Question: There are three roles defined in Scrum: Team, Product Owner and Scrum Master. There is no project manager, instead the **project manager job is spread across the three roles**. 

For instance:

* **The Scrum Master:** Responsible for the process. Removes impediments.
* **The Product Owner:** Manages and prioritizes the list of work to be done to maximize ROI. Represents all interested parties (customers, stakeholders).
* **The Team:** Self manage its work by estimating and distributing it among themselves. Responsible for meeting their own commitments.

So in Scrum, there is no longer a single person responsible for project success. There is no command-and-control structure in place. That seems to baffle a lot of people, specifically those not used to agile methods, and of course, PM's. 

I'm really interested in this and what your experiences are, as I think this is one of the things that can make or break a Scrum implementation.

***Do you agree with Scrum that a project manager is not needed? Do you think such a role is still required? Why?***

Answer: 
For me this comes from a lack of understanding of what a Project Manager does and the rather generic nature of the PM title. I'm not an expert on SCRUM but I've always seen the SCRUM Master as replacing the development manager / team leader rather than the Project Manager.

Project Managers (as defined by methodologies such as PRINCE2 - which is pretty much compatible with Agile methodologies) really aren't anything to do with the development process, they're looking after the project from a broader delivery perspective covering more than just the IT build. There are lots of things that sit within the Project Manager role that aren't covered elsewhere within Scrum (managing and monitoring the business case, managing the business stakeholders, elements of the project outside of the IT build such as reworking business processes, support, training and so on).

If your PM is the guy who looks after the developers and doesn't do much more than that (for instance on projects which are largely IT only where the scope is pretty well defined) then it may well be that he's not going to be needed on a SCRUM project.

But before someone says you don't need a PM for SCRUM, I'd want a pretty clear explanation of how the non-IT elements of the project are being covered and in particular who is managing the business case (because the users wanting it and it being something that should be done are different things).

It may be that the PM ends up sitting more on the business side of the project - the Product Owner may well take on more of the PM's role than the Scrum Master but I think it's unlikely that he'll be gone entirely.
I'd be fair and say that in my view what works for me is the Scrum master acting as the Project manager as well. Being a Scrum master isnt a full time job - once the team is mature the scrum master doesnt even need to attend the daily stand ups.  

There are more and more vacancies that I see for a Project Manager/ Scrum Master where companies do not want to differentiate these roles - rather have the same person handle both roles - ie: an Agile project manager.