What are the three roles (accountabilities) in Scrum?

Question

IT Interview Practice · Accepted Answer

Scrum defines one team — the **Scrum Team** — with three accountabilities: **Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Developers**. There are no sub-teams or hierarchies; the whole team is accountable for creating value each Sprint.

## The three roles

```text
PRODUCT OWNER  Owns the Product Backlog and maximizes product value.
               Decides WHAT gets built and in what order.

SCRUM MASTER   Serves the team, coaches Scrum, removes impediments,
               and facilitates events. Owns the team's effectiveness.

DEVELOPERS     The people who build the Increment each Sprint.
               Decide HOW the work gets done; self-managing.
```

## Concrete example

The Product Owner says "users can't reset their password — that's the top priority." The Developers decide how to implement it and pull it into the Sprint. The Scrum Master clears a blocker when needed API access is delayed.

## Common pitfalls

- The Scrum Master acting as a project manager who assigns tasks.
- A Product Owner who is unavailable, leaving the team to guess priorities.
- Treating "Developers" as only programmers — it includes testers, designers, anyone building the Increment.

## Why it matters

Clear accountabilities prevent the most common dysfunction: confusion over who decides priority versus who decides implementation.

Separating *what* (Product Owner) from *how* (Developers) keeps the team focused and the backlog owned by one accountable person.

The three roles

Concrete example

Common pitfalls

Why it matters

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