Spearheading agile: the role of the scrum master in agile projects

Abstract

Scrum innovated the role of the scrum master in software engineering. The scrum master is envisioned in agile literature as the “servant leader” who serves the team in a multitude of different ways, which include promoting scrum, facilitating the team’s functioning, and removing obstacles. However, empirical studies focusing on the role of the scrum master in practice are scarce. To address this gap, a Grounded Theory study with a mixed methods approach was carried out which included semi-structured interviews with 39 software practitioners and a questionnaire with 47 respondents. In this study, we present and describe the scrum master’s role in agile projects in terms of (a) the grounded theory of the role of the scrum master which involves everyday activities of facilitating, mentoring, negotiating, process adapting, coordinating, and protecting; (b) the varying involvement of the scrum master in selected agile practices carried out by the team; and (c) a positive association between the presence of the scrum master and the frequency with which agile practices are carried out by the team. This study presents for the first time a multifaceted study of the multiple dimensions of the scrum master role and will enable practitioners to better manage expectations of this role in practice.

Appendix

1.1 Part A- Interview Questions

During the interview, research participants were requested to use the same project which was used to fill the online pre-interview questionnaire. This list is purely indicative and questions were modified or dropped depending on the flow of the conversation in the interviews.

• 1. Please tell me briefly about your professional background and how you were introduced to agile and scrum?

• 2. Could you give a brief background of the project/product and describe your role on the project/product?

• 3. Was the team self-organizing? What steps were taken to encourage the team to be self-organizing?

• 4. Was there any conflict in the team and how was it resolved? Please give an example.

• 5. Were there any obstacles in the way of team functioning/performance? If yes, how were they resolved?

• 6. Who was responsible for negotiating with stakeholders/vendors/customer representatives? How was the negotiation process done?

• 7. Were there any distractions to the teams functioning? How were distractions dealt with? Please give an example.

• 8. Were some of scrum practices adapted or changed to fit your project context? E.g. Using Kanban methods in conjunction with scrum.

• 9. Were the stakeholders and team well versed in scrum practices?

• 10. Could you give example of a time when you provided guidance to the team and ensured adherence to agile/scrum practices?

• 11. Were there any occasions when you had to either make the team understand the strategic business context or make stakeholders understand technical vocabulary?

• 12. Is there anything you would like to add?

1.2 Part B- Supplementary Tables

Table 4 Results of the Pearson Chi-Square analysis between the presence of the scrum master in the project and extent of involvement of the scrum master in agile practices

Table 5 Results of the Pearson Chi-Square analysis between the presence of the scrum master in the project and the fequency with which an agile practice is carried out by the team

Table 6 This data is based on participants who spoke about the role of a scrum master on their team. For example, a participant who is a developer talking about a scrum master on the project

Table 7 Calculation of the Percentage of Scrum Masters performing an everyday activity: This data is aggregate of participant data (17 scrum masters) and referred data (9 scrum masters)