Agile Coach vs Scrum Master: What's the difference?
What does it mean to be an Agile Coach or a Scrum Master? Why do both exist, and what does an organization need?
There is a lot of information and opinion out there about Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches, including an expansive training and certification market. I’m going to try and help you rationalize the two roles, where they would fit best, and how organizations should look at leveraging them in their Agile journey.
What is a Scrum Master?
The Scrum Guide states, “The Scrum Master is accountable for establishing Scrum as defined in the Scrum Guide. They do this by helping everyone understand Scrum theory and practice, both within the Scrum Team and the organization.” (Schwaber & Sutherland, 2020). The Scrum Guide also highlights that, “Scrum Masters are true leaders who serve the Scrum Team and the larger organization.” (Schwaber & Sutherland, 2020).
However, all too often within organizations, Scrum Masters are considered “less” than Agile Coaches (Amos, 2021; Elliot, 2016; Indeed Editorial Team, 2023). I believe this is the result of an incorrect or partial implementation of Scrum or Scrum@Scale, instead of about the role, and I intend to write another article on that topic.
So, what is the Scrum Master role supposed to do? Well, the Scrum Guide states:
The Scrum Master serves the Scrum Team in several ways, including:
Coaching the team members in self-management and cross-functionality;
Helping the Scrum Team focus on creating high-value Increments that meet the Definition of Done;
Causing the removal of impediments to the Scrum Team’s progress; and,
Ensuring that all Scrum events take place and are positive, productive, and kept within the timebox.
The Scrum Master serves the Product Owner in several ways, including:
Helping find techniques for effective Product Goal definition and Product Backlog management;
Helping the Scrum Team understand the need for clear and concise Product Backlog items;
Helping establish empirical product planning for a complex environment; and,
Facilitating stakeholder collaboration as requested or needed.
The Scrum Master serves the organization in several ways, including:
Leading, training, and coaching the organization in its Scrum adoption;
Planning and advising Scrum implementations within the organization;
Helping employees and stakeholders understand and enact an empirical approach for complex work; and,
Removing barriers between stakeholders and Scrum Teams.
This model applies whether a Scrum Master is working with one team, multiple teams, or the entire organization as part of an Executive Action Team (Sutherland & Scrum Inc., 2021). So, it’s pretty clear that Scrum Masters are, in fact, coaches, and I agree that they should be considered as such. The caveat - the Scrum Master role was designed to coach organizations specifically in the Scrum Framework or Scrum@Scale.
What is an Agile Coach?
Agile Coaches coach organizations in the adoption of an Agile Mindset, not just Scrum. Agile coaches recommend principles and practices, regardless of framework, and, typically, across a combination of frameworks and other organizational effectiveness practices.
While Agile Coaches may help individual teams and an entire organization adopt the Scrum Framework, they are mostly known for helping organizations adopt an Agile practice and implement varying scaling frameworks (e.g., SAFe, DAD, etc.) or a combination of them, as well as introducing Kanban and lean systems, plus DevOps and other organizational design concepts.
So, I would expect to see an Agile Coach do everything a Scrum Master would if the organization was just adopting Scrum or Scrum@Scale. That said, it is quite common to see Agile Coaches engaged with organizations that have incorrect or partial implementations of Scrum and want to see it remediated.
The main difference I see between an Agile Coach and a Scrum Master is the level of embeddedness within an organization and the duration they work with them.
An Agile Coach should provide a temporary infusion of capability that the organization needs. That duration could span widely from a simple assessment over one or more weeks to a multi-year program of work or organizational transformation. At some point, however, the engagement and need, if done right, should end.
On the other hand, a Scrum Master is considered a dedicated and embedded role in Scrum and Scrum@Scale (Schwaber & Sutherland, 2020; Sutherland & Scrum Inc., 2021). So, if an organization wants to have a permanent team made up of employees, then the Scrum Master role should, eventually, get filled by an employee.
When does an organization need a Scrum Master or Agile Coach?
The short answer is, “It depends, and always, but not how you may think”.
Product companies that have gone all in on Scrum or Scrum@Scale only need Scrum Masters (Schwaber & Sutherland, 2020; Sutherland & Scrum Inc., 2021). All the rest may need only one or both.
Typically, what most organizations need is the capability that Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches can provide. But, (this is where I disagree with how most folks interpret the Scrum Guide) a Scrum Master or Agile Coach does not need to exist as a dedicated position. Rather, an organization would benefit the most from that capability being spread out across its people.
True agility within organizations occurs when the mindset, principles, and practices become embedded within the organization - in how your people think, act, and ultimately believe - not just in a select few.
Where I see real value in specific individuals filling the role of Scrum Master or Agile Coach, is with helping an individual, team or organization break through the invisible cultural and capability barrier that is either holding them back from getting started, or moving to that next level in their Agile journey. However, closing that gap should also include removing the need for that extra support.
Conclusion
To summarize, Scrum Masters are Agile Coaches who specialize in Scrum, while Agile Coaches typically apply the Agile frameworks and practices that best meet the needs of the organization they’re coaching.
Unfortunately, incorrect or partial implementations of Scrum have led most of those organizations to put Scrum Masters in a box that appears limited and in need of a more advanced or experienced Agile Coach to evolve the overall organization’s capability.
Lastly, unless you’re a product company who intends to use Scrum to build out its products, you don’t need a permanent Scrum Master position or Agile Coach. Rather, you should look to build and distribute that capability across as many people as possible in your organization.
MGLA offers several services that can help build that capability within your organization. For more information, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
References
Amos, T. (2021). Scrum Master vs. Agile Coach: Why Successful Transformations Need Both. https://www.toptal.com/project-managers/agile-coaching/agile-coach-vs-scrum-master
Elliot, L. (2016, December 9). Difference between a Scrum Master and an Agile Coach. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/difference-between-scrum-master-agile-coach-lee-elliott/
Indeed Editorial Team. (2023, March 20). Agile coach vs Scrum master: what are the differences?. https://uk.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/agile-coach-vs-scrum-master
Schwaber, K., & Sutherland, J. (2020). The 2020 Scrum Guide. Retrieved December 5, 2023, from https://scrumguides.org/scrum-guide.html
Sutherland, J. & Scrum Inc.. (2021, February). The Scrum At Scale® Guide, version 2.1. https://www.scrumatscale.com/scrum-at-scale-guide-online/
