Scrum is an Agile framework for completing complex projects. Scrum originally was formalized for software development projects, but it works well for any complex, innovative scope of work. The possibilities are endless. The Scrum framework is deceptively simple.
Scrum Principles
The framework and terminology are simple in concept yet difficult to implement. Successful Scrum teams embrace the values upon which Scrum is based :
We value
- Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
- Completed functionality over comprehensive documentation
- Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
- Responding to change over following a plan
That is, while there is value in the items on the right, the items on the left matter more.
True success with the Scrum framework comes from teams and organizations who understand these values and the principles that form the foundation of all agile processes.
Scrum Terminology
We’ve introduced some new terms in describing the Scrum framework. Let’s look at them in more detail. Scrum is made up of three roles, four ceremonies, and three artifacts.
Three roles
- Product owner: responsible for the business value of the project
- ScrumMaster: ensures that the team is functional and productive
- Team: self-organizes to get the work done
Four ceremonies
- Sprint planning: the team meets with the product owner to choose a set of work to deliver during a sprint
- Daily scrum: the team meets each day to share struggles and progress
- Sprint reviews: the team demonstrates to the product owner what it has completed during the sprint
- Sprint retrospectives: the team looks for ways to improve the product and the process.
Three artifacts
- Product backlog: ordered list of ideas for the product
- Sprint backlog: set of work from the product backlog that the team agrees to complete in a sprint, broken into tasks
- Product Increment: required result of every sprint. It is an integrated version of the product, kept at high enough quality to be shippable.