Scrum Developer Roles and Responsibilities

A Scrum Master leads any Scrum project, but the most important and crucial members of a Scrum project are the Developers on that Scrum Team. Developers are the real people who bring the product to life and complete the Sprint Goals on time. 

Any Scrum Developer needs to be a quick learner, adapt quickly to transitions or changes, and understand the importance of deadlines. As Scrum is always member-bound and time-bound projects, every member of the team should be the best at their work. Each developer should understand the importance of time in Scrum projects and should tend to do fast-paced work.

Key Roles and Responsibilities of Scrum Developers

A Scrum team certainly involves many Developers working on the project, but that doesn’t mean any one of those can enjoy less work or some have to do more work. The work in Scrum projects for each Developer is distributed equally and they all have to perform an equal amount of tasks in the progress of the work. 

The Scrum Master and the Product Owner depend on the developers' performance, and they are required to fulfill each demand made by the two within the given amount of time. Certain Scrum Developer roles and responsibilities exist in every Scrum project to ensure the project's success within the timeframe decided for the Sprint. 

What Role Does A Scrum Developer in Scrum Projects?

A Scrum Developer has several roles in a project for every Sprint to prepare the deliverables or the asked product for that particular Sprint. These roles involve:

Understanding the Requirement

The first and most important role of a Scrum Developer is to understand the product requirements the Product Owner decides. Once the Product Owner has defined the requirement or the goal of Sprint, the development team sits down for discussion. To make it more clearly understandable by each development team member so that they can start distributing the work. 

Understanding the requirement is important for the Developer because if the requirement is not clear to any of the Developers then how will he/she be able to work efficiently on it. A clear understanding of the requirement helps a Developer define his own framework and at what pace he/she has to perform his tasks to complete it on the defined time. 

The whole development team discusses the requirements and develops a development plan for each developer. This session is important to raise any query or confusion about the order so that it doesn’t become a problem in the latter part of the development. 

Estimation of User Stories 

Another important developer role is estimating the user stories in the backlog. Estimating Sprint's backlog of user stories helps the team define Sprint's priorities. Keeping an estimate is vital in keeping the track of the project. This helps in defining their progress with each Sprint and the next most important thing they should focus on. 

Estimation maintains the project's workflow and accommodates the team with a list of the backlog they have left to finish before the deadline. For a developer, nothing is more important than delivering the product in the asked time. To achieve that, keeping an estimate of the backlog of user stories helps them know whether the workflow required for the project is maintained or not. 

Development of the Product

The above two roles are the initial roles for a Scrum Developer. Now, the most important and real task of the Scrum project arrives. They are on the development team because they are solely responsible for developing the required product. In Scrum, the development team, which has no more than nine members, is responsible for developing the whole product from scratch to its final stage. 

The Scrum Master or the Product Owner is only there to guide them, but the developers have to do the real work. So, it is important for every Developer to know the significance of the Sprint deadline and be able to complete it before the deadline. 

The product's development involves product analysis, programming, testing, web design, etc. The development team is responsible for all these tasks, which must be completed within the project's timeframe. 

A good grasp of all the Scrum Developer roles and responsibilities makes a quality Developer and helps him achieve his tasks easily and on time. 

Responsibilities a Scrum Developer has to perform

Each Scrum Developer has various responsibilities to perform in each Scrum project with his/her best efforts for the best results. Every developer is responsible for certain tasks in the project, and it is important to understand their significance. So they shouldn’t make any mistakes while performing them. 

Achieving the goal: 

Out of all the Scrum Developer roles and responsibilities, a Developer's first and foremost responsibility is to achieve each Sprint's goal at any cost. This goal is set within a particular timeframe, and the Developers have to ensure that they achieve it within the timeframe with the best results. 

Attending Daily Scrums: 

Daily Scrums are the daily team meetings held with the project members. They last 15 minutes and discuss the team's daily progress on the project. They also discuss any complications that need to be addressed. 

Assuring the Work Is Going on Track: 

The Developer needs to assure the Product Owner and the Scrum Master the work is going as planned and there is no delay in the daily work. For the Product Owner and the Scrum Master, it is essential to have confidence in the Developers. Developers can gain that confidence by assuring them that they are on track and they will be able to achieve the goal on time.

Providing Inputs for the User Stories: 

A Developer is someone who works closely with the software and understands what additions can benefit the user. Input from developers for the user Stories created by the Product Owner is an essential responsibility of a Developer. The suggestions are always considered by the Product Owner. 

Bringing Clarity to Epics & Personas: 

Epics & Personas are one of the key elements to define the needs in Scrum projects. So the Development team learns what exactly is required and how they can achieve it. Every Developer should consider understanding the Epics and Personas as clearly as possible for defining the project's requirements. 

Reporting Complications: 

Every Sprint comes along with several complications. Whenever a Developer faces any complication in the development of the product, he/she should always communicate it to the Scrum Master immediately. The whole team and especially the Scrum Master needs to know about such complications so that it doesn’t do bigger damage to the project. The Scrum Master will communicate the complication to the Product Owner and he will start working on solving it right away. 

Agreement on the Sprint’s Length: 

A Scrum Developer never works alone, there is a team of Developers in Scrum projects. Every Developer needs to work collaboratively and collectively with the team. So whatever the length of a Sprint is decided by the team every Developer has to agree with it. He should avoid being the laid-back one and should take the length as a challenge. 

Create the Sprint Burn-down Chart & the Sprint Backlog: 

The sprint burn-down chart and the backlog chart are crucial for a successful Scrum project. The backlog chart includes details of the items that need to be worked on, while the burn-down chart details the items the team has successfully developed and delivered. 

Final Words

The tricky thing about the Scrum framework is that it cannot have more than 9 Developers, and because of that, each Developer in the team should be extraordinary. It is essential to consider the significance of Scrum Developer roles and responsibilities in order to be the best Scrum Developer. 
Scrum Developers have so much work to do in a limited period that if they take their roles and responsibilities for granted then the project can suffer due to that. So they do not have the luxury to take them for granted and should give their best efforts towards the project. In the end, Developers create the product so they all have to be the best of the best. Additionally, Simpliaxis offers a Certified Scrum Developer (CSD) course, providing comprehensive training further to enhance your skills and expertise in the Scrum framework