• Agile & Scrum Basics

What is the difference between Scrum Master, Product Owner and Agile Coach?

The world is constantly changing and Agile working ensures that you move with it. Now in Agile working there are all kinds of roles in different working methods. For example, we regularly get the question, “What’s the difference between Scrum Master, Product Owner and Agile Coach?

To shed light on these three Agile phenomena, we wrote this article. We zoom in on the “roles” and tell you where they differ from each other.

This is the Scrum Master

The Scrum Master plays a facilitator role in the Scrum methodology. He or she is often on the shop floor and knows the team inside out. Thus, the Scrum Master is always aware of what is going on within the team and the organization. The tasks of a Scrum Master are:

• Motivate team members;
• Ensuring team effectiveness;
• Making work of relational team processes;
• Removal of (organizational) barriers;
• And of course; ensuring that work is done according to the Scrum game rules.

This is the Product Owner

The Product Owner is what they call in the Scrum world the value creator. He or she translates the desire of customers and/or stakeholders and is the person with the vision. The duties of a Product Owner are:

• Constantly monitor the vision;
• Maintaining focus of the team;
• Representing client interests;
• Manage the Product Backlog;
• Monitoring Progress;
• Managing stakeholders.

This is the Agile Coach

The Agile Coach has an independent role, supporting multiple teams and/or management. Unlike the Scrum Master and Product Owner, the Agile Coach is not part of the Scrum team. The duties of an Agile Coach are:

• Coaching teams and employees so they can move forward with the Agile mindset;
• Providing new tools and techniques;
• Promote group dynamics;
• Strive for effective collaboration with the Agile way of working;
• Advise the organization in achieving an agile organization;
• Developing the Way of Working.

These are the differences between Scrum Master, Product Owner and Agile Coach