Clarification on responsibilities of Product Owner and Scrum Master
Hello,
I am attending a Prince2 Agile training in Germany and the Scrum Guide is one of the topic. The trainer has insisted on the following, which I totally disagree.
1. Product Owner - Formuliert das Sprint Ziel (formulates the sprint goal)
To my understanding from the Scrum Guide and as a PSM, the Scrum Team crafts the Sprint goal during Sprint Planning. However, his argument is that Product Owner formulates it according to the priorities of the Product Backlog Items.
2. Scrum Master - Optimiert den Wert der Arbeit des Entwicklungsteam. (Optimizes the value of the work of the development team)
My understanding and argument is that this is done by the Product Owner, NOT Scrum Master. I have found the following statement under Product Owner in the Scrum Guide:
- Optimizing the value of the work the Development Team performs
Am I mistaken from my learning and understanding of the Scrum Guide ?
Does Scrum.org actual validate the knowledge of these training centres in Germany ?
Best regards,
Mein Sin Tan
1. Product Owner - Formuliert das Sprint Ziel (formulates the sprint goal)
You are correct in your interpretation of the Scrum Guide. But remember that the Product Owner is part of the Scrum Team and is responsible for the contents/definition of the Product Backlog. As such their contribution to the Sprint Goal would focus on the value of the items chosen from the Product Backlog. The Development Team creates the Sprint Backlog by selecting items from the Product Backlog but no one can tell them how to work. The Sprint Goal should be focused on the Sprint Backlog, not the Product Backlog so their explanation is flawed in my opinion.
2. Scrum Master - Optimiert den Wert der Arbeit des Entwicklungsteam. (Optimizes the value of the work of the development team)
Again, your interpretation of the Scrum Guide is correct. Again, I will add that according to the Scrum Guide, the Scrum Master provides these services to the Development Team:
- Coaching the Development Team in self-organization and cross-functionality;
- Helping the Development Team to create high-value products;
So the Scrum Master does play a part in the value of work the Development Team does but ultimately it is up to the Product Owner to ensure the items the Development Team work on optimizes the value to the stakeholders.
I applaud your interpretation of the Scrum Guide.
the Scrum Guide is one of the topic
Is the Scrum Guide actually being read?
@Daniel, thank you for the clarification.