What is Scrum?
Scrum is an agile framework that helps people, teams, and organizations generate value through adaptive solutions for complex problems. It’s a lightweight framework that fosters iterative progress, collaboration, and adaptability. Scrum is based on a few key concepts, and its use is detailed in the Scrum Guide, last updated in 2020 by its co-creators.
Key Concepts of Scrum
Scrum Team: The fundamental unit in Scrum is a small team of people. It consists of one Scrum Master, one Product Owner, and Developers. Within the Scrum Team, there are no sub-teams or hierarchies. It’s a single, cohesive unit focused on one objective at a time.
Self-Managing: The Scrum Team is self-managing, meaning they have the autonomy to decide who does the work, how they do it, and what they work on to achieve the Sprint Goal.
Sprint: A short, fixed-length iteration (usually one to four weeks) during which the Scrum Team creates a valuable, usable Increment.
Scrum Events
The Scrum framework is built on a series of events that create a consistent cadence for the team’s work:
Sprint Planning: An event at the beginning of each Sprint where the Scrum Team collaborates to plan the work. The team discusses the “Why” (the Sprint Goal), the “What” (the work to be done), and the “How” (the plan to deliver the Increment).
Daily Scrum: A brief daily meeting for the Developers to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt the Sprint Backlog as needed.
Sprint Review: An event at the end of the Sprint to inspect the Increment and gather feedback from stakeholders.
Sprint Retrospective: A meeting for the Scrum Team to inspect itself and create a plan for improvements for the next Sprint.
Scrum Artifacts and Commitments
Scrum’s artifacts represent work or value. Each has a “commitment” that provides a focus and measure of progress:
Product Backlog: An ordered, emergent list of everything needed to improve the product. Its commitment is the Product Goal, a long-term objective for the Scrum Team.
Sprint Backlog: A plan created by and for the Developers. It’s composed of the Sprint Goal, the set of Product Backlog items selected for the Sprint, and the plan for delivering the Increment. Its commitment is the Sprint Goal.
Increment: The result of all the work completed during the Sprint. The Increment is a usable, valuable step toward the Product Goal. Its commitment is the Definition of Done.
Application and Benefits
Scrum is a flexible framework suitable for complex projects with evolving needs. Its core benefits include increased flexibility to respond to change, enhanced transparency, and improved collaboration. It is recommended for projects that require a collaborative team environment and continuous feedback to achieve high customer satisfaction.
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FAQ
The main purpose of Scrum is to help teams generate value for complex problems through adaptive and iterative solutions.
The Scrum Team consists of a Product Owner, a Scrum Master, and a group of Developers.
The current Scrum Guide uses “self-managing” to emphasize that the Scrum Team has the autonomy to decide not just how to do the work, but also what and who to work on to achieve the Sprint Goal.