Scrum for beginners. Part 1: team and roles

Why Scrum and what this article is about

If you work in IT, you have probably already heard abbreviations such as DS, retrospective or simply Scrum, and wondered what they actually mean. Or perhaps you are looking for a way to manage complex projects more effectively? This article explains in a straightforward way what Scrum is and what its principles are.

I am not going into nuances or listing common mistakes. I keep definitions to a minimum and focus on clear, practical explanations for people who are just getting started or only know the topic at a surface level.

What Scrum is

Scrum is a framework for developing complex products. In IT, we most often use it for software development. Its creators, Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, joined forces in the early 1990s in search of a way to manage complex development work effectively. The result of that collaboration was Scrum.

A framework, not a methodology

Scrum is a framework, so it can be combined with other approaches, provided that its principles are preserved. A common example is combining it with Kanban to gain additional benefits while retaining the empirical nature of Scrum. The choice of processes and practices should be tailored to the project, the team and the industry.

Scrum is based on empirical processes: we learn through experience and make decisions based on what we know. The framework defines roles, events and artefacts, which are discussed below.

Roles in the Scrum Team

The highest-level unit is the Scrum Team, which consists of three roles:

- Development Team - Scrum Master - Product Owner

Development Team — role and responsibility

The Development Team usually consists of 3–9 people working together towards a single goal. The team is cross-functional — it brings together the skills needed to deliver the product. In Scrum, every team member is a developer, although specialisations may vary: programmers, testers, analysts and other specialists.

Everyone is equally important. The team is self-organising and self-sufficient. Responsibility for the outcomes of the work lies with the entire team, not with individual people. No one from outside dictates how they should work — the team decides how best to achieve the goal and, through the right Scrum events, continuously improves the product.

The Scrum Master and Product Owner are not part of the Development Team unless they perform additional development work that brings the team closer to its goal. However, combining roles in this way can be risky due to potential conflicts of interest.

Scrum Master — a servant leader

The Scrum Master (SM) is a servant leader who ensures that Scrum is properly understood and applied. They do not issue orders — they teach, explain, facilitate and remove obstacles. Their support covers three areas:

- supporting the Development Team - supporting the Product Owner - supporting the organisation

With regard to the Development Team, the SM teaches Scrum, self-organisation and cross-functional collaboration. They observe the team's behaviours and provide coaching wherever something is not working optimally. They help remove obstacles that slow the team down, such as a lack of tools or competencies, by pointing to possible solutions. On request, they may also facilitate Scrum events, although they do not always need to take part in them.

At the organisational level, the SM supports the implementation and scaling of Scrum practices, plans their proper use and educates employees (not only Scrum Team members) so that they better understand the framework.

With regard to the Product Owner, the SM helps plan product development in an empirical environment and maximise value through proper work planning. They coach on the tools and techniques needed to perform the role effectively and, where necessary, facilitate Scrum events.

Product Owner — owner of value

The Product Owner (PO) is responsible for maximising the value of the product and the work of the Development Team. In practice, they set priorities and decide what the team will work on.

The PO is not the team's manager, but the person responsible for the product. They must be able to make decisions efficiently regarding functionality and the direction of development. They cannot be merely an intermediary passing on stakeholders' wishes — they need the stakeholders' trust as well as a deep understanding of the product's vision and priorities.

Summary and what comes next

In Scrum, there are three key roles: the Development Team, responsible for achieving the goal; the Product Owner, responsible for the product's vision and value; and the Scrum Master, who enables them to work effectively within Scrum's empirical environment.

Each of these roles is necessary and complements the others, enabling the Scrum Team to achieve its goals consistently. In the next part, we will look at Scrum events — such as the Sprint and Daily Scrum — and how they hold the team's work together.