Scrum: Empowering Teams to Deliver Value Through Empirical Adaptation

Scrum is a Framework and a social technology for delivering adaptive solutions in complex environments. It is built on empiricism—transparency, inspection, and adaptation—and is designed to help teams deliver value iteratively and incrementally. Scrum is a framework that helps teams work together to solve complex problems and deliver high-value products. Its about planning.

First Principals

1. Empiricism: Scrum is founded on empirical process control theory, or empiricism. Empiricism asserts that knowledge comes from experience and making decisions based on what is known.
2. Self-Organization: Scrum Teams are self-organizing and cross-functional. Self-organizing teams choose how best to accomplish their work, rather than being directed by others outside the team.
3. Collaboration: Scrum promotes collaboration among all roles to deliver the highest value.
4. Value-Based Prioritization: The Product Owner is responsible for maximizing the value of the product resulting from the work of the Development Team.
5. Time-Boxing: Time-boxed events are used to create regularity and to minimize the need for meetings not defined in Scrum.
6. Iterative Development: Scrum uses an iterative, incremental approach to optimize predictability and control risk.
7. Incremental Delivery: Scrum delivers a potentially releasable product increment at the end of each Sprint.
8. Continuous Improvement: Scrum Teams continuously improve through the use of the Scrum Events and by inspecting and adapting the product, processes, and practices.

Values

1. Commitment: The Scrum Team commits to achieving the Sprint Goal.
2. Focus: The Scrum Team focuses on the work of the Sprint and the goals of the Scrum Team.
3. Openness: The Scrum Team and its stakeholders agree to be open about all the work and the challenges with performing the work.
4. Respect: Scrum Team members respect each other to be capable, independent people.
5. Courage: The Scrum Team has the courage to do the right thing and work on tough problems.

Accountabilities

1. Scrum Team – Consists of a Product Owner, Developers, and a Scrum Master. The Scrum Team is self-managing and works collaboratively to deliver a usable Increment every Sprint.
2. Product Owner : Accountable for maximising product value and managing the Product Backlog.
3. Developers: Accountable for delivering usable Increments that meet the Definition of Done.
4. Scrum Master : Accountable for Scrum effectiveness, causing the removal of impediments, and coaching the team.

Events

1. Sprint: A fixed-length iteration (≤ 1 month) in which the team creates at least one usable Increment.
2. Sprint Planning: Based on the Product Goal, the team plans the work for the Sprint.
3. Daily Scrum: Based on the Sprint Goal the Developers plan work for the next 24 hours.
4. Sprint Review: Based on the current state of the Product, current business conditions, and possible future business conduction the Scrum Team plans whats next.
5. Sprint Retrospective: The Scrum Team plan on how they will change their system to improve the next Sprint.

Artifacts

6. Commitments
   • Product Goal: The long-term vision for the product.
   • Sprint Goal: A tactical objective for the Sprint.
   • Definition of Done (DoD): A quality standard for completed work.

Key Accountabilities

Scrum is lightweight, but difficult to master. It is not a process or methodology but a framework that helps teams navigate complexity through empirical process control.