TL; DR: Three Data Points Pointing to the Decline of the Scrum Master’s Role
If you hang out in the “Agile” bubble on LinkedIn, the dice have already been cast: Scrum is out (and the Scrum Master), and the new kid on the block is [insert your preferred successor framework choice here.] I’m not entirely certain about that, but several data points on my side suggest a decline in the role of the Scrum Master.
Read on and learn more about whether the Scrum Master is a role at risk.
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My Data Points: Downloads, Survey Participants, Scrum Master Class Students
Here are my three data points regarding the development:
Decline in Download Numbers of the Scrum Master Interview Questions Guide
Years ago, I created the Scrum Master Interviews Question Guide on behalf of a client to identify suitable candidates for open Scrum Master positions. It has since grown to 83 questions and has been downloaded over 28,000 times.
Interestingly, the number of downloads in 2022 (2,428) and 2024 (1,236) practically halved. I would have expected the opposite, with newly unemployed Scrum Masters preparing for new rounds of job interviews. Unless, of course, the number of open positions also drops significantly, and fewer candidates need to brush up their Scrum knowledge before an interview.
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Decline in the Number of Participants in the Scrum Master Salary Report
Since 2017, I have published the Scrum Master Salary Report more or less regularly. The statistical model behind the survey is built on a threshold of 1,000 participants, as the survey addresses a global audience.
It has never been easy to convince so many people to spend 10 minutes supporting a community effort, but I have managed so far. For the 2024 edition, we had 1,114 participants. In 2023, we had 1,146 participants; in 2023, there were 1,113.
But this time, it is different. Before an emergency newsletter on December 26, 2024, there were fewer than 400 valid data sets; today, there are still fewer than 650. (Likely, there won’t be a 2025 edition.)
Decline in Scrum Master Class Students
As a Professional Scrum Trainer, I run an educational business that offers Scrum.org-affiliated classes, such as those for Scrum Masters.
In 2020, the entry-level Scrum Master classes—public and private—represented 49% of my students. In 2021, that number dropped to 26%, but I also offered more different classes. In 2022, the number was stable at 24%, and it fell to 17% in 2023. In 2024, however, that number was less than 5%, and I decided to stop offering these classes as public offerings altogether in 2025.
Are those student numbers representative? Of course not. However, they still point to the declining perception of how valuable these classes are from the career perspectives of individuals and corporate training departments. (By the way, the corresponding Product Owner classes fare much better.)
Conclusion
Of course, in addition to those mentioned above, there are other indicators: Google trends for the search term “Scrum Master,” the number of certifications passed, or job openings on large job sites.
Nevertheless, while the jury is still out, it seems that the love affair of many organizations with the Scrum Master role has cooled significantly.
What is your take: is the Scrum Master a role in decline? Please share your observations with us via the comments.
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At my organisation the Scrum Master role was never fully embraced and was not remunerated particularly for that role. Rather it was deemed a hatted role i.e. intended that many people in the team each have a turn whilst still completing their nominal role. However, not everyone is suited to the role of the Scrum Master. The teams that adopted Agile well were those where the scrum master was engaged fully in the role and took up support from the Agile Coach to embed practices to uphold the framework.
Also, they changed the name from Scrum Master to Scrum Lead (not liking the tone of what a “master” could be interpreted as). I actually applied for a coveted role as a full time Scrum Master (or Lead) and even though I had PSM1 & PSM2 training, there was no getting around the fact that my role description was being altered to suit the group that I was allocated to. It was sold as it’s an “enabler” role i.e. you do whatever the group needs & support your Product Owner. This was sold as; the position in this group is more like a Group Scrum Lead role (custodian of the Agile System of work & help facilitate the group’s delivery) whether it be planning, admin, resourcing, finance & facilitation.
As a Scrum Master since 2017, I evidenced a lot of different contexts while playing my role. However, a few things were always there: Scrum mostly seen as a ‘tool to deliver’ (not to discover), but in the context more of a ‘Team-only’ process, not something, the whole organization respects.
Consequently, the PO role not being laid out as developed through the Guide or Scrum Theory, having the final say and accountability on the Product, but as a hierarchical leader of the Scrum Team and a ‘Product Backlog Items Prioritizer’ (with fixed milestones and more or less fixed scope to be delivered). The scope of the Product, as well, being defined by someone in the organization, not the PO, and not the Scrum Team.
As a result, Scrum Masters, me included, tried to work with the organization to change this context, shifting to more autonomy for the Scrum Team, establishing Pull (against Push), advocating for value discovery and more flexible Product Boundaries (against something defined and set in stone).
The general direction of these outcomes on all my and others’ initiatives: resistance to change in the organizations’ commanding or controlling of the Scrum Teams’ constraints. And if I wanted to stay in the field, I had to compromise heavily to avoid destructive conflict. Sometimes even with the Developers, who wanted to work without this ‘stress’ of having to discuss and engage with the organization.
What, in turn, went against my inner values (as I’m a big fan of true collaboration). What made me go away after some time … having had impact by scarifying myself is not a sustainable model, isn’t it?
So I listened to Jeff, having had the opportunity 2-3 times. And he stated: ” … and if top management is not fully supporting the change inevitably connected to introducing Scrum, I won’t go in there or send any of my Teams into that organization!”
Well, if a name of this kind is somewhat overwhelmed, what’s in my power?
I take good care of myself first and try to impact wherever wanted, as long as possible, recovering for a while, … trying as long as I see need and honest demand… more as a Change Agent, having to create my mandate for this Change on the fly, as focusing on value delivery or collaboration.