Product Owners vs Scrum Masters

When the budget goes tight on the projects we have frequently seen the two key roles pretty much played by a single person. But that defies the true sense of implementing Agile during a project delivery

While the Product Owner is the custodian of the Product, which very often people refer as the CEO of the product, the Scrum Master is the guardian of the implementation team

Product Owner sets the vision for the Product, manages stakeholders and relationships with cross functional teams to drive the Product Roadmap. However the Scrum Master is the defender of the team's objectives, ensures the team is not over burdened and the team health is up to the mark . It is in this context very rightly Scrum Masters are often referred as the Servant Leaders

The relationship between the Product Owner and the Scrum Master is hence very vital to strike the right balance between sprint velocity and team health