If you would like to, you can read the official Scrum guide here:

Scrum is a lightweight framework to help teams develop a Product of value via a lean and adaptable approach. The theory behind it is based on the following fundamentals of Scrum:

  • Empiricism: Make decisions based on experiences and observations.
  • Lean thinking: Focus on the essentials to reduce waste.
  • Iteration: Take an iterative, incremental approach.

From these fundamentals comes the 3 “Scrum pillars”:

  • Transparency: The process and the resulting work must be visible to co-workers and stakeholders. Transparency enables inspection.
  • Inspection: The process and progress must be inspected regularly in-depth to detect potential issues early. Inspection enables adaption.
  • Adaption: If anything creeps outside of the bounds of acceptable, adjustments must be made to rectify the issue. Adaption is expected as soon as an issue has been identified.

The Product

The Product being developed under Scrum needs to be something of value. It can be a physical item or it can be a service. The Product needs clearly defined:

  • Stakeholders
  • Users
  • Boundaries

Product Goal

One of the most important things a Product needs is a Product Goal, this is the future state of the Product, illustrating what the long-term goal of the Product is.

Sprints

Sprints are the heartbeat of Scrum, where ideas are turned into value

Sprints are fixed-length blocks of time where work is done on the Product and Scrum Events take place. Each Sprint should be no longer than a month to enable consistency and generate regular learning cycles.

Sprint Goal

Each Sprint has its own Sprint Goal which is a statement on why the current Sprint is valuable to stakeholders. During the Sprint, no changes can be made which endanger that Sprint’s Goal.

Scrum artifacts

Scrum’s artifacts are items which depict the work that needs to be done or the value that the work done has created. They should be transparent so that anyone can inspect them, therefore enabling them to easily make decisions about where adaption is required. Each artifact has a commitment for which progress can be measured against.

Product Backlog

The Product Backlog is the single source of work undertaken under Scrum and is an ordered list of what is needed to improve the Product. Items in the backlog that can be done within one Sprint are ready for selection, whereas larger items need to be refined and broken down into smaller items that can be done within a Sprint.

The commitment of the Product Backlog is to the Product Goal which is the long-term objective for the Product to plan towards.

Sprint Backlog

The Sprint Backlog is the selection of Product Backlog items that have been chosen to be worked on for the given Sprint, along with the Sprint Goal and an actionable plan to deliver the work. It should be a real-time picture of the work done and the work still to do during the Sprint to achieve the Sprint goal. It should be updated and adapted during the Sprint as required.

The commitment of the Sprint Backlog is to the Sprint Goal which is the objective for the Sprint encouraging focused teamwork instead of individual initiatives.

Increment

An increment is one or more work items that meet the Definition of Done and are a usable step towards the Product Goal.

The commitment of an Increment is to the Definition of Done which is the set of standards that the work on all Product Backlog items must meet to be considered complete.

Scrum Team

A Scrum Team is a single unit of professionals working towards the Product Goal. They are typically 10 or fewer people:

  • 2-8 x Developers
  • 1 x Product Owner
  • 1 x Scrum Master

They are self-managing, meaning that they internally decide who does what, when, and how. If a Product requires a larger Scrum Team than 10 people, instead of growing the team beyond 10 members, they should be split into two teams sharing the same Product Goal, Product Backlog, and Product Owner.

The Scrum Team is responsible for all Product-related activities, for example:

  • Stakeholder collaboration
  • Verification
  • Maintenance
  • Operation
  • Experimentation
  • R&D

Developers

Developers are the people who work on items within the Sprint Backlog, they are always accountable for:

  • Creating a plan for the Sprint
  • Adhering to the Definition of Done
  • Adapting their plans daily toward the Sprint Goal
  • Holding each other accountable

Product Owner

The Product Owner’s job is to maximize the value of the Product via work done by the Scrum Team, they are also accountable for:

  • Managing the Product Backlog
  • Developing and communicating the Product Goal
  • Creating and communicating items in the Product Backlog
  • Ordering Product Backlog items
  • Ensuring that the Product Backlog is transparent, visible and understood

The Product Owner may delegate some of this work, but they are still accountable for those tasks.

Ultimately the Product Owner is one person who represents the needs of the stakeholders and makes the final decisions regarding the Product. People wanting to change the Product Backlog must convince the Product Owner. If the Sprint Goals become obsolete the Product Owner has the authority to cancel the Sprint.

Scrum Master

The Scrum Master’s job is to make sure everyone is working effectively using the Scrum framework, they are also accountable for:

  • Coaching team members on self-management
  • Helping the team focus on creating high-value Increments that meet the Definition of Done
  • Removing blockers of the team’s progress
  • Ensuring all Scrum events are positive, productive and within the agreed timeframe

They also help the Product Owner, which might include assisting with:

  • The Product Goal definition
  • Product Backlog management
  • Ensuring the Scrum Team understands the need for clear and concise Product Backlog items
  • Establishing Product planning
  • Facilitating stakeholder collaboration as needed

Scrum Events

A Sprint is not just the work that is done within it, Sprint’s must also include the following Scrum Events:

  • Sprint Planning
  • Daily Scrums
  • Sprint Review
  • Sprint Retrospective

Sprint Planning

Sprint Planning is the first event of a Sprint and for a one-month Sprint, should take a max of 8 hours (~2 hours per week in the Sprint).

The purpose of Sprint Planning is to prepare for a successful Sprint. The entire Scrum Team comes prepared to discuss the most important items in the Product Backlog and how they map to the Product Goal. Others outside of the Scrum Team may be invited to provide advice.

During the Sprint Planning they address:

  • Why this Sprint is valuable: Defining the Product Goal to communicate why the Sprint is valuable to Stakeholders. This must be finalised before the end of Sprint Planning.
  • What can be done in this Sprint: The Scrum Team selects Product Backlog items that will be completed.
  • How will the chosen work get done: The Developers plan the work needed to create an Increment that meets the Definition of Done. Often this is done by breaking the work up into smaller items that take a day or less to complete.

Together the Sprint Goal, the selected Product Backlog items, and the plan are referred to as the Sprint Backlog.

Daily Scrum

The Daily Scrum is a daily event during a Sprint, with each Daily Scrum taking around 15 minutes each.

The purpose of the Daily Scrum is for the Scrum Team’s Developers to meet, review progress on the Sprint Goal and adapt the Sprint Backlog if required. If the Product Owner or Scrum Master are also working on items they participate as Developers. It is up to the Developers to choose how they want to handle their Daily Scrums provided that it focuses on ensuring progress and produces an actionable plan for the day’s work.

Sprint Review

The Sprint Review is the second last event of the Sprint and for a one-month Sprint, should take a max of 4 hours (~1 hour per week in the Sprint).

The purpose of the Sprint Review is for the Scrum Team and the stakeholders to come together to review the outcome of the Sprint and their progress toward the Product Goal. It is a working session, not just a presentation. Based on this, attendees collaborate on what should be done next, adjusting the Product Backlog if required.

Sprint Retrospective

The Sprint Retrospective is the final event of the Sprint and for a one-month Sprint, should take a max of 3 hours (~45 minutes per week in the Sprint).

The purpose of the Sprint Retrospective is for the Scrum Team to review how the Sprint went and identify helpful changes to improve the team’s effectiveness.

In Summary

The most basic definition of Scrum (and from the official guide) is:

  • A Product Owner orders work for a complex problem by putting it into the Product Backlog
  • Scrum Teams select items from the Product Backlog for their Sprint to create an increment of value
  • Scrum Teams and stakeholders inspect the result to adjust for the next Sprint
  • Repeat