Almost in every conference and every training I conduct I get asked this question. Should a ScrumMaster be dedicated or shared across the organization?
The simple answer is it is absolutely better for the team to have a dedicated ScrumMaster. But is it feasible and economical to the organization to have a dedicated ScrumMaster for every Agile team.
Undoubtedly, when a team have a dedicated ScrumMaster, all impediments will be addressed immediately, all confusions will be cleared promptly, and all improvements are addressed directly. The Agile team will benefit the most from a dedicated ScrumMaster.
But at the same time, how economical it is for the organization? some organizations and leaders take this as a pretext not to implement Agile. I say this is absolutely wrong. ScrumMaster can be used across multiple teams but also do not abuse the sharing. I have seen ScrumMaster being on 2-4 teams and doing a great job. It will all depends on the maturity of the team, the company politics, and finally the ScrumMaster skills ann experienced to handle the work.
Finally, a dedicated ScrumMaster is absolutely great for the team, but it is not economically feasible or justifiable. If you are in an organization that uses ScrumMaster on multiple teams, rest assure that you are not alone.
