Scrum is a framework that can help agile marketing teams focus on delivering chunks of work that support their overall marketing strategy. Each piece of work, or story, contributes to a sprint goal; which in turn drives the success of your marketing goals.
As with any framework, it helps to have someone on your team that understands how to implement it consistently.
Scrum brings structure to agile marketing teams, while agile is more of a philosophy – based on principles of communication and collaboration, functioning output, team self-organization and flexibility in business processes – scrum is the framework that helps you get stuff done and reach your goals.
Essentially, it offers a useful structure that helps teams to reflect on and improve delivery and it emphasizes decision making from real-world results–made easier by today’s data driven marketing environment.
Scrum marketing is based on self-organizing teams. However, there are some key roles that help manage and connect all operations, such as The Scrum Master and the Product Owner.
What does a Scrum Master do?
The Scrum Master’s job is to clear the tracks for the team, making sure they have everything they need to get the job done.
He/she leads all major sprint actions – manages sprint reviews, planning meetings, stand-ups, and the overall facilitation of the scrum process. While overseeing these activities, he/she can determine their efficiency and suggest improvements when needed.
Accountability is one of the challenges that the person filling this role will have to manage – in this framework, the focus isn’t on who’s busy or not busy – it’s about fulfilling the goals that team has set, within the deadlines they’ve set.
Does your team need a Scrum Master?
If your team is new to scrum, you may want to involve a Scrum Master.
This person brings consistency, keeps the team working within the framework and interfaces with account owners, designers, content creators, and data scientists to ensure the sprint stays on track and that the team isn’t facing any blockers.
Who will be Scrum Master?
In smaller teams, it can be the team leader/project manager, if their responsibilities allow for this role as well. What’s important is that the Scrum Master be an organized person, someone the team trusts, someone who’s detail-oriented and has good communication skills.
In the case of multiple scrum teams, such as an agency environment, we suggest that the Scrum Master role be a permanent role.
When filling this role, look for a person with good leadership traits; analytical and problem-solving skills; the ability to remove obstacles for the team; the ability to negotiate resources with account executives and stakeholders. Their primary concern is making sure the team have what they need to excel.
Image credit: Sebastiaan ter Burg
This article was syndicated from Business 2 Community: The Role of a Scrum Master in Agile Marketing
More Sales & Marketing articles from Business 2 Community:
- Why Design Is Important for Content Marketing
- 3 Tips for Creating Effective Infographics to Boost Your Content Marketing Strategy
- Top 7 Content Marketing Analytics Tools
- Don’t Underestimate The Power of Permission Marketing
- Digital Marketing Tips to Maximise Your B2B Event Marketing
