💡 Anything that might impact the work on the product needs to be communicated as soon as it’s known, even if it’s not yet confirmed. That information needs to be visible, easily accessible, and most of all, understood by everyone it may impact. Without transparency, everything done in the product is futile.
How do Scrum Artifacts help keep information transparent? #
Increment #
The Increment can be considered transparent when it is fully aligned with the Definition of Done, and the Definition of Done is clear, visible, and understood by everyone, including stakeholders.
Transparent Increment means it is in a potentially releasable state, it is working and usable (e.g. a working software, not just a mockup).
Product Backlog #
The Product Backlog is transparent when it is accessible, and understood by the team and the stakeholders, when it is up-to-date, meaning, it is properly ordered by the Product Owner and the top priority items are well-refined.
The Product Backlog must be aligned with the Product Goal defined by the Product Owner.
Sprint Backlog #
The Sprint Backlog is transparent when it is visible and accessible to everyone involved in the development of the product and reflects the current status of work. It must be aligned with the Sprint Goal decided by the team during the Sprint Planning.
It is transparent when it helps the team keep track of their progress and plan their work to achieve the Sprint Goal.
What else needs to be made transparent? #
Transparency doesn’t stop with the Artifacts, and must go beyond the basic information radiation. It’s essential to keep the following transparent to everyone involved in the development of the product:
- Any challenges, impediments, or issues that impact the team’s ability to deliver.
- Progress towards goals, such as Sprint Goal or Product Goal.
- Workflows and processes surrounding the product work.
- Plans created and adjustments made to them.
- Experiments and improvements implemented.
- Feedback and thoughts about the current state of the product and its quality.
- Concerns, conflicts, and communication breakdowns.
- Potential changes, not yet confirmed, that may impact the team in the future.
