Scrum

What is Scrum?

Scrum is a lightweight framework that helps people, teams, and organizations generate value through adaptive solutions for complex problems.

What are the three pillars of Scrum?

Transparency, Inspection, and Adaptation.

What are the five Scrum values?

Commitment, Focus, Openness, Respect, and Courage.

What are the three accountabilities in a Scrum Team?

Scrum Master, Product Owner, and Developers.

What is the role of a Scrum Master?

The Scrum Master is accountable for ensuring Scrum is understood and enacted, fostering an effective Scrum Team, and serving the team, Product Owner, and organization.

What is the role of a Product Owner?

The Product Owner is responsible for maximizing the value of the product by managing the Product Backlog.

What is the role of Developers in Scrum?

Developers create a usable Increment every Sprint, adhere to the Definition of Done, and collaborate to meet the Sprint Goal.

What is meant by a cross-functional and self-managing Scrum Team?

A cross-functional team has all the skills needed to complete work, while a self-managing team decides how to accomplish its work without external direction.

What are the three Scrum artifacts?

Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, and Increment.

What is the Product Backlog?

An emergent, ordered list of all work needed to improve the product.

What is the Sprint Backlog?

A plan for the Sprint, including selected Product Backlog items and a plan for delivering them.

What is an Increment?

A usable, valuable piece of work that meets the Definition of Done.

What are the commitments associated with each artifact?

Product Backlog → Product Goal, Sprint Backlog → Sprint Goal, Increment → Definition of Done.

What are the five Scrum events?

Sprint, Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, and Sprint Retrospective.

What is a Sprint?

A fixed-length timebox (≤1 month) where Scrum work is completed, including all events.

What are the four rules of a Sprint?

No changes that endanger the Sprint Goal, Quality does not decrease, Product Backlog is refined as needed, Scope may be clarified/renegotiated with the Product Owner.

What is Sprint Planning?

A timeboxed event (≤8 hours for 1-month Sprints) where the Scrum Team decides: Why is this Sprint valuable? (Sprint Goal), What can be done? (Selected backlog items), How will the work be done? (Work breakdown plan).

What is the Daily Scrum?

A 15-minute daily event for Developers to inspect progress and adapt their plan.

What is the Sprint Review?

A working session (≤4 hours for 1-month Sprints) to inspect the Sprint outcome with stakeholders and update the Product Backlog as needed.

What is the Sprint Retrospective?

A timeboxed event (≤3 hours for 1-month Sprints) where the Scrum Team inspects and improves its processes and teamwork.

What two concepts is Scrum founded on?

Empiricism and Lean Thinking.

What is Empiricism in Scrum?

The belief that knowledge comes from experience and decisions are made based on observation.

What is Lean Thinking in Scrum?

A focus on reducing waste and emphasizing essential work.

What is the Definition of Done (DoD)?

A formal description of the state of the Increment when it meets the required quality standards.

What happens if a Sprint Goal becomes obsolete?

The Sprint may be canceled, but only the Product Owner has the authority to do so.

What happens when a Scrum Team becomes too large?

It should be split into multiple Scrum Teams working on the same product with a shared Product Backlog and Product Owner.

What are some common techniques for tracking progress in Scrum?

Burn-down charts, burn-up charts, and cumulative flow diagrams.