Scrum is founded on empiricism and lean thinking that helps organisations generate value through adaptive solutions for complex problems. Scrum employs an iterative, incremental approach to optimise predictability and to control risk. The fundamental unit of Scrum is a small team comprising the Scrum Master, Product Owner, and Developers. The Scrum Team handles all product-related activities, from stakeholder collaboration, verification, maintenance, operation, experimentation, research and development, and anything else that might be required.
The Product Owner is accountable for effective Product Backlog management, which includes:
- Developing and explicitly communicating the Product Goal
- Creating and clearly communicating Product Backlog items
- Ordering Product Backlog items
- Ensuring that the Product Backlog is transparent, visible and understood
The Scrum Master serves the Scrum Team in several ways, including:
- Coaching the team members in self-management and cross-functionality;
- Helping the Scrum Team focus on creating high-value Increments that meet the Definition of Done
- Causing the removal of impediments to the Scrum Team’s progress; and,
- Ensuring that all Scrum events take place and are positive and kept within the Timebox.
Sprints are the heartbeat of Scrum, where ideas are turned into value. All the work necessary to achieve the Product Goal, including Sprint Planning, Daily Scrums, Sprint Review, and Sprint Retrospective, happen within Sprints. Sprint Planning starts the Sprint by laying out the work to be performed and the resulting plan is created by the collaborative work of the entire Scrum Team. The Product Owner ensures attendees are prepared to discuss the most important Product Backlog items and how they map to the Product Goal.
The purpose of the Daily Scrum is to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt the Sprint Backlog as necessary, adjusting the upcoming planned work. Daily Scrum is a 15-minute event, it is held at the same time and place every working day of the Sprint. The purpose of the Sprint Review is to inspect the outcome of the Sprint by key stakeholders. During the event, the Scrum Team and stakeholders review what was accomplished in the Sprint, what has changed and what to do next.
The purpose of the Sprint Retrospective is to plan ways to increase quality, inspect how the last Sprint went regarding individuals, interactions, processes, tools. The Scrum Team discusses what went well during the Sprint, what problems it encountered, and how those problems were solved.
Scrum’s artefacts represent work or value, designed to maximise the transparency of key information. The Product Backlog is an emergent, ordered list of what is needed to improve the product. Product Backlog items that can be Done by the Scrum Team within one Sprint are deemed ready for selection in a Sprint Planning event. An Increment is additive to all prior Increments that must provide value. The Definition of Done is a formal description of the state of the Increment when it meets the quality measures required for the product.