The ScrumMaster is responsible for ensuring the correct use of the Scrum process. Because the ScrumMaster is usually the most well read on Scrum, always trying to improve the team’s understanding of Scrum, facilitating the Scrum meetings, and developing new ways to develop relationships and structures that allow Scrum to thrive, he is the most able to guide the team in its use of Scrum. This authority holds within the Scrum Team where the ScrumMaster is a member and overrides any external authority as applied to that team. However, this does not mean that the ScrumMaster becomes a guru that withholds learning and understanding and guards it as if it is a treasured jewel. Instead, it is also the responsibility of the ScrumMaster to enable understanding, learning, and action so that the team advances together. Having this authority allows the ScrumMaster to stop any argument about the Scrum process, and ensure that the team is focused on action. If the ScrumMaster does not have final authority on the correct way to use the Scrum process, it is very likely that the Scrum Team will flounder, argue, and limit the progress of the team by not continually improving how they use and interact with the elements of Scrum.

To learn more about the correct way to use the Scrum process, visit the Scrum Team Assessment.