Understanding Scrum
Core Principles of Scrum
Scrum is a framework for complex product development that emphasizes learning, adaptation, and collaboration. Unlike traditional hierarchical approaches optimized for predictable work, Scrum is designed for knowledge creation and innovation in unpredictable environments.
The Three Scrum Roles
- Product Owner: Responsible for ROI and product vision, prioritizes the product backlog, and makes final decisions about requirements.
- Development Team: A cross-functional, self-organizing group of no more than nine people who collaborate to deliver a potentially shippable product increment every sprint.
- Scrum Master: Facilitates the process, removes impediments, and helps the team and organization adopt Scrum practices. Has no management authority over the team.
Key Artifacts
- Product Backlog: A prioritized list of customer-centric features that might be implemented, maintained by the Product Owner.
- Sprint Backlog: The set of product backlog items selected for the current sprint, along with a plan for delivering them.
Scrum Meetings
- Sprint Planning: The team and Product Owner select items to attempt in the sprint and plan their implementation.
- Daily Scrum: A 15-minute daily meeting where team members coordinate activities and identify impediments.
- Sprint Review: A demonstration of the completed work to stakeholders to get feedback and adapt future plans.
- Sprint Retrospective: The team inspects and adapts their own process to improve for future sprints.
- Backlog Refinement: An unofficial but common meeting where the team and Product Owner prepare upcoming product backlog items.
Scrum vs. Traditional Methods
Unlike waterfall approaches where phases (analysis, design, implementation, testing) are sequential, Scrum combines all these activities in every sprint. This allows for faster feedback, continuous learning, and the ability to adapt to changing requirements.
Large-Scale Scrum
When multiple teams work on the same product, they maintain one product backlog but have separate sprint backlogs. Teams self-organize for coordination rather than relying on assigned coordinators or managers.