The Three (okay Four) Musketeers of Scrum teams

An Agile project team is like the three musketeers. Even though they all wear the same hat, they bring different skills to the team.

Anyone who knows scrum will know these three heroes of Agile are the Product Owner, the Scrum Master and the Development team. Okay so I know the Development team technically isn’t a person, it’s a whole bunch of people, but I’m trying to keep the Alexandre Dumas theme going and build toward the musketeers’ rallying cry “All for one, and one for all!” so work with me here.

And okay, anyone who knows their Dumas will know that there was a fourth musketeer, D’Artagnian. That would be the Project Delivery Manager.

I’m going to briefly go into the roles of these four musketeers and explain how they are different in Scrum but come together with a clash of swords and the cry of “All for one and one for all!” in an act of dashing bravado worthy of a Hollywood movie. Okay, no Scrum meeting I have attended looked quite like that but bear with me, I’m trying to work this metaphor.

The first musketeer is the Product Owner, Athos, the silent leader of this trio. The core of the musketeers and, it’s strongly implied, the best of the best among their number. He (or she, the time when musketeers were only men has thankfully long passed) plays a big role in commissioning the product and main priority is to define and prioritise its list of features (in Scrum-talk, a “Product Backlog”). And spookily, just like in Dumas’ famous classic, a lot of the responsibility falls on his shoulders so when things get tough he is prone to dark moods and quick flashes of temper… well, if his name is actually Athos, he might be. It’s a deceptively difficult role, this, because you can all too easily totter between “tragic hero” and “sullen bastard”.

The second musketeer is the Scrum Master, Porthos. More or less Athos’ second in the Musketeers, has a big appetite for, well, everything, especially roles and structure. Generally, he is either found with his nose in Jira tickets or in, um, let’s just say in everything else. He plays a big role in facilitating the whole Scrum process, coaching and enforcing the rules of Scrum. And just like the character in the book, he is extremely dedicated and loyal toward his friends and fellow Musketeers, keeping the whole process moving forward.

The third musketeer is the whole Development team, Aramis, constantly ambitious and unsatisfied. And just like in the book, they are often underestimated by their foes, since they can sometimes appear uncertain in what they are proposing, and perhaps aren’t as quick on their feet as the other two musketeers. But they rely on prodigious strength rather than fancy footwork. Their main role is in the development and testing of the product. They deliver products every sprint, and every step they advance will be a hard-fought victory.

But if the three musketeers work in a collaborative process in which everyone gets a say and everyone has something to contribute, why would they need the fourth musketeer? What role does a Project Delivery Manager play in a Scrum team?

The fourth musketeer is the Project Delivery Manager, D’Artagnan. Just like in the book D'Artagnan's role among the musketeers is one of leadership (his planning and communication skills impress the musketeers greatly). He plays the main role in integrating the whole process with the rest of the organisation and manages dependencies, costs, risks, and anything else that will enhance the success of the project. The other musketeers (especially Athos, the Product Owner) see D’Artagnan not only as a best friend and fellow musketeer, but as an ally to help bridge any gaps with project sponsors.

That’s it. The musketeer metaphor is spent. You can cast your stakeholders variously as the virtuous Queen Anne of Austria, the scheming Cardinal Richelieu, the machiavellian Louis XIII, and the evil Milady if you want, but that’s on you. Scrum is structured to facilitate cooperation and collaboration, not the brutal free-for-all of politics in 17th century France.