Scrum Master
The accountability responsible for establishing Scrum, coaching the team, and removing impediments, while serving the Scrum Team, Product Owner, and organization.
What it means
The Scrum Master is not a project manager and does not assign tasks. According to the Scrum Guide, they are a servant leader accountable for the Scrum Team's effectiveness by helping everyone understand Scrum theory and practice.
For the Scrum Team, the Scrum Master coaches self-management and cross-functionality, helps focus on high-value Increments that meet the Definition of Done, and removes impediments to progress. For the Product Owner, they help with effective Product Backlog management and stakeholder collaboration.
For the organization, the Scrum Master leads, trains, and coaches the adoption of Scrum, plans implementations, and helps stakeholders and employees understand and enact an empirical approach to complex work.
Common mistakes
A common mistake is treating the Scrum Master as an administrative note-taker; the role is fundamentally about change agency and continuous improvement, not ceremony logistics.
Example
When two Developers are blocked waiting on a third-party API key, the Scrum Master escalates directly to unblock them the same day.