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Agile roles
Scrum does not define job titles. It defines three accountabilities, Product Owner, Scrum Master and Developers, that together make one Scrum Team. This guide explains each one, what it is not, and where roles like Tech Lead or QA fit.
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One team, three accountabilities
A Scrum Team is kept small, usually no more than ten people, and between them its members can do everything the work needs. Nobody in it reports to anyone else in it, and it does not split into smaller groups. The 2020 Scrum Guide speaks of accountabilities rather than roles on purpose: what matters is who is accountable for what, not the job title on anyone’s contract.
Product Owner
Owns one question: is the team spending its time on the most valuable thing it could build? Each product has exactly one Product Owner, and it is always one named individual: a group cannot share the job.
Accountable for
- Deciding the long-term aim for the product, the Product Goal, and making sure people know it
- Turning ideas and requests into backlog items the team can make sense of
- Putting the most valuable work at the top of the backlog
- Making the backlog easy for anyone to find, read and ask about
- Weighing stakeholders’ requests, and saying no when needed
What it is not
- A group sharing the job, or a messenger passing on someone else’s decisions
- The team’s manager: they do not assign work to Developers
- A ticket writer who never meets customers
Other people can write or tidy backlog items, but the final say on the backlog never moves away from the Product Owner. If you think something else should come first, the person to persuade is the Product Owner.
Scrum Master
Answers for how well the team works, and helps everyone around it, inside the team and beyond, get real value out of Scrum.
Accountable for
- Teaching the team to organise its own work and to share skills instead of handing work off
- Keeping attention on finished, valuable work that passes the Definition of Done
- Clearing away whatever slows the team down, or finding the person who can
- Seeing that each Scrum event takes place, earns its time and ends on schedule
- Showing the Product Owner practical ways to set goals and keep the backlog in shape
- Explaining Scrum to people outside the team and helping the organisation take it up
What it is not
- A project manager who assigns tasks and chases dates
- The team’s secretary or meeting booker
- The only owner of the process: the whole team improves it
Developers
Whoever does the hands-on work of turning backlog items into something finished and usable, sprint after sprint. The word covers all of them: programmers, testers, designers, analysts, writers.
Accountable for
- Deciding together how the sprint’s chosen items will get done, and writing that plan down
- Not cutting corners: an item counts only once it meets the Definition of Done
- Checking progress every day and changing the plan whenever the Sprint Goal needs it
- Keeping their own standards high, and expecting the same of their teammates
What it is not
- Only programmers
- Order-takers waiting to be handed tickets
- The ones who order the Product Backlog: that is the Product Owner
Stakeholders
Everyone outside the Scrum Team with an interest in the product: customers, users, sponsors, sales, support, compliance. They are not a Scrum accountability, but Scrum depends on them.
- They share needs and feedback with the Product Owner at any time.
- They come to the Sprint Review to see the increment and help decide what comes next.
- They do not direct the Developers during a sprint: requests go through the Product Owner.
Where other roles fit
Many companies have roles Scrum does not mention. They work well alongside Scrum, as long as they do not take over one of the three accountabilities.
Tech Lead
A Developer with deeper experience who guides technical decisions and mentors others. It works best when they lead by example and the team still decides together, rather than the Tech Lead handing out tasks.
Architect
Looks after the shape of the system across several teams. Most useful as a collaborator who joins refinement and reviews designs, not as a gate that must approve every change.
QA / Test engineer
A Developer whose speciality is quality. In Scrum, testing happens inside each sprint and is part of the Definition of Done, not a separate phase after it.
Agile Coach
Helps teams and leaders adopt Agile ways of working, often across several teams. Overlaps with the Scrum Master’s work for the organisation.
Engineering Manager
Hires people, grows careers and looks after well-being. Supports the team without assigning sprint work or changing its priorities.
Designer
Owns usability and the experience. In the Product Operating Model, the designer works with the product manager and tech lead from the very start.
All roles at a glance
| Role | In the Scrum Team? | Accountable for | Decides | Is not |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product Owner | Yes, one person | Value; the Product Goal and the backlog order | What is built next, and in what order | A group sharing the job, or the team’s manager |
| Scrum Master | Yes | The team’s effectiveness and use of Scrum | With the team, how the way of working improves | A project manager |
| Developers | Yes | A usable increment each sprint that meets the Definition of Done | How to do the work; the plan for the sprint | Only programmers |
| Stakeholder | No | Sharing needs and feedback | Nothing inside the sprint; they influence through the Product Owner | A second Product Owner |
| Tech Lead | Usually, as a Developer | Technical guidance and mentoring | The technical approach, with the team | The team’s boss |
| Architect | Often not | System-wide design | Standards shared across teams | An approval gate |
| QA / Test | Yes, as a Developer | Quality, together with everyone | How to test | A phase after development |
| Agile Coach | No | Helping teams and leaders adopt Agile | Nothing directly; they advise | A Scrum Master for every team |
| Engineering Manager | No | People, hiring and growth | Staffing and careers | The one who sets sprint priorities |
| Designer | Usually, as a Developer | Usability and the experience | The design approach, with the team | A hand-off before development |
The Product Owner, Scrum Master and Developers sections summarise The Scrum Guide (November 2020) by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, in our own words. The Scrum Guide is published under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence (CC BY-SA 4.0); read it in full at scrumguides.org. The roles beyond Scrum’s three are common practice, not part of the Scrum Guide.
How ScrumTeam helps
Scrum’s accountabilities, built into every project.
- Each project names its Product Owner (one), Scrum Masters, Developers and Stakeholders on its People page
- The Product Owner orders the backlog and sets the Product Goal; you can let Developers order the backlog too
- Scrum Masters run sprints, the workflow, WIP limits and, on Starter and up, retrospectives
- A Developer’s discipline, such as QA or Design, shows as a label, not as a separate role
- Stakeholders read, comment and watch on a free seat, up to two per paid seat