Who is responsible for product quality in a Scrum Team?

In Scrum, all team members share the responsibility for product quality. This approach is founded on the belief that while roles may have specific focuses, the accountability for delivering a quality product lies with the entire team. Each member, including the Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Developers, contributes their skills and knowledge to ensure that quality is prioritized throughout the development process.

Collaboration is key in Scrum. By promoting a shared ownership of quality, the team fosters a culture where each member feels empowered to identify issues, suggest improvements, and actively participate in quality assurance practices. This collective responsibility supports continuous improvement and adaptability, which are core principles of Scrum.

In contrast, attributing quality responsibility to only one role, like the Product Owner or Scrum Master, undermines the collaborative nature of the team and may lead to a lack of engagement or accountability among other members. Moreover, relying on external auditors to check quality goes against the Scrum framework's emphasis on self-organizing teams that take ownership of their work and continuously strive for improvement.