Learning Scrum
Short guidance
What is Scrum
Scrum is a lightweight framework that helps people, teams and
organizations generate value through adaptive solutions for complex
problems.
Scrum Roles
- Product owner
- Scrum Master
- Development team
The Scrum process encourages practitioners to work with what they have
and continually evaluate what is or is not working. Good communication
is essential and is carried out through meetings, called “events.”
Scrum Events
- Scrum. This event is a short, stand-up daily meeting that takes place in the same place and time each day. In these meetings, the team reviews work accomplished the previous day and plans what will be done in the next 24 hours. This is the time when team members discuss problems that might prevent project completion.
- Sprint. A Sprint is the time frame in which work must be completed -- often 30 days. New Sprints start right after the end of the previous one.
- Sprint Planning Meeting. In these meetings, everyone participates in setting goals. At the end, at least one increment -- a usable piece of software -- should be produced.
- Sprint Review. This is the time to show off the increment.
- Sprint Retrospective. A Sprint Retrospective is a meeting held after a Sprint ends. During this meeting, everyone reflects on the process. A team-building exercise may also be offered. An important goal of this event is continuous improvement.
Scrum Artifacts
Scrum artifacts help manage the work:
- Product Backlog - An emergent, ordered list of what is needed to improve the product and includes the product goal.
- Sprint Backlog - The set of product backlog items selected for the sprint by the developers (team members), plus a plan for delivering the increment and realizing the sprint goal.
- Increment - A sum of usable sprint backlog items completed by the developers in the sprint that meets the definition of done, plus the value of all the increments that came before. Each increment is a recognizable, visibly improved, operating version of the product.
The team displays its plans and progress so that all team members and
stakeholders can always see what the team is accomplishing.
Commitments
Each artifact has an associated commitment - not to be confused with one
of the scrum values (covered below) - that ensures quality and keeps the
team focused on delivering value to its users.
- Definition of Done - When the increment is delivered, it needs to meet a shared understanding of what “done” means. The definition of done ensures that the standard of quality is met. The definition of done can differ between organizations and teams.
- Sprint Goal - A specific and singular purpose for the sprint backlog. This goal helps everyone focus on the essence of what needs to be done and why.
- Product Goal - To plan the work to be done each sprint, teams need an idea of their product’s overall objective. Each team may have multiple product goals over its lifetime, but only one at a time.
Burndown Charts
A sprint burndown (or burnup) chart is not an official scrum artifact
but many teams use it to communicate and track progress toward the
sprint goal during the sprint.
A burn down chart is a visual representation of the amount of work that
still needs to be completed. A burn down chart has a Y axis that shows
work and an X axis that shows time. Ideally, the chart illustrates a
downward trend, as the amount of work still left to do over time burns
down to zero.
Scrum pillars and values
The three pillars of Scrum are adaptation, inspection and transparency.
- Adaptation. The team consistently revises its approach to problems and takes on new ones as they arise.
- Inspection. The team consistently reflects on and evaluates its performance.
- Transparency. The team works in an open environment, where all members have insight into each other’s process and are aware of the challenges others face.
Scrum’s five core values support the pillars. They are the following:
- Commitment. The team is self-directed, and everyone is dedicated to doing the work that has been agreed upon.
- Courage. The team operates as one entity and succeeds or fails together. Members do the right thing and take on tough problems.
- Focus. Distractions are limited, and the team concentrates on the work that must be done today.
- Openness. The team spends time sharing where it has succeeded and what must be improved.
- Respect. Team members have different strengths, and each member’s strengths are respected. No one is blamed when figuring out how to fix what is not working.