What is the role of Scrum Master, and how do you interact with this role as a product owner?

Remember to be clear about your understanding of the collaborative nature of the roles of Scrum Master and product owner. Also, it is important to communicate your understanding of the crossover between the two roles. For example, Scrum Masters and product owners are expected to have leadership and facilitation capabilities.

The Scrum Master is responsible for the successful facilitation of sprint and project ceremonies. They ensure that the team properly leverages the agile and Scrum principles to improve the quality of the products their teams develop. They mentor the team through the Scrum process and resolve conflicts that arise. Scrum Masters are also responsible for removing roadblocks and shielding the team from distractions.

As a Product Owner, I often work with the Scrum Master. They primarily adopt the perspective of the team, and I represent our customers. I seek their counsel when I have difficulty deciding on a priority order for stories. I often bring them along to customer meetings to educate our customers on the Scrum process. I seek their help in removing roadblocks as needed and provide them with the data needed to track our team's velocity and generate our burndown charts. We also partner heavily in the user story mapping and release planning processes.