research-article

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

Authors:

Yogeshwar Shastri,

Robert AmorAuthors Info & Claims

Empirical Software Engineering, Volume 26, Issue 1

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10664-020-09899-4

Published: 01 January 2021 Publication History

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.

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Cited By

Verwijs CRusso D(2023)A Theory of Scrum Team EffectivenessACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology10.1145/357184932:3(1-51)Online publication date: 27-Apr-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3571849
Foundjem AEghan EAdams B(2023)A Grounded Theory of Cross-Community SECOs: Feedback Diversity Versus SynchronizationIEEE Transactions on Software Engineering10.1109/TSE.2023.331387549:10(4731-4750)Online publication date: 1-Oct-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1109/TSE.2023.3313875
Li ZArony NDevathasan KDamian DHaiduc SSchneider J(2023)"Software is the Easy Part of Software Engineering" - Lessons and Experiences from A Large-Scale, Multi-Team Capstone CourseProceedings of the 45th International Conference on Software Engineering: Software Engineering Education and Training10.1109/ICSE-SEET58685.2023.00027(223-234)Online publication date: 17-May-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1109/ICSE-SEET58685.2023.00027
Show More Cited By

Index Terms

Spearheading agile: the role of the scrum master in agile projects
1. Social and professional topics
  1. Professional topics
    1. Management of computing and information systems
      1. Project and people management
      2. Software management
2. Software and its engineering
  1. Software creation and management
    1. Collaboration in software development
    2. Software development process management
  2. Software notations and tools
    1. Software configuration management and version control systems

Index terms have been assigned to the content through auto-classification.

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Published In

cover image Empirical Software Engineering

Empirical Software Engineering Volume 26, Issue 1

Jan 2021

460 pages

ISSN:1382-3256

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© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC part of Springer Nature 2021.

Publisher

Kluwer Academic Publishers

United States

Publication History

Published: 01 January 2021

Accepted: 06 November 2020

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Cited By

Verwijs CRusso D(2023)A Theory of Scrum Team EffectivenessACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology10.1145/357184932:3(1-51)Online publication date: 27-Apr-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3571849
Foundjem AEghan EAdams B(2023)A Grounded Theory of Cross-Community SECOs: Feedback Diversity Versus SynchronizationIEEE Transactions on Software Engineering10.1109/TSE.2023.331387549:10(4731-4750)Online publication date: 1-Oct-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1109/TSE.2023.3313875
Li ZArony NDevathasan KDamian DHaiduc SSchneider J(2023)"Software is the Easy Part of Software Engineering" - Lessons and Experiences from A Large-Scale, Multi-Team Capstone CourseProceedings of the 45th International Conference on Software Engineering: Software Engineering Education and Training10.1109/ICSE-SEET58685.2023.00027(223-234)Online publication date: 17-May-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1109/ICSE-SEET58685.2023.00027
Strode DDingsøyr TLindsjorn Y(2022)A teamwork effectiveness model for agile software developmentEmpirical Software Engineering10.1007/s10664-021-10115-027:2Online publication date: 10-Mar-2022
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1007/s10664-021-10115-0

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