Scrum
Scrum Overview
Q: What is Scrum?
A: Scrum is a lightweight framework that helps people, teams, and organizations generate value through adaptive solutions for complex problems.
Q: What are the three pillars of Scrum?
A: Transparency, Inspection, and Adaptation.
Q: What are the five Scrum values?
A: Commitment, Focus, Openness, Respect, and Courage.
Scrum Team
Q: What are the three accountabilities in a Scrum Team?
A: Scrum Master, Product Owner, and Developers.
Q: What is the role of a Scrum Master?
A: 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.
Q: What is the role of a Product Owner?
A: The Product Owner is responsible for maximizing the value of the product by managing the Product Backlog.
Q: What is the role of Developers in Scrum?
A: Developers create a usable Increment every Sprint, adhere to the Definition of Done, and collaborate to meet the Sprint Goal.
Q: What is meant by a cross-functional and self-managing Scrum Team?
A: 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.
Scrum Artifacts
Q: What are the three Scrum artifacts?
A: Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, and Increment.
Q: What is the Product Backlog?
A: An emergent, ordered list of all work needed to improve the product.
Q: What is the Sprint Backlog?
A: A plan for the Sprint, including selected Product Backlog items and a plan for delivering them.
Q: What is an Increment?
A: A usable, valuable piece of work that meets the Definition of Done.
Q: What are the commitments associated with each artifact?
Product Backlog → Product Goal
Sprint Backlog → Sprint Goal
Increment → Definition of Done
Scrum Events
Q: What are the five Scrum events?
A: Sprint, Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, and Sprint Retrospective.
Q: What is a Sprint?
A: A fixed-length timebox (≤1 month) where Scrum work is completed, including all events.
Q: 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.
Q: What is Sprint Planning?
A: 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)
Q: What is the Daily Scrum?
A: A 15-minute daily event for Developers to inspect progress and adapt their plan.
Q: What is the Sprint Review?
A: A working session (≤4 hours for 1-month Sprints) to inspect the Sprint outcome with stakeholders and update the Product Backlog as needed.
Q: What is the Sprint Retrospective?
A: A timeboxed event (≤3 hours for 1-month Sprints) where the Scrum Team inspects and improves its processes and teamwork.
Scrum Theory
Q: What two concepts is Scrum founded on?
A: Empiricism and Lean Thinking.
Q: What is Empiricism in Scrum?
A: The belief that knowledge comes from experience and decisions are made based on observation.
Q: What is Lean Thinking in Scrum?
A: A focus on reducing waste and emphasizing essential work.
Additional Scrum Concepts
Q: What is the Definition of Done (DoD)?
A: A formal description of the state of the Increment when it meets the required quality standards.
Q: What happens if a Sprint Goal becomes obsolete?
A: The Sprint may be canceled, but only the Product Owner has the authority to do so.
Q: What happens when a Scrum Team becomes too large?
A: It should be split into multiple Scrum Teams working on the same product with a shared Product Backlog and Product Owner.
Q: What are some common techniques for tracking progress in Scrum?
A: Burn-down charts, burn-up charts, and cumulative flow diagrams.