The basis of this framework is the scrum guide, an essential document that describes the rules, roles, events and artifacts of scrum. This guide, authored by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland and translated for many countries around the world, provides a clear and concise description of how to apply Scrum to solve complex adaptive problems and deliver products of the highest value.
What is the scrum guide?
The scrum guide is the official documentation that defines scrum. It is a concise and direct document that is regularly updated to reflect the latest insights and best practices. The guide describes the basic components of scrum, including the roles, events and artifacts, and explains how these come together to form effective and efficient teams.
The core components of scrum
Roles: Scrum has three core roles: the product owner, the scrum master and the development team. Each of these roles has specific responsibilities and works together to achieve the common goal.
- product owner: represents the voice of the customer and manages the product backlog to ensure the team focuses on delivering the highest value.
- scrum master: facilitates the scrum process, removes obstacles and coaches the team towards self-organization and continuous improvement.
- development team: a multidisciplinary team that is jointly responsible for delivering working incremental products during each sprint.
Events: Scrum includes five key events that provide rhythm and structure to the team's work.
- sprint: a time-bound iteration of one month or less in which a working product increment is delivered.
- sprint planning: an event at the beginning of the sprint in which the team plans the work that will be performed in the upcoming sprint.
- daily scrum: a daily meeting of maximum 15 minutes in which the team discusses progress and agrees plans for the coming day.
- sprint review: a meeting at the end of the sprint in which the team presents the work accomplished and collects feedback from stakeholders.
- sprint retrospective: a reflective session in which the team evaluates the process and plans for improvements in the next sprint.
Artifacts: Scrum has three core artifacts that promote transparency and shared understanding.
- product backlog: a prioritized list of work that needs to be done to develop and improve the product.
- sprint backlog: a subset of the product backlog items that the team plans to complete during the current sprint, along with a plan for delivering the work.
- increment: the result of the work completed during a sprint, which meets the definition of done and is potentially releasable.
The evolution of the scrum guide
The Scrum Guide is a living document that continues to evolve based on feedback from the global Scrum community and the ongoing experience of its founders, Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland. A recent update has strengthened the focus on the human factor and applicability, which better reflects product development challenges and the need for an inclusive team culture.
A striking change in the latest version of the scrum guide is the redefinition of developers in the development team, where previously developers were designated separately as a team in the scrum team with the PO and SM next to them. Now the developer, scrum master and product owner roles form a complete scrum team without distinction to a separate team for people in the developer role. This emphasizes equality within the team and promotes a sense of shared responsibility and solidarity. Whether you are a PO, SM or developer, you are all part of the same team, which reinforces the “we are all equal” and “we are all in this together” feeling.
Why is the scrum guide important?
De scrum guide provides a consistent and uniform foundation for understanding and applying scrum. It helps teams collaborate effectively, promote transparency, and achieve continuous improvement. With the scrum guide as a guide for coordinating teamwork, organizations can ensure that their teams are well-equipped to take on work from a complex project environment and deliver valuable product increments while continuing to perform their operational tasks.
The scrum guide is an essential tool for any organization that wants to implement or improve working according to the scrum methodology. It provides clear guidelines and best practices to help teams succeed in an agile environment. At Lagant we are committed to supporting organizations in applying scrum and maximizing their agile potential. Contact us for more information about how we can help your organization embrace scrum and achieve sustainable success.
