Scrum - what it is, how it works, and why it's awesome

Scrum is a framework that helps teams work together. Much like a rugby team (where it gets its name) training for the big game, scrum encourages teams to ... CloseViewthispageinyourlanguage?AlllanguagesChooseyourlanguage中文DeutschEnglishEspañolFrançaisItaliano한국어MagyarNederlands日本語PortuguêsPусскийPolskiScrumLearnhowtoscrumwiththebestof‘emBrowsetopicsAgilemanifestoScrumBackOverviewSprintsSprintplanningCeremoniesBacklogsSprintreviewsStandupsScrummasterRetrospectivesDistributedscrumRolesScrumofscrumsAgilescrumartifactsScrummetricsJiraConfluencescrumKanbanBackOverviewBoardsWIPlimitsKanbanvsScrumKanplanCardsAgileprojectmanagementBackOverviewProjectmanagementintroWorkflowEpics,stories,themesEpicsUserStoriesEstimationMetricsGanttchartProgrammanagementvs.projectmanagementProductManagementBackOverviewProductRoadmapsProductManagerTipsfornewproductmanagersRoadmapsTipsforpresentingproductroadmapsRequirementsHowtoprioritizefeaturesusingNPSProductanalyticsRemoteproductmanagementAgileatscaleBackOverviewManaginganagileportfolioLeanportfoliomanagementOkrsLong-termagileplanningWhatisSAFe?SpotifymodelOrganizationalagilitywithScrum@ScaleScalingagilewithRosettaStoneAgileirontriangleTheLarge-ScaleScrum(LeSS)frameworkUsingImprovementKatatosupportleanBeyondthebasicswhitepaperSoftwaredevelopmentBackOverviewDeveloperDevmanagersvsscrummastersGitBranchingGitbranchingvideoCodereviewsReleaseStressfreereleaseTechnicaldebtTestingIncidentresponseContinuousintegrationDesignBackOverviewProductdesignprocesscustomerinterviewCollaborativedesigninagileteamsvideoAgilemarketingBackOverviewWhatisAgileMarketing?HowtocreateanagilemarketingteamTheagileadvantageBackOverviewConnectingbusinessstrategytodevelopmentrealityAgileisacompetitiveadvantageCultivatinganagilemindsetGoingagileDevOpsAgileTeamsBackOverviewRemoteteamsWorkingwithspecialistsReleasereadyteamsAgilent’sagiletransformationjourneyAdvancedRoadmapsHowTwitterusesJiraAgiletutorialsBackOverviewJiraConfluencesprintrefinementHowtodoscrumwithJiraSoftwareLearnadvancedscrumwithJiraSoftwareLearnkanbanwithJiraSoftwareLearnhowtouseEpicsinJiraSoftwareLearnhowtocreateanagileboardinJiraSoftwareLearnhowtousesprintsinJiraSoftwareLearnVersionswithJiraSoftwareLearnIssueswithJiraSoftwareLearnburndownchartswithJiraSoftwareAuto-createsub-tasksandupdatefieldsinJiraHowtoautomaticallyassignissueswithJiraSoftwareAutomationHowtosyncepicsstorieswithJiraSoftwareAutomationAutomaticallyescalateoverdueissuesinJiraAgileconversationsBackOverviewUnlockingmarketingagilityThepowerofagileandcustomerinsightsThinkbig,worksmallAbouttheAgileCoachBackOverviewDanRadiganMaxRehkopfClaireDrumondLauraDalySherifMansourMartinSuntingerAllarticlesWhatisScrum?Scrumisaframeworkthathelpsteamsworktogether.Muchlikearugbyteam(whereitgetsitsname)trainingforthebiggame,scrumencouragesteamstolearnthroughexperiences,self-organizewhileworkingonaproblem,andreflectontheirwinsandlossestocontinuouslyimprove.WhilethescrumI’mtalkingaboutismostfrequentlyusedbysoftwaredevelopmentteams,itsprinciplesandlessonscanbeappliedtoallkindsofteamwork.Thisisoneofthereasonsscrumissopopular.Oftenthoughtofasanagileprojectmanagementframework,scrumdescribesasetofmeetings,tools,androlesthatworkinconcerttohelpteamsstructureandmanagetheirwork.Inthisarticle,we’lldiscusshowatraditionalscrumframeworkiscomprisedwiththehelpofthe ScrumGuideandDavidWest,CEOof Scrum.org.We’llalsoincludeexamplesofhowweseeourcustomersstrayfromthesefundamentalstofittheirspecificneeds.Forthat,ourownMeganCook,GroupProductManagerforJiraSoftwareandformeragilecoach,willgivetipsandtricksinourAgileCoachvideoseries:GetstartedfreewiththeJirascrumtemplateUsetemplateREADONBELOWScrumarticlesArticleSprintsAsprintisashort,timeboxedperiodwhenascrumteamworkstocompleteasetamountofwork.ArticleSprintPlanningSprintPlanningisaneventinscrumthatdefineswhatcanbedeliveredintheupcomingsprintandhowthatworkwillbeachieved.ArticleFouragileceremonies,demystifiedLearnhowtofacilitategreatagileceremonieslikesprintplanning,dailystand-ups,iterationreviewandretrospectives.ArticleTheproductbacklog:yourultimateto-dolistWhatisaproductbackloginagileorscrum?Learnaboutthebestpracticesformanagingandprioritizingahealthyproductbacklog.ArticleThreestepstobettersprintreviewsLearnhowsprintreviewsdemonstratethehardworkoftheentireteam:designers,developers,andtheproductowner.ArticleStandupsforagileteamsLearnhowstandupscontributetoahealthyagileprogramandsometipsandtricksforyouandyourteam.ArticleWhatisaScrumMaster?LearnwhataScrumMasteris(andwhattheyareNOT),andhowtherolesupportsandworkswithothermembersofanagileteam.articleAgileretrospectives:UsethepasttodefinethefutureAretrospectivehelpsteamsperformbetterovertime.Seewhattheagilecommunityissayingandlearnhowtorunyourownretrospectivemeetings.articleAgileScrumRolesLearnabouttheresponsibilitiesandactivitiesassociatedwiththethreemajoragilescrumroles:scrummaster,productowner,anddevelopmentteam.articleScrumofscrumsScrumofscrumsisascaledagiletechniquethatoffersawaytoconnectmultipleteamswhoneedtoworktogethertodelivercomplexsolutions.LearnhowtoscalescrumwithexamplesfromAtlassianandothers.TutorialLearnscrumwithJiraSoftwareAstep-by-stepguideonhowtodriveascrumproject,prioritizeandorganizeyourbacklogintosprints,runthescrumceremoniesandmore,allinJira.TrythistutorialProductFeatureFromsilotocohesionwithJiraScrumBoardsTheJiraScrumBoardisthevisualdisplayofprogressduringthedevelopmentcycle.Getitfree[CONTINUED]TheframeworkPeopleoftenthinkscrumandagilearethesamethingbecausescrumiscenteredaroundcontinuousimprovement,whichisacoreprincipleofagile.However,scrumisaframeworkforgettingworkdone,whereagileisamindset.Youcan’treally“goagile”,asittakesdedicationfromthewholeteamtochangethewaytheythinkaboutdeliveringvaluetoyourcustomers.Butyoucanuseaframeworklikescrumtohelpyoustartthinkingthatwayandtopracticebuildingagileprinciplesintoyoureverydaycommunicationandwork.Thescrumframeworkisheuristic;it’sbasedoncontinuouslearningandadjustmenttofluctuatingfactors.Itacknowledgesthattheteamdoesn’tknoweverythingatthestartofaprojectandwillevolvethroughexperience.Scrumisstructuredtohelpteamsnaturallyadapttochangingconditionsanduserrequirements,withre-prioritizationbuiltintotheprocessandshortreleasecyclessoyourteamcanconstantlylearnandimprove.Whilescrumisstructured,itisnotentirelyrigid.Itsexecutioncanbetailoredtotheneedsofanyorganization.Therearemanytheoriesabouthowexactlyscrumteamsmustworkinordertobesuccessful.However,aftermorethanadecadeofhelpingagileteamsgetworkdoneatAtlassian,we’velearnedthatclearcommunication,transparency,andadedicationtocontinuousimprovementshouldalwaysremainatthecenterofwhateverframeworkyouchoose.Andtherestisuptoyou.ScrumartifactsLet’sstartwithidentifyingthethreeartifactsinscrum.Artifactsaresomethingthatwemake,likeatooltosolveaproblem.Inscrum,thesethreeartifactsareaproductbacklog,asprintbacklog,andanincrementwithyourdefinitionof“done”.Theyarethethreeconstantsinascrumteamthatwecontinuetorevisitandinvestinovertime.ProductBacklogistheprimary listofworkthatneedstogetdonemaintainedbytheproductownerorproductmanager.Thisisadynamiclistoffeatures,requirements,enhancements,andfixesthatactsastheinputforthesprintbacklog.Itis,essentially,theteam’s“ToDo”list.Theproductbacklogisconstantlyrevisited,re-prioritizedandmaintainedbytheProductOwnerbecause,aswelearnmoreorasthemarketchanges,itemsmaynolongerberelevantorproblemsmaygetsolvedinotherways.SprintBacklogisthelistofitems,userstories,orbugfixes,selectedbythedevelopmentteamforimplementationinthecurrentsprintcycle.Beforeeachsprint,inthesprintplanningmeeting(whichwe’lldiscusslaterinthearticle)theteamchooseswhichitemsitwillworkonforthesprintfromtheproductbacklog.Asprintbacklogmaybeflexibleandcanevolveduringasprint.However,thefundamentalsprintgoal–whattheteamwantstoachievefromthecurrentsprint–cannotbecompromised.Increment(orSprintGoal)istheusableend-productfromasprint.AtAtlassian,weusuallydemonstratethe“increment”duringtheend-of-sprintdemo,wheretheteamshowswhatwascompletedinthesprint.Youmaynotheartheword“increment”outintheworld,asit’softenreferredtoastheteam’sdefinitionof“Done”,amilestone,thesprintgoal,orevenafullversionorashippedepic.Itjustdependsonhowyourteamsdefines“Done”andhowyoudefineyoursprintgoals.Forexample,someteamschoosetoreleasesomethingtotheircustomersattheendofeverysprint.Sotheirdefinitionof‘done’wouldbe‘shipped’.However,thismaynotberealisticofothertypesofteams.Sayyouworkonaserver-basedproductthatcanonlyshiptoyourcustomerseveryquarter.Youmaystillchoosetoworkin2-weeksprints,butyourdefinitionof‘done’maybefinishingpartofalargerversionthatyouplantoshiptogether.Butofcourse,thelongerittakestoreleasesoftware,thehighertheriskthatsoftwarewillmissthemark.Asyoucantell,therearelotsofvariations,evenwithinartifacts,thatyourteamcanchoosetodefine.That’swhyit’simportanttoberemainopentoevolvinghowyoumaintainevenyourartifacts.Perhapsyourdefinitionof‘done’providesundostressonyourteam,andyouneedtogobackandpickanewdefinition.ProtipYoushouldbejustasagilewithyourframeworkasyouarewithyourproduct.Takethenecessarytimetocheckinonhowthingsaregoing,makeadjustmentsifneeded,anddon’tforcesomethingjustforthesakeofconsistency.ScrumceremoniesoreventsSomeofthemorewell-knowncomponentsofthescrumframeworkarethesetofsequentialevents,ceremonies,ormeetingsthatscrumteamsperformonaregularbasis.Theceremoniesarewhereweseethemostvariationsforteams.Forexample,someteamsfinddoingalloftheseceremoniescumbersomeandrepetitive,whileothersusethemasanecessarycheck-in.Ouradviceistostartoutusingalloftheceremoniesfortwosprintsandseehowitfeels.Youcanthenperformaquickretroandseewhereyoumightneedtoadjust. Belowisalistofallthekeyceremoniesascrumteammightpartakein:Organizethebacklog:Sometimesknownasbackloggrooming,thiseventistheresponsibilityoftheproductowner.Theproductowner’smainjobsaretodrivetheproducttowardsitsproductvisionandhaveaconstantpulseonthemarketandthecustomer.Therefore,he/shemaintainsthislistusingfeedbackfromusersandthedevelopmentteamtohelpprioritizeandkeepthelistcleanandreadytobeworkedonatanygiventime.Youcanreadmoreaboutmaintainingahealthybackloghere.Sprintplanning:Theworktobeperformed(scope)duringthecurrentsprintisplannedduringthismeetingbytheentiredevelopmentteam.Thismeetingisledbythescrummasterandiswheretheteamdecidesonthesprintgoal.Specificusestoriesarethenaddedtothesprintfromtheproductbacklog. Thesestoriesalwaysalignwiththegoalandarealsoagreeduponbythescrumteamtobefeasibletoimplementduringthesprint.Attheendoftheplanningmeeting,everyscrummemberneedstobeclearonwhatcanbedeliveredinthesprintandhowtheincrementcanbedelivered.Sprint:Asprintistheactualtimeperiodwhenthescrumteamworkstogethertofinishanincrement.Twoweeksisaprettytypicallengthforasprint,thoughsometeamsfindaweektobeeasiertoscopeoramonthtobeeasiertodeliveravaluableincrement.DaveWest,fromScrum.orgadvisesthatthemorecomplextheworkandthemoreunknowns,theshorterthesprintshouldbe.Butit’sreallyuptoyourteam,andyoushouldn’tbeafraidtochangeitifit’snotworking!Duringthisperiod,thescopecanbere-negotiatedbetweentheproductownerandthedevelopmentteamifnecessary.Thisformsthecruxoftheempiricalnatureofscrum.Alltheevents—fromplanningtoretrospective—happenduringthesprint.Onceacertaintimeintervalforasprintisestablished,ithastoremainconsistentthroughoutthedevelopmentperiod.Thishelpstheteamlearnfrompastexperiencesandapplythatinsighttofuturesprints.Dailyscrumorstandup:Thisisadailysuper-shortmeetingthathappensatthesametime(usuallymornings)andplacetokeepitsimple.Manyteamstrytocompletethemeetingin15minutes,butthat’sjustaguideline.Thismeetingisalsocalleda‘dailystand-up’emphasizingthatitneedstobeaquickone.Thegoalofthedailyscrumisforeveryoneontheteamtobeonthesamepage,alignedwiththesprintgoal,andtogetaplanoutforthenext24hours.Thestandupisthetimetovoiceanyconcernsyouhavewithmeetingthesprintgoaloranyblockers.Acommonwaytoconductastandupisforeveryteammembertoanswersthreequestionsinthecontextofachievingthesprintgoal:•   WhatdidIdoyesterday?•   WhatdoIplantodotoday?•   Arethereanyobstacles?However,we’veseenthemeetingquicklyturnintopeoplereadingfromtheircalendarsfromyesterdayandforthenextday.Thetheorybehindthestandupisthatitkeepdistractingchattertoadailymeeting,sotheteamcanfocusontheworkfortherestoftheday. Soifitturnsintoadailycalendarread-out,don’tbeafraidtochangeitupandgetcreative.Sprintreview:Attheendofthesprint,theteamgetstogetherforaninformalsessiontoviewademoof,orinspect,theincrement.Thedevelopmentteamshowcasesthebacklogitemsthatarenow‘Done’tostakeholdersandteammatesforfeedback.Theproductownercandecidewhetherornottoreleasetheincrement,althoughinmostcasestheincrementisreleased.Thisreviewmeetingisalsowhentheproductownerreworkstheproductbacklogbasedonthecurrentsprint,whichcanfeedintothenextsprintplanningsession.Foraone-monthsprint,considertime-boxingyoursprintreviewtoamaximumoffourhours.Sprintretrospective:Theretrospectiveiswheretheteamcomestogethertodocumentanddiscusswhatworkedandwhatdidn’tworkinasprint,aproject,peopleorrelationships,tools,orevenforcertainceremonies.Theideaistocreateaplacewheretheteamcanfocusonwhatwentwellandwhatneedstobeimprovedforthenexttime,andlessaboutwhatwentwrong.GetstartedfreewiththeJirascrumtemplateUsetemplateThreeessentialrolesforscrumsuccessAscrumteamneedsthreespecificroles:productowner,scrummaster,andthedevelopmentteam.Andbecausescrumteamsarecross-functional,thedevelopmentteamincludestesters,designers,UXspecialists,andopsengineersinadditiontodevelopers. ThescrumproductownerProductownersarethechampionsfortheirproduct.Theyarefocusedonunderstandingbusiness,customer,andmarketrequirements,thenprioritizingtheworktobedonebytheengineeringteamaccordingly.Effectiveproductowners:Buildandmanagetheproductbacklog.Closelypartnerwiththebusinessandtheteamtoensureeveryoneunderstandstheworkitemsintheproductbacklog.Givetheteamclearguidanceonwhichfeaturestodelivernext.Decidewhentoshiptheproductwithapredispositiontowardsmorefrequentdelivery.Theproductownerisnotalwaystheproductmanager.Productownersfocusonensuringthedevelopmentteamdeliversthemostvaluetothebusiness.Also,it'simportantthattheproductownerbeanindividual.Nodevelopmentteamwantsmixedguidancefrommultipleproductowners.ThescrummasterScrummastersarethechampionsforscrumwithintheirteams.Theycoachteams,productowners,andthebusinessonthescrumprocess,andlookforwaystofine-tunetheirpracticeofit.Aneffectivescrummasterdeeplyunderstandstheworkbeingdonebytheteamandcanhelptheteamoptimizetheirtransparencyanddeliveryflow.Asthefacilitator-in-chief,he/sheschedulestheneededresources(bothhumanandlogistical)forsprintplanning,stand-up,sprintreview,andthesprintretrospective.ThescrumdevelopmentteamScrumteamsgets*%&done.Theyarearethechampionsforsustainabledevelopmentpractices.Themosteffectivescrumteamsaretight-knit,co-located,andusuallyfivetosevenmembers.Onewaytoworkouttheteamsizeistousethefamous‘twopizzarule’coinedbyJeffBezos,theCEOofAmazon(theteamshouldbesmallenoughtosharetwopizzas).Teammembershavedifferingskillsets,andcross-traineachothersonoonepersonbecomesabottleneckinthedeliveryofwork.Strongscrumteamsareself-organisingandapproachtheirprojectswithaclear‘we’attitude.Allmembersoftheteamhelponeanothertoensureasuccessfulsprintcompletion.Thescrumteamdrivestheplanforeachsprint.Theyforecasthowmuchworktheybelievetheycancompleteovertheiterationusingtheirhistoricalvelocityasaguide.Keepingtheiterationlengthfixedgivesthedevelopmentteamimportantfeedbackontheirestimationanddeliveryprocess,whichinturnmakestheirforecastsincreasinglyaccurateovertime.Scrum,kanban,andagileScrumissuchapopularagileframeworkthatscrumandagileareoftenmisunderstoodtobethesamething.Butthereareotherframeworks,likekanban,whichisapopularalternative.Somecompaniesevenchoosetofollowahybridmodelofscrumandkanban,whichhasacquiredthenameof"Scrumban" or"Kanplan," whichisKanbanwithabacklog. Bothscrumandkanbanusevisualmethodssuchasthescrumboardorkanbanboardtotracktheprogressofwork.Bothemphasizeefficiencyandsplittingcomplextasksintosmallerchunksofmanageablework,buttheirapproachestowardsthatgoalaredifferent.Scrumfocusesonsmaller,fixed-lengthiterations.Oncethetimeperiodforasprintisfinalized,thestoriesorproductbacklogentriesthatcanbeimplementedduringthissprintcyclearethendetermined.Inkanban,however,thenumberoftasksortheworkinprogress(WIPlimit)tobeimplementedinthecurrentcycleisfixedatfirst.Thetimetakentoimplementthesefeaturesisthencalculatedbackward.Kanbanisnotasstructuredasscrum.OtherthantheWIPlimit,itisfairlyopentointerpretation.Scrum,however,hasseveralcategoricalconceptsenforcedaspartofitsimplementationsuchassprintreview,retrospective,dailyscrum,etc.Italsoinsistsoncross-functionality,whichistheabilityofascrumteamtonotdependonexternalmemberstoachievetheirgoals.Puttingtogetheracross-functionalteamisnotstraightforward.Inthatsense,kanbaniseasiertoadaptwhereasscrumcanbeconsideredasafundamentalshiftinthethoughtprocessandfunctioningofadevelopmentteam.But,whyscrum?Thescrumframeworkitselfissimple.Therules,artifacts,events,androlesareeasytounderstand.Itssemi-prescriptiveapproachactuallyhelpsremovetheambiguitiesinthedevelopmentprocess,whilegivingsufficientspaceforcompaniestointroducetheirindividualflavortoit.Theorganizationofcomplextasksintomanageableuserstoriesmakesitidealfordifficultprojects.Also,thecleardemarcationofrolesandplannedeventsensurethatthereistransparencyandcollectiveownershipthroughoutthedevelopmentcycle.Quickreleaseskeeptheteammotivatedandtheusershappyastheycanseeprogressinashortamountoftime.However,scrumcouldtaketimetofullyunderstand,especiallyifthedevelopmentteamisacclimatizedtoatypicalwaterfallmodel.Theconceptsofsmalleriterations,dailyscrummeetings,sprintreviews,andidentifyingascrummastercouldbeachallengingculturalshiftforanewteam.But,thelong-termbenefitsfaroutweightheinitiallearningcurve.Scrum’ssuccessindevelopingcomplexhardwareandsoftwareproductsacrossdiverseindustriesandverticalsmakesitacompellingframeworktoadoptforyourorganization.Tolearn scrumwithJiraSoftware,checkoutthistutorial.  ClaireDrumondClaireDrumond isamarketingstrategist, speaker,andwriterforAtlassian.SheistheauthorofnumerousarticlespublishedontheTrelloandAtlassianblogsandisaregularcontributortovariouspublicationsonMediumincludingHackerNoon,Art+Marketing,andPoetsUnlimited.Shespeaksattechconferencesaroundtheworldaboutagile,breakingdownsilos,andbuildingempathy.TutorialReadytogetstarted?Trythistutorial.Astep-by-stepguideonhowtodriveascrumproject,prioritizeandorganizeyourbacklogintosprints,runthescrumceremoniesandmore,allinJira.ReadthistutorialupnextKanbanAnintroductiontokanbanmethodologyforagilesoftwaredevelopmentanditsbenefitsforyouragileteam.ReadthisarticleUpNextSprints