Scrum Fundamentals

See how Scrum fits in the ‘Agile way’

Scrum Events

A scrum sprint is a time-boxed period, usually two to four weeks, during which specific work has to be completed and made ready for review. It is used in Agile software development and is part of the Scrum framework. During the sprint, a team works to complete specific goals and deliverables.

The main Scrum events are:

1. Sprint Planning: This event is attended by the entire Scrum Team (Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Development Team). The goal of this event is to plan out the upcoming sprint and decide which items from the product backlog will be worked on during the sprint.

Less than 8 hours.

2. Daily (Stand-up) Scrum: This event is attended by the Development Team and the Scrum Master. The goal of this event is to review progress from the day before, identify any obstacles, and plan out what needs to be done for the day.

15 minutes

3. Sprint Review: This event is attended by the entire Scrum Team (Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Development Team). The goal of this event is to review the work done during the sprint, receive feedback, and demonstrate the completed product.

Less than 4 hours.

4. Sprint Retrospective: This event is attended by the entire Scrum Team (Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Development Team). The goal of this event is to review the sprint, identify what went well and what can be improved, and plan out actions to improve the process for the next sprint.

Less than 3 hours.

3 Pillars of Scrum (TIA)

The three pillars of Scrum are:

1. Transparency: All aspects of the process must be visible to those involved. This includes progress, issues, and actions.

2. Inspection: Regularly examining the progress and results of the process and adjusting accordingly.

3. Adaptation: Making changes to the process to improve its effectiveness. Empiricism is the foundation of Scrum and is based on three principles:

Empiricism

Evidence-based decision making:

All decisions should be based on observable, empirical evidence. Regularly inspect the process and results to identify areas for improvement. Make changes to the process based on the evidence gathered from inspection.

These principles ensure that the process is constantly inspected and improved, leading to better results.

Scrum Values

The 5 Scrum values are:

The 3 Scrum Artifacts

These are the physical parts of scrum that can be touched. Not necessarily the only thing, but these must, at least, be included in every scrum project

1. The Product Backlog – committed to the Product Goal. Responsibility of the Product Owner
   1. It gives an overall direction to all Sprints.
   2. It helps the team stay focused and make better decisions
   3. It makes it easier to inspect the incremental progress of the product
2. The Sprint Backlog – committed to the Sprint Goal. Why (goal), what (PBI’s), how (actionable plan to deliver the increment). Responsibility of the developer team.
3. The Increment – committed to the DoD. Responsibility of the scrum team.