The Scrum Guide

The Definitive Guide to Scrum:

The Rules of the Game

October 20xx

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Table of Contents

Purpose of the Scrum Guide ........................................................................................................... 3

Scrum Overview .............................................................................................................................. 3

Scrum F .............. 3

Scrum The .............. 4

Scrum ....... .............. 5

The Scrum .............. 5

The Pro .............. 5

The Dev .............. 6

The Scru .............. 6

Scrum Eve .............. 7

The Spri .............. 8

Sprint P .............. 9

Daily Scr ............ 10

Sprint R ............ 11

Sprint R ............ 11

Scrum Arti ............ 12

Product ............ 12

Sprint B ............ 14

Increme ............ 14

Definition ............ 15

Conclusion ............ 15

Acknowled ............ 16

People .. ............ 16

History . ............ 16

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Purpose of the Scrum Guide

Scrum is a framework for developing and sustaining complex products. This Guide contains the

definition of Scrum. This definition consists of Scrum’s roles, events, artifacts, and the rules that

bind them together. Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland developed Scrum; the Scrum Guide is

written and provided by them. Together, they stand behind the Scrum Guide.

Scrum O Scrum (n): while

productive

Lightw

Simple

Extrem

Scrum is a pment

since the e er, it is a

framework kes clear

the relativ you can

improve.

Scrum F

The Scrum facts, and

rules. Each l to

Scrum’s su

Specific str

The rules o nships and

interaction his

document

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Scrum Theory 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. Scrum

employs an iterative, incremental approach to optimize predictability and control risk.

Three pillars uphold every implementation of empirical process control: transparency

inspection,

Transpare

Significant e.

Transparen hare a

common u

For examp

A com nd,

A com nd those

accept

Inspection

Scrum use tect

undesirabl in the way

of the wor ectors at

the point o

Adaptatio

If an inspe ptable

limits, and being

processed mize

further dev

Scrum pres d in the

Scrum Even

Sprint

Daily S

Sprint

Sprint

1 See “Definition of “Done”, p. 15.

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ScrumScrum is a framework structured to support complex product development. Scrum consists of

Scrum Teams and their associated roles, events, artifacts, and rules. Each component within the

framework serves a specific purpose and is essential to Scrum’s success and usage.

The Scr The Scrum aster.

Scrum Tea ow best to

accomplish unctional

teams hav hers not

part of the y, and

productivit

Scrum Tea for

feedback. n of

working pr

The Prod The Produ rk of the

Developm ams, and

individuals

The Produ Product

Backlog m

Clearly

Orderi

Ensuri

Ensuri ws what

the Scr

Ensuri level

neede

The Produ wever, the

Product Ow

The Product Owner is one person, not a committee. he roduct Owner may represent the

desires of a committee in the Product Backlog, but those wanting to change a backlog item’s

priority must convince the Product Owner.

For the Product Owner to succeed, the entire organization must respect his or her decisions. The

Product Owner’s decisions are visible in the content and ordering of the Product Backlog. No

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one is allowed to tell the Development Team to work from a different set of requirements, and

the Development Team isn’t allowed to act on what anyone else says.

The Development Team

The Development Team consists of professionals who do the work of delivering a potentially

releasable Increment of “Done” product at the end of each Sprint. Only members of the

Developm

Developm nd

manage th erall

efficiency a

They a nt Team

how to y;

Develo to create

a prod

Scrum ,

regard this rule;

Individ ocus, but

accoun

Develo e testing

or bus

Developm

Optimal De o

complete s nteraction

and results skill

constraints a

potentially

coordinati cal process

to manage unless

they are al

The Scru The Scrum m Masters

do this by . The

Scrum Mas

The Scrum Master helps those outside the Scrum Team understand which of their interactions

with the Scrum Team are helpful and which aren’t. The Scrum Master helps everyone change

these interactions to maximize the value created by the Scrum Team.

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Scrum Master Service to the Product Owner

The Scrum Master serves the Product Owner in several ways, including:

Finding techniques for effective Product Backlog management;

Clearly communicating vision, goals, and Product Backlog items to the Development Team;

Teaching the Scrum Team to create clear and concise Product Backlog items;

Unders

Unders

Facilita

Scrum Ma

The Scrum

Coachi

Teachi

Remov

Facilita

Coachi s not yet

fully ad

Scrum Ma

The Scrum

Leadin

Planni

Helpin roduct

develo

Causin

Workin n of Scrum

in the

Scrum E Prescribed meetings

not define imum

duration. T ng waste

in the plan

Other than the Sprint itself, which is a container for all other events, each event in Scrum is a

formal opportunity to inspect and adapt something. These events are specifically designed to

enable critical transparency and inspection. Failure to include any of these events results in

reduced transparency and is a lost opportunity to inspect and adapt.

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The Sprint The heart of Scrum is a Sprint, a time-box of one month or less during which a “Done”, useable,

and potentially releasable product Increment is created. Sprints have consistent durations

throughout a development effort. A new Sprint starts immediately after the conclusion of the

previous Sprint.

Sprints con ment work,

the Sprint

During the

No cha

Develo

Quality

Scope pment

Team a

Each Sprin projects,

Sprints are built, a

design and .

Sprints are nition of

what is be able

predictabil every

calendar m

Cancelling

A Sprint ca has the

authority t

stakeholde

A Sprint w e

company c Sprint

should be he short

duration o

When a Sp ewed. If

part of the complete

Product Ba g p g k done on

them depreciates quickly and must be frequently re-estimated.

Sprint cancellations consume resources, since everyone has to regroup in another Sprint

Planning Meeting to start another Sprint. Sprint cancellations are often traumatic to the Scrum

Team, and are very uncommon.

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Sprint Planning Meeting The work to be performed in the Sprint is planned at the Sprint Planning Meeting. This plan is

created by the collaborative work of the entire Scrum Team.

The Sprint Planning Meeting is time-boxed to eight hours for a one-month Sprint. For shorter

Sprints, the event is proportionately shorter. For example, two-week Sprints have four-hour

Sprint Plan

The Sprint alf of the

Sprint Plan er the

following q

What w

How w

Part One:

In this part veloped

during the

Developm rk of the

Sprint.

The input t ed

capacity of velopment

Team. The up to the

Developm ver the

upcoming

After the D Sprint, the

Scrum Tea n the

Sprint thro o the

Developm

Part Two:

Having sel d this

functionali tems

selected fo

The Develo o convert

the Produc g g p y y g , r

estimated effort. However, enough work is planned during the Sprint Planning Meeting for the

Development Team to forecast what it believes it can do in the upcoming Sprint. Work planned

for the first days of the Sprint by the Development Team is decomposed to units of one day or

less by the end of this meeting. The Development Team self-organizes to undertake the work in

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the Sprint Backlog, both during the Sprint Planning Meeting and as needed throughout the

Sprint.

The Product Owner may be present during the second part of the Sprint Planning Meeting to

clarify the selected Product Backlog items and to help make trade-offs. If the Development

Team determines it has too much or too little work, it may renegotiate the Sprint Backlog items

with the P nd in order

to provide

By the end xplain to

the Produc m to

accomplish

Sprint Go

The Sprint ty

implement

As the Dev nt Goal, it

implement n the

Developm iate the

scope of Sp

The Sprint

Daily Scr The Daily S ronize

activities a ince the

last Daily S

The Daily S ring the

meeting, e

W

W

W

The Develo al and to

assess how e Daily

Scrum opt . The

Development Team often meets immediately after the Daily Scrum to re-plan the rest of the

Sprint’s work. Every day, the Development Team should be able to explain to the Product Owner

and Scrum Master how it intends to work together as a self-organizing team to accomplish the

goal and create the anticipated Increment in the remainder of the Sprint.

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The Scrum Master ensures that the Development Team has the meeting, but the Development

Team is responsible for conducting the Daily Scrum. The Scrum Master teaches the

Development Team to keep the Daily Scrum within the 15-minute time-box.

The Scrum Master enforces the rule that only Development Team members participate in the

Daily Scrum. The Daily Scrum is not a status meeting, and is for the people transforming the

Product Ba

Daily Scrum e

impedimen ove the

Developm ng.

Sprint R A Sprint Re e Product

Backlog if n orate

about wha klog

during the an

informal m k and

foster colla

This is a fo me is

allocated f iews.

The Sprint

The Pr e”;

The De ms it ran

into, a

The De uestions

about

The Pr ikely

compl

The en des

valuab

The result Product

Backlog ite meet new

opportunit

Sprint Retrospective The Sprint Retrospective is an opportunity for the Scrum Team to inspect itself and create a plan

for improvements to be enacted during the next Sprint.

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The Sprint Retrospective occurs after the Sprint Review and prior to the next Sprint Planning

Meeting. This is a three-hour time-boxed meeting for one-month Sprints. Proportionately less

time is allocated for shorter Sprints.

The purpose of the Sprint Retrospective is to:

Inspec d tools;

Identif d,

Create s work.

The Scrum

framework yable for

the next Sp ase

product qu

By the end ements

that it will t Sprint is

the adapta ay be

implement ocus on

inspection

Scrum A Scrum’s ar

transparen um are

specifically crum

Teams are

Product The Produ uct and is

the single s duct

Owner is r dering.

A Product nitially

known and ct and the

environme antly

changes to l. As long

as a produ

The Product Backlog lists all features, functions, requirements, enhancements, and fixes that

constitute the changes to be made to the product in future releases. Product Backlog items have

the attributes of a description, order, and estimate.

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The Product Backlog is often ordered by value, risk, priority, and necessity. Top-ordered Product

Backlog items drive immediate development activities. The higher the order, the more a Product

Backlog item has been considered, and the more consensus exists regarding it and its value.

Higher ordered Product Backlog items are clearer and more detailed than lower ordered ones.

More precise estimates are made based on the greater clarity and increased detail; the lower

the order, am for the

upcoming be “Done”

within the ment Team

within one g Meeting.

As a produ duct

Backlog be g, so a

Product Ba ns, or

technology

Multiple Sc g is used

to describe ps items is

then empl

Product Ba the

Product Ba opment

Team colla oming,

items are r duct

Owner or a

Grooming

Developm orm

grooming i ming

usually con

The Develo ence the

Developm will

perform th

Monitorin

At any poin duct

Owner tra wner

compares t ess

toward completing projected work by the desired time for the goal. This information is made

transparent to all stakeholders.

Various trend burndown, burnup and other projective practices have been used to forecast

progress. These have proven useful. However, these do not replace the importance of

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empiricism. In complex environments, what will happen is unknown. Only what has happened

may be used for forward-looking decision-making.

Sprint Backlog The Sprint Backlog is the set of Product Backlog items selected for the Sprint plus a plan for

delivering the product Increment and realizing the Sprint Goal. The Sprint Backlog is a forecast

by the Dev the work

needed to

The Sprint uct

Backlog ite rk that the

Developm

The Sprint tood in

the Daily S t, and the

Sprint Back Team

works thro Goal.

As new wo k is

performed f the plan

are deeme its Sprint

Backlog du work that

the Develo the

Developm

Monitorin

At any poin an be

summed. T aily Scrum.

The Develo g the

Sprint Goa eam can

manage its

Scrum doe maining

and date a

Increme The Increm nd all

previous S eans it

must be in useable condition and meet the Scrum Team’s Definition of “Done.” It must be in

useable condition regardless of whether the Product Owner decides to actually release it.

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Definition of “Done” When the Product Backlog item or an Increment is described as “Done”, everyone must

understand what “Done” means. Although this varies significantly per Scrum Team, members

must have a shared understanding of what it means for work to be complete, to ensure

transparency. This is the “Definition of Done” for the Scrum Team and is used to assess when

work is com

The same klog items

it can selec

Increments rrent

Definition

Developm ncrement

is useable, is additive

to all prior her.

As Scrum T nclude

more strin

Conclus Scrum is fr mmutable

and althou rum exists

only in its e ies, and

practices.

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Acknowledgements

People Of the thousands of people who have contributed to Scrum, we should single out those who

were instrumental in its first ten years. First there was Jeff Sutherland, working with Jeff

McKenna,

contribute it is

today. Dav of the

Scrum Gui

History Ken Schwa in 1995.

This presen previous

few years

The history tried and

refined, we

The Scrum by Jeff

Sutherland d insights

about how rk. These

optimize p