As a software development professional with more than 15 years of experience, I’ve watched the Agile Coach and Scrum Master roles change. So what are the differences between the Agile Coach and Scrum Master? Both are essential in Agile settings, but their duties and influence vary greatly. Let take a deep dive into Agile coach vs scrum master and there distinctions to consider and determine which role is best for your team or career.
Defining Agile Coach and Scrum Master Roles
I’ve interacted with both Agile Coaches and Scrum Masters in my career, and both roles play a pivotal part in organizations that are scaling Agile. Let’s discuss the key responsibilities and differences.
Agile Coaches have a wider focus, working at the organizational level to help with Agile adoption and improvement. The top responsibilities of Agile Coaches include:
- Coaching leadership on Agile
- Developing Agile transformation strategy
- Coaching teams across the organization
- Identifying and addressing organizational-level impediments
- Driving cultural change
Conversely, Scrum Masters typically work at the team level. The primary responsibilities of a Scrum Master are:
- Ensuring the team’s adherence to Scrum
- Removing blockers for the development team
- Facilitating Scrum events (retrospectives, daily stand-ups, sprint planning, etc.)
- Coaching the team to self-organize
- Protecting the team from external distractions
Both roles have seen a significant increase in demand. In the past five years, job postings for Agile Coaches have grown by 39%, which is a sizeable increase. Scrum Master job postings are up 24% over the same period. This reflects the increasing popularity of Agile across industries.
Skills and Expertise: Agile Coach vs Scrum Master
In my experience, Agile Coaches and Scrum Masters have similar skill sets, but there are skill set differences between the two roles.
An Agile Coach should have:
- A deep knowledge of various Agile frameworks.
- Change management knowledge.
- Leadership and influencing skills.
- Systems thinking expertise.
- Conflict resolution at the organizational level.
The Scrum Master core competencies are:
- A deep understanding of the Scrum framework.
- Facilitation capabilities.
- Servant leadership best practices.
- Team coaching skills.
- The ability to eliminate impediments.
Both roles demand strong communication and relationship-building skills, as well as an understanding of basic Agile principles. However, Agile Coaches work across multiple Agile frameworks, so they need a deeper understanding of each framework and how to make it work in different organizational contexts.
Scrum Masters specialize in the Scrum framework and its application within a team. They’re the experts when it comes to running a team in an Agile environment.
Agile Coaches almost always have a stronger Agile background. In reality, 95% of Agile Coaches have previous Agile experience before taking on a coaching role. This career progression allows them to gain the breadth of knowledge required to coach at the organizational level.
Meanwhile, many Scrum Masters start their careers in that role. They often come from the team member track on an Agile project. Over time, some Scrum Masters transition into an Agile Coach role to increase their impact beyond just one team.
Scope and Focus Areas
The scale of influence for Agile Coaches and Scrum Masters is very different, which influences their areas of focus and objectives.
Agile Coaches work at the enterprise level. They engage with the C-suite, department heads, and teams across the entire organization. Their objective is to advance the Agile framework across the entire company. This includes:
- Defining Agile strategies that support business goals
- Identifying and resolving company-level obstacles to Agile adoption
- Promoting collaboration across various departments
- Measuring and improving the overall company-wide Agile maturity
Scrum Masters work at the team level. They work closely with a specific Scrum team to boost the team’s performance and adherence to Agile best practices. This includes:
- Ensuring the team adheres to Scrum principles
- Facilitating Scrum events and ceremonies
- Coaching team members to become more self-organized and cross-functional
- Removing any impediments blocking the team
Agile Coaches use various methods to drive organizational change. This might include workshops, training sessions, or one-on-one coaching with executives. Scrum Masters primarily use hands-on coaching within the team’s daily activities.
Agile Coaches have longer-term objectives, whereas Scrum Masters typically have short to medium-term objectives. Agile Coaches are looking for the long-term sustainability of the company’s transformation. Conversely, Scrum Masters focus on the short-term goals of continuously improving the team’s performance and delivery.
Engagement Models: Agile Coach vs Scrum Master
In my experience working with various companies, I’ve seen distinct engagement models for Agile Coaches and Scrum Masters.
Agile Coaches are often external consultants. They might work with a company for a set period (typically 1-3 years) to help guide key organizational changes. In fact, 55% of Agile coaches say they engage with a company for 1-3 years.
Scrum Masters are more likely to be full-time employees. They become core members of an Agile team and work side by side with the team members on a daily basis. Essentially, Scrum Masters have an ongoing engagement with a company for as long as the team is in existence.
The reporting structure is also different. Agile Coaches typically report to C-level executives (CTOs, VPs of Engineering, etc.), allowing them to influence change at the executive level across teams and departments.
On the other hand, Scrum Masters typically report to a project manager or the Agile practice leader who manages the program they are working within.
When thinking about scalability, the role of an Agile Coach is naturally scalable. They can work with many teams, several projects, or even multiple departments at the same time. One Coach can have an impact at the enterprise level.
The Scrum Master is a little less scalable. Yes, they can still have influence across teams, but at the end of the day, their responsibility is to a single team which may limit their headaches (the problem is likely limited to how their team uses Scrum, for example).
As organizations grow their Agile practices, they need to hire Scrum Masters proportionately.
One interesting data point we learned is Agile coaches with a master certification are twice as likely to be contract hires. This makes sense as many companies bring Agile Coaches in to help with transformation initiatives on a contract basis, signaling the temporary nature of many Agile transformations.
Agile Coach Vs Scrum Master: Progression and Compensation
Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches often have similar career paths. Many professionals begin their careers as Scrum Masters and as they accumulate experience and expand their skills, they progress to Agile Coach positions.
The journey to becoming an Agile Coach might look something like this:
- Team member on an Agile project
- Scrum Master for a single team
- Senior Scrum Master managing multiple teams
- Agile Coach working with specific departments
- Enterprise Agile Coach driving organization-wide change
And you can see this progression reflected in compensation. Here are the most recent pay figures:
- Average Scrum Master salary: $104205 per year
- Average Agile Coach salary: $134438 per year
These numbers can fluctuate depending on factors like location, experience level, and industry. If you acquire more advanced certifications, you can significantly raise your earning potential. For example, a Certified Enterprise Coach (CEC) or ICAgile Certified Expert (ICE) will earn a higher salary.
The job market for both roles is healthy. As more companies adopt Agile processes, they need skilled Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches, and this trend will likely continue in the coming years.
You can also specialize in both roles. As a Scrum Master, you might specialize in an industry or a particular technology. As an Agile Coach, you can narrow down to a scaled Agile framework, integrating DevOps with Agile, or Agile outside of software development.
Interaction and Collaboration in Agile Teams
In my opinion, effective collaboration between Agile Coaches and Scrum Masters is the most important factor for successful Agile implementations.
Agile Coaches often act as mentors for Scrum Masters. They help them to navigate more complex situations, share best practices, and help them level up their skills. Similarly, Scrum Masters can provide Agile Coaches with valuable feedback on team-level challenges and how they are implementing Agile day to day.
In a team setting, the responsibilities are straightforward. Scrum Masters are specifically responsible for their team’s performance and whether they are following Scrum correctly. Meanwhile, Agile Coaches take a step back and focus on the larger organizational impediments and challenges teams are facing.
If a conflict comes up, Scrum Masters should be equipped to handle team-level disputes or conflicts. This can be anything from a conflict resolution meeting to a one-on-one coaching session. Agile Coaches come into play for larger organizational conflicts, which could be anything from a conflict between two departments to helping align priorities on what Agile teams are being asked to do.
Both of these roles also work with other roles on the Agile team. Scrum Masters spend the majority of their time with Product Owners, ensuring they know how to properly manage a product backlog and communicate headaches with stakeholders. Similarly, Agile Coaches can mentor a Product Owner on more strategic product management or help a Development Team learn some more advanced engineering practices.
Communication is also the responsibility of both roles. Scrum Masters should be thinking about communication up through their team and with stakeholders, while Agile Coaches should be ensuring that Agile practices are effectively communicating with the broader organization. This is usually bringing the information from the executive leadership down to the Agile teams.
Finishing off
Agile Coaches and Scrum Masters are key players in today’s software development. The two have similar yet distinct responsibilities, and I’ve watched both roles change and mold to fit an organization’s needs.
The market demand for both positions is increasing, and professionals can earn a high salary. Collaboration between Agile Coaches and Scrum Masters is essential for successful Agile. There are plenty of advanced opportunities and career paths as the industry matures.
