Can A Project Manager Be An Effective Scrum Master

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Can A Project Manager Be An Effective Scrum
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We have frequently seen the titles of Project
Manager and Scrum Master used mutually and
reciprocally in the agile approach. Both of their
roles are likely to get unclear in the current
work and business environments. A Project Manager
is the person who is directly liable for
delivering a project in a specified timeframe and
on a predefined financial plan and the final
results of a projects success or failure depends
mainly on the project managers potential and
tasks such as sprint planning. Scrum Master is
the forefront of the project's team performance
as he facilitates coaching and assisting the
projects progress based on the end user
requirements. Both the roles sometimes overlap
in the agile process as both contribute to the
execution, planning, and closing of projects.
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• The Project Manager and Scrum Master both require
  a specific set of skills and the right approach
  to make things work transversely and altogether
  agile teams. The deliverables, responsibilities
  and tasks of both may differ from one business to
  another. It is essential to point out that both
  roles are very important to guide the team and to
  guarantee project achievement.
• Transitioning from the role of Project Manager to
  Scrum Master and vice-versa is possible but
  cant be attained immediately. It can be a tough
  journey but has its own perks. Both positions
  have a necessity of an in-depth understanding of
  diverse aspects of the business with short, as
  well as long-term goals, and one needs to have a
  great deal of attention and determination to
  deliver the crucial goals.
• Introduction What does a project manager do and
  what are PMs Responsibilities?
• If you are going for a Project Management
  Certification, PMI Agile Certified Practitioner
  (PMI-ACP) course, then lets see what a project
  manager does and what it takes to become a good
  project manager. A Project Manager is the person
  who is directly liable for delivering a project
  in a specified timeframe and on a predefined
  financial plan. So, to be a good project manager
  you will need to be an expert planner, with the
  right set of skills for organizing resources and
  people. All of the business partners or projects
  stakeholders will look up to you (PMs), to make
  sure what was assured is in fact delivered in a
  timely and economical manner.
• Project managers are responsible for day to day
  management tasks of the project and must be
  capable in managing the important criteria of a
  project, i.e. finance, schedule, scope, risk,
  resources and quality. Project managers work on
  particular projects that have specific outcomes
  which have timely and monetary limits.
• Project managers duties mainly include but are
  not limited to
• Handling and modifying the project as and when
  necessary.
• Monitoring the risks involved in a specific
  project and managing them.
• Making certain the work is done to the right
  standard and quality.
• Planning what needs to be done, prioritizing it
  and who is going to do it.
• Taking care of coordination between teams.
• Motivating the team.

How do Managers get involved in Agile
Projects? Both product owners and product
managers are key players in the Agile
environment, and are often crucial to the
success of deployment. The purpose of product
management is to work closely with product
development and deal with the product
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• requirements and direction based on customer
  feedback, market research, and growth ability.
  Product managers are often obscured in project
  management tasks associated with product
  launching rather than interacting with market
  influencers and customers to make the most
  viable product.
• In the world of Agile development, there are
  supplementary roles which help to shift product
  managers out of the technical, tactical
  activities and into an outward-facing position
  where they interact and relate with the market.
  Though, it is not uncommon for product managers
  to take on the product owners task.
• Agile product managers objective is to work with
  customers and company headship to define the
  product course. He (PMs) is responsible for
  representing the true voice of the customer. The
  best way to fully understand the customers
  problem(s) is to talk to customers, visit their
  sites, know their day to day business experience,
  and consult with their staff. By practicing
  this, a product manager will understand the
  customers day-to- today struggles and will be
  able to identify features and functionality that
  will improve user experience. Without direct
  interaction with customers, it is not possible to
  completely understand a customers needs and
  struggles.
• In addition, a product managers responsibility
  varies from strategic activities, such as
  defining the product roadmap in arrangement with
  business objectives, to tactical actions that
  take place in sales, product support and
  marketing.
• Scrum Master vs. Project Manager what are the
  differences between them?
• In Scrum, the most admired Agile methodology, the
  Scrum master is above all responsible for
  keeping the Scrum team focused and motivated, and
  also safeguards them from distractions and
  provides instruction and guidance. The product
  manager is responsible for creating and defining
  the user stories based on customer struggles,
  developing the product roadmap and carrying out
  market research. Here are some major
  differences
• Project manager manages the projects scope,
  timeline and cost, in general quality of the
  project. A scrum master manages each scrum to
  reach the project goals.
• A project manager can manage various projects at
  a time. A scrum master is generally paying
  attention to a specific project team.
• Scrum master motivates the team members, assists
  in scrum meetings and sprint
• planning. Project manager manages the financial
  plan and analyzes risk management.
• Project managers focus on process and assign
  tasks to the team members. Scrum master assists
  to develop team dynamics and acts as a servant
  leader if needed by the project.
• Scrum master is the facilitator and guides the
  product owner on the other hand project manager
  is a communicator between the team members and
  the management team.

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• Project manager updates the management about the
  project progress and coordinates with other
  teams. Scrum master helps in increasing the team
  bonding and motivates the team members.
• Conclusion Can an experienced Project Manager be
  an effective Scrum Master?
• Every Agile organization is not the same and as a
  result, roles will differ. It is not unusual for
  an organization transitioning from Waterfall to
  Agile to simply change product managers to
  product owners. Though, this does not show a good
  product manager will become a good product owner
  or vice versa. Relatively, what works for one
  business may or may not work for another and it
  is probable that as the business and product
  grows, the tasks and duties will as well.
• The project manager and the scrum master are not
  two separate entities. The role of a project
  manager develops as a scrum master. The objective
  of a project manager is to complete a project
  fruitfully within a predefined timeframe and
  budget. With the introduction of the agile
  method, the involvement of a project manager
  increases.
• In agile project management, the division of the
  roles and responsibilities are person specific.
  So, the role of a project manager as a scrum
  master is now more firm, precise, and to the
  point. In an agile methodology, the emphasis of a
  project manager is not limited to the entire
  project but as a scrum master, it is every scrum
  that needs to be successful. This new point of
  view makes it more meticulous and qualitative to
  achieve
• success.