According to the Scrum Guide, the Scrum Master is a “servant leader”. He leads the team through the Scrum process and serves the main goal – the agile development of a product that customers should love. For this to be successful, Scrum Masters have to complete these tasks, among other things:

• Introduction of Scrum as an agility method
• Organization of the Scrum -Meetings
• Strengthening communication within the development team
• Protecting the team from so-called impediments (obstacles and disruptions)
• Support with self-organization and learning of personal responsibility
• Close exchange with the product owner and other stakeholders
• Monitoring the Scrum process so that everyone adheres to it properly
• Further training of the team so that it can do the Scrum process and its work better
• Coordination with other scrum masters in the company to advance agile management as a whole

Put simply, this means: The Scrum Master ensures that the foundations are created with it a highly efficient team can deliver the best possible quality. He acts according to the motto “helping people to help themselves”.

What skills should a Scrum Master have?

If you want to become a Scrum Master, you need soft skills. Understandable: In the daily work of an agile coach, a lot revolves around interpersonal exchange.

You should have these skills in total:

• You know Scrum and other agile methods
• Many years of experience in software development
• Strong in communication
• Very good at solving conflicts and problems
• High empathy and best knowledge of human nature
• Independent, committed work
• Organization talented with first-class time management
• Negotiation skills and confident demeanor
• Inquisitive and constantly striving for further education
• T-Shaped Skills: You are a mixture of generalist and specialist

Training, studies, certificate: How do you become a Scrum Master?

Scrum Master is neither an apprenticeship nor a course of study. If you would like to have this job, you have to attend appropriate training courses in which you will receive a certificate as a Scrum Master at the end. These Scrum Master Certificates are available from the TÜV Academy or other training centers with a TÜV certificate.

You must have several years of professional experience with project work and team management. Because in practice the (agile) development of a product tends to proceed differently than in theory.

Many team leaders, project managers, and IT consultants have had training and certification in recent years completed as a Scrum Master. Why? Because the agile way of working is gaining ground in companies and experts are being sought accordingly.

If you are a Certified Scrum Master, you should stay tuned and attend advanced seminars. For example, at Scrum.org it is possible to obtain the title “Professional Scrum Master II”.

Salary: How much does a Scrum Master earn?

The agile coaches are in demand. They usually work for small IT service providers, agencies, medium-sized software companies, or the digital and development departments of large corporations. Accordingly, there is a large wage gap, which is also influenced by factors such as location, professional experience, and bonus payments.

The starting salary of a Scrum Master is around 3,500 to 4,500 euros gross per month or 42,000 to 54,000 euros gross per year. Top earners have gross monthly salaries of around 7,000 to 8,000 euros (84,000 to 96,000 euros per year).

The further career as an agile coach

The Scrum Master’s job is very difficult varied and rarely gets boring. There are always new challenges, projects, customers, team members, and technologies that you have to deal with.

On the one hand, you can try to get better in your job by honing your skills and obtaining further certificates acquire. On the other hand, as a Scrum Master, you have the opportunity to take on other positions. The path from Scrum Master to Product Owner is not far, as is the classic project or team leader.

If you want to improve your salary, you can take the plunge into self-employment and work as a freelance Scrum Master. Such freelancers are currently in great demand.

As you can see: As a Scrum Master you have many options and career opportunities. Good luck with it!