  Scrum is an increasingly common approach to software development adopted by
organizations around the world. However, as organizations transition from
traditional plan-driven development to agile development with Scrum, the
question arises as to which Scrum role (Product Owner, Scrum Master, or Scrum
Team Member) corresponds to a Project Manager, or conversely which Scrum role
should the Project Managers adopt? In an attempt to answer this question, we
adopted a mixed-method research approach comprising a systematic literature
review and embedded case study of a commercial software development team. Our
research has identified activities that comprise the Scrum Master role, and
which additional roles are actually performed by Scrum Masters in practice. We
found nine activities that are performed by Scrum Masters. In addition, we
found that Scrum Masters also perform other roles, most importantly as Project
Managers. This latter situation results in tension and conflict of interest
that could have a negative impact on the performance of the team as a whole.
These results point to the need to re-assess the role of Project Managers in
organizations that adopt Scrum as a development approach. We hypothesize that
it might be better for Project Managers to become Product Owners, as aspects of
this latter role are more consistent with the traditional responsibilities of a
Project Manager.
