The three accountabilities
The Scrum Guide describes the Scrum Team as including a Product Owner, Scrum Master and Developers. Each accountability exists to support value delivery in a different way.
| Question | Practical answer |
|---|---|
| Product Owner | Maximizes product value and manages the Product Backlog. |
| Scrum Master | Helps establish Scrum, supports effectiveness and removes impediments within the Scrum context. |
| Developers | Create the usable increment and own the technical work needed to meet the Definition of Done. |
The events have different jobs
| Question | Practical answer |
|---|---|
| Sprint Planning | Set the goal and plan the work. |
| Daily Scrum | Inspect progress toward the sprint goal and adapt the plan. |
| Sprint Review | Inspect the increment with stakeholders and adapt the backlog. |
| Retrospective | Inspect how the team worked and identify improvements. |
Where the PM fits
In organizations using Scrum, a project manager may still have valuable responsibilities around external dependencies, commercial commitments, governance, stakeholder coordination and organizational constraints. The exact role depends on the operating model.
Accountability is more useful than ceremony
Scrum works when people understand why each event exists. Planning creates a shared near-term objective, Daily Scrum inspects progress toward the goal, Review gets external feedback, and Retrospective improves the way the team works.
Watch for role confusion
If a Scrum Master runs the Daily Scrum as a manager status meeting while the Product Owner dictates technical implementation, the team may still have the vocabulary of Scrum but not the intended accountability structure.
The same person may hold different responsibilities in a real organization, but the team should still know who owns product priorities, who supports the Scrum system, and who is accountable for the increment.
For a story that is blocked by a third-party API, write the next useful action for the Product Owner, Scrum Master and Developer. Avoid giving all three the same responsibility.