Should a scrum master know how to code?

Who is a Scrum master?

A Scrum Master is a person who is responsible for promoting and supporting Scrum. It is the job of a Scrum master to run the Scrum team and deliver the project to the customer on time. Having a Scrum Master certification validates your skills on the Scrum framework and is proof that you have the ability to be an effective scrum master.

Being a Scrum master comes with a variety of responsibilities and roles that we have already talked about in our previous articles. But today our discussion is a little different from what we have talked about in our earlier articles. It is regarding whether a scrum master should know to code or not.

Should a Scrum master know to code or not?

When we want someone to write code, the only thing that comes to our minds is to look for a programmer right? So if a person knows how to code then he must be a programmer. But when you work in an agile environment, there are lots of roles and responsibilities assigned to everyone working. And as per the Scrum master, he has the biggest responsibilities of all. That is why there are many people who think that a Scrum master also knows to code.

But in our view and what we have researched so far, it is highly unlikely that a Scrum master also knows to code. It is neither in his job description to be able to code nor in the CSM preparation, will you find a topic to learn to code. So if you are expecting from a Scrum master to have the skills to do coding, then you are wrong here. It is very clearly mentioned in the Scrum guide that there is no need for the Scrum master to know how to code. Thus no organization or company can make it mandatory for a Scrum master to also learn to code above all the other work that he has to do.

This work includes the following:

• He has to act as a master communicator and must be able to freely translate from technical to business and vice versa.
• Similarly, he has to be very perceptive and able to diagnose complex inter-personal issues and then act courageously.
• Moreover, the Scrum Master also has to act as a referee on issues related to the Scrum framework.
• Making sure the whole team has a clear view of what is and isn’t to be done.

Thus this and many other roles and responsibilities are a part of a Scrum master which doesn’t include anything related to coding.

Some exceptions where a Scrum master might be able to code:

Though we are quite clear about the Scrum master not have to be able to code, yet there might be a situation where the Scrum Master knows how to code. Or he developed the skills to code according to the given condition. Well, this can happen when the size of your scrum team is very small that is less than 5. So automatically, in such a case a Scrum master would have to not only fill in on his role but also participate in the Dev team.

Conclusion:

So in the end we believe anyone who has read this article would have now known that a Scrum master is not obliged to know how to code. For preparing for Professional Scrum Master(PSM) Certification, check out the PSM Certification Dumps for study resources and preparation. It is because knowing to code is not in the job description of the Scrum master and is totally different from the skills that are required by the Scrum master.