Scrum Overview

In this wiki space, you’ll find the key information about what it is and how it is used in engineering teams.

What is Scrum? #

Scrum is a product development framework that helps teams become more Agile.

Agile is defined in the Agile Manifesto. The Scrum framework is defined in the Scrum Guide.

In essence, Scrum defines a process of work the team should follow, the accountabilities to be fulfilled as well as working agreements between team members.

Key Scrum Elements #

Scrum defines several key elements that make the framework what it is. You can review each in more detail on a dedicated page in this wiki.

Overview of a Sprint #

Here’s a simple image showing how a regular Sprint would be run. Read the explanation of the process below as you review the image.

In Scrum, the Scrum team works in Sprints that are shorter than 1 month. Very popular Sprint length is 2 weeks.

1. It starts with a demand coming from stakeholders and customers to build a product. And so the team begins their work.
2. The Product Owner collects information about customers’ needs and wants and decides on the next steps. This usually starts with defining a Product Goal. All the work to be done in the Product is documented in the Product Backlog.
3. The team starts their Sprint.
4. At the beginning of the Sprint, the team plans their work for the Sprint in a Sprint Planning. They follow the guidance given by the Product Owner on what they should work on. This is done with the help of a Sprint Goal that is initially defined by the Product Owner and then discussed and adjusted with the team if needed.
5. The team pulls the work from the Product Backlog into their Sprint Backlog guided by the Sprint Goal. They discuss what exactly needs to be done and decide how much work is reasonable.
6. The work starts. Every working day Developers meet for 15 minutes in a Daily Scrum to discuss their progress and plan their work for the day.
7. The team continuously refines its Product Backlog as more is discovered about the Product and customers’ and stakeholders’ needs.
8. At the end of the Sprint, the work that has been completed is added to the product Increment that can be presented to the stakeholders at the Sprint Review. Completed work must meet the Definition of Done – a checklist defining the minimum acceptable quality. The goal of Sprint Review is to get stakeholders’ feedback, discuss potential completion dates, and adjust the team’s plan for the next Sprint.
9. The Sprint ends with a Sprint Retrospective where the whole team discusses how to make their work more productive, enjoyable, and organized while also upholding the standards of Product quality.
10. This ends the Sprint and the next Sprint can start right away going over the same steps. The whole flow is facilitated by the Scrum Master who helps the Team to organize themselves and plan better.