Do Scrum Masters work outside of Software Development environments?

Yes, they do.

Whilst Scrum and the Agile Manifesto were initially created by software engineers to help their teams build and deliver better quality software within shorter time frames, the frameworks were purposefully designed to be lightweight, agile and cross-functional.

At the time of conception (1993-2001), software engineers recognized that the information age had created an environment that required rapid, creative and responsive solutions to solve complex problems in a way that nobody had ever encountered before.

The old way of doing things, the waterfall-style of project management that companies had relied on for the past century, simply couldn’t cope with 21^st Century complexity and uncertainty.

It simply wasn’t designed to work effectively outside of certain concrete and known variables.

Fast-forward 20 years later and many industries have found themselves in the exact same position as those initial group of software developers found themselves in the late 90s, and in need of a lightweight framework that helps them create and collaborate more effectively.

As such, an increasing amount of industries are adopting Agile and Scrum as a framework to achieve true business agility. This increased adoption has created heaps of new opportunities for Scrum Masters outside of traditional software engineering environments.

A Scrum Master is first and foremost a coach.

The glue that binds the Scrum Team together and helps them to rapidly overcome obstacles and create the highest value products that delight customers.

A Scrum Master helps create an environment where the team can excel. An environment that enables people to unleash their full creativity and passion in pursuit of common goals and shared objectives.

Much like the manager of a Sports Team or a Creative Director at an advertising agency.

A scrum master’s role is to help identify opportunities for growth whilst rapidly and consistently removing impediments to progress.

Anywhere that you have a complex problem that is going to need some form of cross-functional or multi-disciplinary team to work to achieve a common goal, a Scrum Master can be useful.

As we encounter more disruption, volatility, uncertainty and change in the world there are increased opportunities for Scrum Masters to lead teams in creating and developing products and services that truly delight customers.

If you’re looking to become a Scrum Master, visit our Certified Scrum Master course page for more information. If you’re currently a Scrum Master and are looking to build a career path in Scrum, visit our Advanced Certified Scrum Master course and Certified Scrum Professional Scrum Master course pages.

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