What is Scrum?

Scrum is essential for professionals and teams working in an Agile environment. The EXIN Agile Scrum Foundation certification is designed to help professionals master Scrum practices, making it a solid foundation for those starting their Agile journey.

Below is a glossary summarising key Scrum concepts and principles.

Scrum: A Process Framework

Unlike a methodology, Scrum is a process framework that doesn’t prescribe how to plan, document, or approve activities. It provides a flexible structure for teams to manage work in iterations.

Scrum Pillars and Values

Three Pillars:

• Transparency: Tasks must be visible to all team members.
• Inspection: Regular reviews of tasks.
• Adaptation: Adjustments based on feedback.

Values:

• Commitment, Focus, Openness, Respect: These values promote a culture of dedication, clear communication, and teamwork.

Scrum Roles

1. Development Team: Self-organised and cross-functional, responsible for building the product increment.
2. Product Owner: Represents the customer, owns the Product Backlog, and maximises product value.
3. Scrum Master: Facilitates Scrum practices and removes impediments to ensure smooth progress.

Key Scrum Terms

1. Sprint: A time-boxed iteration (usually 2-4 weeks) during which a team works on selected Product Backlog items.
2. Timebox: A fixed amount of time during which an event or task must be completed.
3. Definition of Done: A shared understanding of when a task is considered complete.

Scrum Artefacts

1. Product Backlog: A list of all features and tasks to be delivered, prioritised based on customer needs.
2. Sprint Backlog: Selected Product Backlog items to be completed in a Sprint, with a clear Sprint goal.
3. Product Increment: A “shippable” piece of working software that adds value to the product.

Scrum Events

1. Sprint Planning: Defines which Product Backlog items will be worked on during the Sprint.
2. Daily Scrum: A short, daily meeting to review progress and identify bottlenecks.
3. Sprint Review: A meeting to present completed work and gather feedback.
4. Sprint Retrospective: A review of the Sprint, focusing on what went well and areas for improvement.

Activity and User-Related Terms

• Burn-Down/Burn-Up Charts: Visual representations of remaining work or completed work in a Sprint.
• Story Points: A unit of measurement for the effort required to complete a task.
• User Story: A description of a feature from the user’s perspective, e.g., “As a [user role], I want to [action] so that [goal].”
• Velocity: The average amount of work completed by the team in a Sprint, used to estimate future capacity.

Conclusion

Starting with Scrum is straightforward, but achieving success requires an understanding of the Agile principles and Scrum framework. Roles like Product Owner and Scrum Master require specific expertise, while development teams and end-users benefit from knowing the basics.

The EXIN Agile Scrum Foundation certification is ideal for career starters and anyone involved in Scrum projects.