What Is Scrum Team?

By Susan May

Today’s world is highly competitive, and companies that are able to roll out high value products quickly are the ones that have the leading edge over their peers. For products where time and quality are of the essence, Agile and Scrum methods score over traditional waterfall project management processes.If you’re in the field of software development, you’ve probably already heard of Agile. Being agile is all about being flexible and having the ability to adapt to change. Scrum is a powerful Agile framework, which, as captured in the 14th Annual State of Agile report, is used by a majority (over 58%) of Agile companies. In this article, we will talk about the structure of a Scrum team, how it operates and the roles and responsibilities of each of the members of the Scrum team.What is Scrum? One of the most popular Agile frameworks, Scrum is—as Scrum.org puts it— ‘a better way of building products. A lightweight framework that’s very simple to understand but equally difficult to get right, Scrum helps to deliver quality products in the quickest time possible, optimizing resources and ensuring customer satisfaction. It works well for complex problems in an environment where the requirements are volatile and keep evolving.Scrum is planned around step-by-step improvements that continue through the course of the development, building on feedback given by the customer, stakeholders and the team at every stage and refining the product increments to create high value.What is a Scrum Team? Structure of a Scrum TeamA Scrum team consists of a group of people, typically three to nine members as suggested by the Scrum guide, who are cross-functional and self-managing. As far as possible, the people within a Scrum team can work collaboratively to deliver the product increment, without needing to dip into outside resources to complete the iteration. The team consists of The Scrum Master, the leader and facilitator who enables progress of work. The Product Owner, who is the customer proxy on the team; and The Developers Each member of the team has clearly defined responsibilities and must work together with transparency and accountability to ensure success.How does a Scrum Team Operate?The Scrum Guide, the Bible of all things Scrum, prescribes a repetitive and iterative workflow that is executed through time-boxed durations called sprints . As the work progresses, the product is continually refined through dedicated processes set up for improvement. Scrum follows a set of events and ceremonies, and every Scrum team must adhere to the Scrum values, principles and processes that are laid out in the Scrum Guide.Scrum does not follow a rigid set of rules, and the framework and implementation can be tailored to suit the needs of the organization. In order to be successful, the team must keep clear mandates for communication, maintain transparency in processes, and focus on continual improvement from one iteration to the next. 1. The Product OwnerThe Product Owner is the voice of the customer on the team and upholds the product vision. He or she shapes the product, guiding the priorities and determining what tasks the team will work on during each iteration. It is the product owner who determines what features the product will have, and the rest of the team members follow the guidance set by the PO. POs continuously groom and maintain the product backlog items, make the final decision on priorities, and ensures that all the members of the team have clarity on product features and goals. In order to perform to the best of their ability, the Product Owner must have a sound understanding of everything to do with the product, with industry needs, market demand and customer requirements being at the forefront of this understanding. They should do all they can to drive relentless improvement and maximize the end value of the product, creating customer delight. Roles and responsibilities of Product OwnersProduct Owners play a critical role in the success of the project. They hold key responsibilities that include the following: Giving clarity to the team on the product backlog items (PBIs) Ordering the list of tasks, prioritizing the Backlog items so that useful features are delivered quickly and efficiently Keeping the focus on the requirements of the customers Acting as a bridge between the stakeholders, customers and the team Making the final decision on the features that will be included in the final product Deciding when to release the product increments and ship the final product2. The Scrum MasterThe scrum master is the Scrum coach, guide and mentor on the team, making sure that the values, principles and processes of Agile are adhered to correctly. As the captain of the Scrum ship, the Scrum master optimizes the team’s workflows, removing any impediments to progress and facilitating smooth processes. The Scrum Master schedules the various Scrum events and makes sure that the required people attend each meeting. Roles and responsibilities of the Scrum MasterScrum Masters are central to the practice and correct implementation of Scrum by the team and across the organization. Their responsibilities include the following: Removing any obstacles or blocks that might hinder the team’s or any individual’s progress Fostering an environment that is supportive and collaborative, so that each member of the team can bring out their best work Protecting the team from any outside distractions and maintain focus on the tasks at hand Continually striving for improvements, facilitating clear and transparent communication without any ambiguity Acting as a Scrum coach, reminding the team of Scrum values and principles and ensuring they are followed Facilitating clear communication between the Development Team and the Product Owner. 3. The DevelopersThe Developers, usually comprising five to seven members, is a close-knit and self-organizing group of multitaskers, whose work is to deliver the incremental value laid down by the product owner for each sprint. They do this by working in short iterations called sprints and are jointly accountable for delivering the final product to the client with all the features that have been committed to the client. The team drives the Sprint planning and commits on timelines based on their capabilities.The scrum team is non-hierarchical; that is, all the members operate on the same level. Even the Scrum Master is not a leader in the traditional sense but is someone who works for the team. The team manages its own work and collaborates through daily Stand-ups, Sprint planning meetings, reviews and retrospectives.A team should never be too large or too small but should have members whose skillsets and expertise are sufficient to drive the smooth completion of the work, without any dependence on outside teams. Roles and responsibilities of the developersThe Developers must undertake these responsibilities: Writing user stories, fleshing out and detailing tasks and breaking down each task into simple action items Distributing these stories and action items among team members Together, calculating the time estimates for completion of tasks Participating in the Daily Scrum, Sprint planning, Sprint reviews and Retrospectives Ensuring that there is smooth communication and collaboration between team members Reporting any obstacles to progress to the Scrum Master Working together to develop the product, incorporating all the features requested by the client through the product owner. A Last Word Geared toward measurable improvement and easily adaptive to changing industry needs, Scrum is a highly collaborative, adaptable methodology that has been proven to work well across industries. Scrum principles inculcate a sense of transparency and accountability and nurture team spirit between the members of the team, paving the way to enhanced productivity and growth. The focus on driving improvements at every stage result in a product of the highest value, delivered to timelines and in accordance with the estimated budget.

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What Is Scrum Team?

By Susan May 06th Aug, 2021

Susan May

Blog

Category: Blog
2410 765

2410 765 06th Aug, 2021

If you’re in the field of software development, you’ve probably already heard of Agile. Being agile is all about being flexible and having the ability to adapt to change. Scrum is a powerful Agile framework, which, as captured in the 14th Annual State of Agile report, is used by a majority (over 58%) of Agile companies.

In this article, we will talk about the structure of a Scrum team, how it operates and the roles and responsibilities of each of the members of the Scrum team.

What is Scrum?

One of the most popular Agile frameworks, Scrum is—as Scrum.org puts it— ‘a better way of building products. A lightweight framework that’s very simple to understand but equally difficult to get right, Scrum helps to deliver quality products in the quickest time possible, optimizing resources and ensuring customer satisfaction. It works well for complex problems in an environment where the requirements are volatile and keep evolving.

Scrum is planned around step-by-step improvements that continue through the course of the development, building on feedback given by the customer, stakeholders and the team at every stage and refining the product increments to create high value.

What is a Scrum Team? Structure of a Scrum Team

A Scrum team consists of a group of people, typically three to nine members as suggested by the Scrum guide, who are cross-functional and self-managing. As far as possible, the people within a Scrum team can work collaboratively to deliver the product increment, without needing to dip into outside resources to complete the iteration.

The team consists of

The Scrum Master, the leader and facilitator who enables progress of work.
The Product Owner, who is the customer proxy on the team; and
The Developers

Each member of the team has clearly defined responsibilities and must work together with transparency and accountability to ensure success. Scrum Team Structure

How does a Scrum Team Operate?

The Scrum Guide, the Bible of all things Scrum, prescribes a repetitive and iterative workflow that is executed through time-boxed durations called sprints . As the work progresses, the product is continually refined through dedicated processes set up for improvement. Scrum follows a set of events and ceremonies, and every Scrum team must adhere to the Scrum values, principles and processes that are laid out in the Scrum Guide.

Scrum does not follow a rigid set of rules, and the framework and implementation can be tailored to suit the needs of the organization. In order to be successful, the team must keep clear mandates for communication, maintain transparency in processes, and focus on continual improvement from one iteration to the next.

1. The Product Owner

The Product Owner is the voice of the customer on the team and upholds the product vision. He or she shapes the product, guiding the priorities and determining what tasks the team will work on during each iteration. It is the product owner who determines what features the product will have, and the rest of the team members follow the guidance set by the PO. POs continuously groom and maintain the product backlog items, make the final decision on priorities, and ensures that all the members of the team have clarity on product features and goals.

In order to perform to the best of their ability, the Product Owner must have a sound understanding of everything to do with the product, with industry needs, market demand and customer requirements being at the forefront of this understanding. They should do all they can to drive relentless improvement and maximize the end value of the product, creating customer delight.

Roles and responsibilities of Product Owners

Product Owners play a critical role in the success of the project. They hold key responsibilities that include the following:

Giving clarity to the team on the product backlog items (PBIs)
Ordering the list of tasks, prioritizing the Backlog items so that useful features are delivered quickly and efficiently
Keeping the focus on the requirements of the customers
Acting as a bridge between the stakeholders, customers and the team
Making the final decision on the features that will be included in the final product
Deciding when to release the product increments and ship the final product

2. The Scrum Master

The scrum master is the Scrum coach, guide and mentor on the team, making sure that the values, principles and processes of Agile are adhered to correctly. As the captain of the Scrum ship, the Scrum master optimizes the team’s workflows, removing any impediments to progress and facilitating smooth processes. The Scrum Master schedules the various Scrum events and makes sure that the required people attend each meeting.

Roles and responsibilities of the Scrum Master

Scrum Masters are central to the practice and correct implementation of Scrum by the team and across the organization. Their responsibilities include the following:

Removing any obstacles or blocks that might hinder the team’s or any individual’s progress
Fostering an environment that is supportive and collaborative, so that each member of the team can bring out their best work
Protecting the team from any outside distractions and maintain focus on the tasks at hand
Continually striving for improvements, facilitating clear and transparent communication without any ambiguity
Acting as a Scrum coach, reminding the team of Scrum values and principles and ensuring they are followed
Facilitating clear communication between the Development Team and the Product Owner.

3. The Developers

The Developers, usually comprising five to seven members, is a close-knit and self-organizing group of multitaskers, whose work is to deliver the incremental value laid down by the product owner for each sprint. They do this by working in short iterations called sprints and are jointly accountable for delivering the final product to the client with all the features that have been committed to the client. The team drives the Sprint planning and commits on timelines based on their capabilities.

The scrum team is non-hierarchical; that is, all the members operate on the same level. Even the Scrum Master is not a leader in the traditional sense but is someone who works for the team. The team manages its own work and collaborates through daily Stand-ups, Sprint planning meetings, reviews and retrospectives.

A team should never be too large or too small but should have members whose skillsets and expertise are sufficient to drive the smooth completion of the work, without any dependence on outside teams.

Roles and responsibilities of the developers

The Developers must undertake these responsibilities:

Writing user stories, fleshing out and detailing tasks and breaking down each task into simple action items
Distributing these stories and action items among team members
Together, calculating the time estimates for completion of tasks
Participating in the Daily Scrum, Sprint planning, Sprint reviews and Retrospectives
Ensuring that there is smooth communication and collaboration between team members
Reporting any obstacles to progress to the Scrum Master
Working together to develop the product, incorporating all the features requested by the client through the product owner.

A Last Word

Geared toward measurable improvement and easily adaptive to changing industry needs, Scrum is a highly collaborative, adaptable methodology that has been proven to work well across industries. Scrum principles inculcate a sense of transparency and accountability and nurture team spirit between the members of the team, paving the way to enhanced productivity and growth. The focus on driving improvements at every stage result in a product of the highest value, delivered to timelines and in accordance with the estimated budget.

Agile

Susan May

Writer, Developer, Explorer

Susan is a gamer, internet scholar and an entrepreneur, specialising in Big Data, Hadoop, Web Development and many other technologies. She is the author of several articles published on Zeolearn and KnowledgeHut blogs. She has gained a lot of experience by working as a freelancer and is now working as a trainer. As a developer, she has spoken at various international tech conferences around the globe about Big Data.