SkarpChapter 3 of 10
Scrum Team Deep Dive: Roles, Responsibilities, and Self‑Management
Meet the Scrum Team as a small, self-managing unit and uncover the subtle boundaries of each accountability that the exam loves to test.
Step 1 – Meet the Scrum Team as One Unit
One Scrum Team
In the Scrum Guide 2020 (still current in 2026), there is only one team: the Scrum Team. Older terms like "Development Team" were removed from the official Guide.
Three Accountabilities
The Scrum Team contains three accountabilities: Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Developers. These are not separate teams, but roles within one Scrum Team.
Shared Accountability
Everyone on the Scrum Team shares one overarching accountability: creating valuable, useful Increments every Sprint that move toward the Product Goal.
Cross-Functional
The Scrum Team is cross-functional: it has all the skills needed to create a usable Increment every Sprint. If a skill is missing, that is a risk to the team.
Exam Tip
On PSM I questions, mentally replace old terms like "Development Team" with Developers inside one Scrum Team. This helps avoid confusion from outdated terminology.
Step 2 – Scrum Team Size and Characteristics
Recommended Size
The Scrum Guide 2020 recommends a Scrum Team of 10 or fewer people total. That count includes the Product Owner, Scrum Master, and all Developers.
Why This Size?
Too big: communication overhead and slow decisions. Too small: not enough skills or capacity. 10 or fewer is a balance between collaboration and capability.
No Sub-Teams
Within a Scrum Team, there are no sub-teams like "backend team" or "QA team". Titles may exist in HR, but Scrum treats everyone simply as Developers.
Multiple Scrum Teams
If work is too large for one Scrum Team, organizations may form multiple Scrum Teams around one product, each still small and self-managing.
Exam Watchpoint
If an answer suggests formal sub-teams inside a Scrum Team or ignores the "10 or fewer" guidance, it likely conflicts with the Scrum Guide 2020.
Step 3 – Self-Managing vs. Self-Organizing (2020 Nuance)
Old vs New Wording
Pre-2020, Scrum spoke of self-organizing teams. Since the 2020 Guide, Scrum Teams are described as self-managing. This is broader and exam-relevant.
Self-Organizing
Self-organizing mainly meant teams decide how to do the work. They choose practices, tools, and internal processes, but not necessarily who does what or when.
Self-Managing
Self-managing teams decide who does what, when, and how. They manage task assignment and scheduling internally, not via a manager or Scrum Master.
Boundaries of Self-Management
Self-managing does not mean ignoring Scrum, skipping events, or inventing any Product Goal. They self-manage within the Product Goal and organizational constraints.
Exam Trap
If an option shows a manager assigning tasks or the Scrum Master distributing work, that conflicts with self-management in the 2020 Scrum Guide.
Step 4 – Product Owner: Accountability for Value
Core Accountability
The Product Owner is accountable for maximizing the value of the product resulting from the Scrum Team’s work. Value and direction are their focus.
Key Responsibilities
The PO sets and communicates the Product Goal, manages and orders the Product Backlog, and ensures it is transparent and understood.
Delegation vs Accountability
The PO may delegate tasks like writing backlog items, but never the accountability. They remain responsible for product value decisions.
Not a Committee
The Product Owner is one person, not a committee. A group may advise, but one PO makes final decisions on backlog ordering.
Exam Shortcut
If a question is about what to build or why (value, priority), the correct accountability is almost always the Product Owner.
Step 5 – Scrum Master: Accountability for Scrum Effectiveness
Core Accountability
The Scrum Master is accountable for the Scrum Team’s effectiveness by helping everyone understand and apply Scrum correctly.
Not a Project Manager
The Scrum Master is not a project manager or boss. They do not assign tasks, set deadlines, or manage people’s performance.
Serving the Product Owner
The SM helps the PO with effective Product Backlog management, stakeholder collaboration, and clear communication of goals and scope.
Serving the Developers
The SM coaches Developers in self-management, removes impediments, and ensures Scrum events are positive and productive.
Serving the Organization
The SM leads, trains, and coaches the organization in Scrum, helping remove systemic impediments to product and team effectiveness.
Step 6 – Developers: Accountability for the Increment
Who Are Developers?
In Scrum 2020, Developers means everyone who creates the Increment: coders, testers, designers, analysts, etc. It is a broad, cross-functional group.
Core Accountability
Developers are accountable for creating a usable Increment every Sprint that meets the Definition of Done.
Sprint Backlog Ownership
Developers create and own the Sprint Backlog, adapt it daily, and decide how much work they can take for the Sprint.
Self-Management in Practice
Developers decide who does what, when, and how. Neither the Product Owner nor Scrum Master assigns tasks to them.
Exam Shortcut
Questions about building, estimating, or meeting the Definition of Done usually point to the Developers as the accountable group.
Step 7 – Real-World Scenarios: Who Is Accountable?
Scenario A – Stakeholder Shortcut
A stakeholder emails a Developer to slip a feature into the current Sprint. Accountability in focus: Product Owner (owns ordering and scope negotiation).
Scenario B – Missed Sprint Goals
The team keeps missing Sprint Goals and rarely improves their process. Accountabilities: Developers (planning/execution) and Scrum Master (effectiveness).
Scenario C – Central Project Manager
Leadership wants a project manager to assign tasks across Scrum Teams. This conflicts with Developers’ self-management; the Scrum Master should coach leadership.
Scenario D – Definition of Done Missed
An Increment fails a security requirement in the Definition of Done. Accountability: Developers, who must ensure all DoD criteria are met.
Exam Habit
Practice mapping each situation to a primary accountability: Product Owner, Scrum Master, or Developers. This mirrors how many PSM I questions are structured.
Step 8 – Thought Exercise: Self-Managing or Not?
Decide if each behavior supports or breaks self-management according to the Scrum Guide 2020.
For each item, answer for yourself: "Supports self-management" or "Breaks self-management", then check your reasoning.
- A manager assigns tasks to each Developer at the Daily Scrum.
- Breaks self-management. The Developers should decide who does what, when, and how. The Daily Scrum is for Developers to plan their own work.
- Developers collectively decide to pair-program on complex items and swarm on urgent defects.
- Supports self-management. They are choosing how to organize their work to meet the Sprint Goal.
- The Product Owner tells the team exactly how to implement a feature, down to technical design details.
- Breaks self-management. The Product Owner decides what and why, not how. Technical decisions belong to the Developers.
- The Scrum Master notices that the team is stuck waiting for approvals and works with management to streamline the approval process.
- Supports self-management. The Scrum Master is removing impediments so the team can manage their own work more effectively.
- The organization mandates a standard security checklist that all products must follow.
- Neutral for self-management. Constraints like security standards are normal. The team still self-manages how to meet them within Scrum.
If you can explain why each behavior supports or breaks self-management, you are thinking at the level the PSM I exam expects.
Step 9 – Quick Check: Roles and Self-Management
Test your understanding of Scrum Team accountabilities and self-management.
During Sprint Planning, a senior architect outside the Scrum Team joins and assigns specific Product Backlog items to each Developer. According to the Scrum Guide 2020, what is the best response?
- Allow it, because senior experts can assign work more efficiently than the team.
- Ask the Scrum Master to stop this, because only Developers decide who does what, when, and how.
- Let the Product Owner reassign the items instead, since they own the Product Backlog.
- Accept the assignments for this Sprint only, then discuss it in the Sprint Retrospective.
Show Answer
Answer: B) Ask the Scrum Master to stop this, because only Developers decide who does what, when, and how.
Option 2 is correct. In the 2020 Scrum Guide, the Scrum Team is self-managing; **Developers** decide who does what, when, and how. Neither external architects, managers, nor the Product Owner assign tasks. The Scrum Master should protect self-management and coach stakeholders on proper Scrum usage.
Step 10 – Key Term Review
Flip these cards (mentally) to reinforce core Scrum Team concepts for the PSM I exam.
- Scrum Team
- A small, self-managing, cross-functional team of **Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Developers** focused on one Product Goal and accountable for creating valuable, useful Increments.
- Product Owner
- The **one person** accountable for **maximizing product value** and managing the **Product Backlog** (Product Goal, ordering, clarity, transparency).
- Scrum Master
- The person **accountable for the Scrum Team’s effectiveness** by coaching and helping everyone understand and apply Scrum; a **leader who serves**, not a task manager.
- Developers
- The people in the Scrum Team who are **committed to creating a usable Increment** each Sprint. They own the **Sprint Backlog** and decide who does what, when, and how.
- Self-managing Team
- A team that decides **who does what, when, and how** to do the work, within the boundaries of Scrum and the Product Goal. Introduced explicitly in the 2020 Scrum Guide.
- Cross-functional
- The Scrum Team has **all the skills** needed to create a usable Increment each Sprint **without depending on others** outside the team for critical work.
- Product Goal
- A **longer-term objective** for the Scrum Team’s product. The Scrum Team focuses on one Product Goal at a time, realized through multiple Sprints.
- Definition of Done
- A **formal description of the state of the Increment** when it meets the quality measures required for the product. Developers are accountable for adhering to it.
Key Terms
- Developers
- Members of the Scrum Team committed to creating a usable Increment each Sprint; they own the Sprint Backlog and decide who does what, when, and how.
- Scrum Team
- A small, self-managing, cross-functional team consisting of a Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Developers, jointly accountable for creating valuable, useful Increments.
- Product Goal
- A long-term objective for the Scrum Team’s product that provides a target for the Scrum Team to plan against across multiple Sprints.
- Scrum Master
- The person accountable for the Scrum Team’s effectiveness through coaching, facilitation, and helping everyone understand and apply Scrum.
- Product Owner
- The single person accountable for maximizing the value of the product and for effective Product Backlog management (Product Goal, ordering, clarity, transparency).
- Self-managing
- A property of the Scrum Team in which they decide internally who does what, when, and how to do the work, within the boundaries of Scrum and organizational constraints.
- Sprint Backlog
- The Developers’ plan for the Sprint, including the Sprint Goal, selected Product Backlog items, and a plan for delivering the Increment.
- Product Backlog
- An ordered, emergent list of what is needed to improve the product, managed by the Product Owner and providing a single source of work for the Scrum Team.
- Cross-functional
- Having all the skills within the Scrum Team needed to create a usable Increment each Sprint, without mandatory dependencies on people outside the team for core work.
- Definition of Done
- A formal description of the required state of the Increment for it to be releasable and considered complete; used to ensure transparency and quality.