Who is responsible for deciding how to distribute work among team members?

In Scrum, the Development Team has the autonomy and responsibility to decide how to distribute work among its members. This principle is fundamental to the self-organizing nature of Scrum teams, which empowers them to manage their workflows effectively. Each member of the Development Team brings unique skills and expertise to the table, allowing the group to allocate tasks based on individual strengths, current capacity, and team dynamics.

This decision-making responsibility supports several core Scrum values, including collaboration, accountability, and commitment. By owning the distribution of work, the Development Team can react quickly to changes, optimize their processes, and take collective responsibility for delivering high-quality increments of the product.

In contrast, the other roles, such as the Scrum Master and the Product Owner, play different functions. The Scrum Master facilitates the process and helps remove obstacles but does not assign tasks. The Product Owner works on managing the product backlog and prioritizing work based on stakeholder needs but does not dictate how the Development Team executes the work. Stakeholders provide input and feedback but do not have a role in how the team organizes itself. Thus, the Development Team is entrusted with the flexibility to decide on the distribution of work to enhance collaboration and efficiency within the Scrum framework.