Let’s start off with some clarification for both roles.

Product Owner:

The Product Owner steers the ship. They know the destination, the route to get there, and the risks along the way.

The Product Owner fully owns the product vision and backlog. They make decisions based on both wide and deep knowledge about the business, and the technical product. They extract and manage all possible knowledge across the entire organization and user base, in order to create and prioritize work for the developers. They’re the #1 stakeholder, and must always be available for the dev team throughout the development cycle. They often have the final say in matters such as QA acceptance and when features get released.

Being a Product Owner is highly complex and technical in nature, despite the core function of being a business representative for the dev team.

In just one day, a good Product Owner will likely handle most or all of these types of work:

Technical writing of backlog items

QA/UAT for all work the devs produce (testing to make sure it does what was asked and nothing else, before it gets released to the world)

Meeting with stakeholders to take in requests and needs

Answering questions or making decisions with the devs, about the details of sprint items they’re currently working on

Meeting with the devs to refine backlog items, getting them “ready” to pull into a sprint

Meeting with leadership to understand what’s happening in the business, and learn about future developments that need to be planned for

Developing the product vision to define what exactly the software should do, and why

Maintaining a product roadmap to keep the next 3–6 months of development efforts in view

Negotiating with stakeholders about competing priorities, and often saying “yes” or “no” to requests while explaining why

Educating stakeholders and users about the software product, such as how to use new features

Attending all Scrum events

Traits important for Product Owners to embody are:

Comfortable being highly accountable and transparent

Can constantly re-prioritize by weighing many factors, ranging from straight data analysis to sensing and appropriately responding to people’s emotions

Ability to manage a large amount of detailed work, while maintaining a strong strategic vision that all decisions are measured against

Easily earns the trust and respect from all types of people, and naturally encourages collaboration and open communication

Scrum Master:

The Scrum Master keeps the ship intact, as it naturally degrades over time, weathers storms, and sustains attacks from the outside.

The Scrum Master (also commonly known as “The Protector” or “Servant Leader”) is responsible for the daily life and long-term success of the Scrum team. It’s a dynamic role that adapts constantly to the needs of the team and business, and can look very different day-to-day as they address different challenges.

They’re the coach that assures everyone plays their respective positions, for the good of the team. They keep the rest of the business informed about what and how the team’s doing. They also handle any conflict that arises in or around the team.

Here’s a common example of in-team conflict:

The Product Owner creates the what/why/when of the dev work, but doesn’t dictate HOW anything gets built, beyond what the end user experience or result should be. A controlling or micromanaging Product Owner may easily cross this boundary and make demands that interfere with the sprint. This requires a strong Scrum Master to stand firmly between the Product Owner and the devs, making space and setting expectations.

A Scrum Master’s additionally responsible for handling anything that could possibly distract or derail the devs from their work, and making sure those blockers are removed. For instance, if your product has a lot of known bugs or technical debt, the Scrum Master will work with the Product Owner to help prioritize those items among the backlog of feature work, and assist the stakeholders struggling with the repercussions before they can get resolved.

In just one day, a good Scrum Master will likely handle most or all of these types of work:

Reviewing the backlog with the Product Owner, helping split backlog items into smaller increments of work, assisting with prioritization

Supporting the Product Owner by keeping them aware of any impediments the dev team runs into (ex. technical debt prevents a feature from being implemented, or management is trying to circumvent the Product Owner to demand non-sprint work be done ASAP)

Navigating the daily conflict between the dev team (who strive for technical quality) and the Product Owner (who wants more features).

Removing any barriers the dev team runs into (ex. they need a new software service integration in order to implement a new process, or someone’s out sick but the team needs an answer from them to move forward, or even that the team’s morale is low and they could really use some ice cream to cheer up)

barriers the dev team runs into (ex. they need a new software service integration in order to implement a new process, or someone’s out sick but the team needs an answer from them to move forward, or even that the team’s morale is low and they could really use some ice cream to cheer up) Along the “cheering up” lines, strengthen the team by building trust and boosting morale, in whatever ways are best and appropriate for the team

Meeting with leadership and Product Owner to talk about how the dev team is, or is not, meeting their needs

Answering questions from stakeholders about potential software problems (bugs, etc.) and connecting with the dev team and Product Owner when necessary (ex. when it’s not a bug, it’s a feature flaw)

Gathering information about the Scrum team’s success and failure over time, to track possible problems and help everyone learn from mistakes/continually improve

Reporting on dev team’s progress to leadership and stakeholders, such as how much work they’re getting done in each sprint (“velocity”)

Educating stakeholders about the Scrum team, and how/why it works the way it does

Being the point of contact for anything dev/Scrum team related on a daily basis

Facilitating all Scrum events

Traits important for Scrum Masters to embody are: