SCRUM Master Job Description

As we become more agile I’ve been going over job descriptions in the engineering organization, making sure all the duties are optimized as we change how we deliver software – one of the key roles being SCRUM master.  There are a whole lot of basics that go into this specification; such as facilitating the daily stand-ups and maintaining the burn down chart – easy – but how do you capture the essence of the role?  I took a look around to see what other people are hiring and came across this on Agile in Action:

“A SCRUM Master is like a conductor coordinating the efforts of musicians, helping them to play together. Some teams are like jazz bands, so they need a leader who encourages improvisation. Some teams are like symphony orchestras, so they need a leader who keeps everyone on the same sheet of music. Conductors have to be deeply familiar with each instrument and with the music, yet they don’t play in the band or tell the musicians what to do. They let the music provide detailed guidance; their job is to bring out the best in the musicians, both individually and as a group.”

We currently share this kind of flexible, adaptive leadership between SCRUM masters and the team’s manager (loaded to the management) but it does make sense to push more of this closer to the people that make our product happen.