Scrum Guide - 2011
Scrum Guide - 2011
July 2011
Table of Contents
Purpose of the Scrum Guide ........................................................................................................... 3 Scrum Overview .............................................................................................................................. 3 Scrum Framework ....................................................................................................................... 3 Scrum Theory................................................................................................................................... 4 Scrum ............................................................................................................................................... 5 The Scrum Team .............................................................................................................................. 5 The Product Owner ..................................................................................................................... 5 The Development Team .............................................................................................................. 6 The Scrum Master ....................................................................................................................... 6 Scrum Events ................................................................................................................................... 7 The Sprint .................................................................................................................................... 8 Sprint Planning Meeting .............................................................................................................. 9 Daily Scrum ................................................................................................................................ 10 Sprint Review............................................................................................................................. 11 Sprint Retrospective .................................................................................................................. 12 Scrum Artifacts .............................................................................................................................. 12 Product Backlog ......................................................................................................................... 12 Sprint Backlog ............................................................................................................................ 14 Increment .................................................................................................................................. 15 Definition of Done ...................................................................................................................... 15 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 15 Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... 16 People ........................................................................................................................................ 16 History ....................................................................................................................................... 16
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Scrum Overview
Scrum (n): A framework within which people can address complex adaptive problems, while productively and creatively delivering products of the highest possible value. Scrum is: Lightweight Simple to understand Extremely difficult to master
Scrum is a process framework that has been used to manage complex product development since the early 1990s. Scrum is not a process or a technique for building products; rather, it is a framework within which you can employ various processes and techniques. Scrum makes clear the relative efficacy of your product management and development practices so that you can improve.
Scrum Framework
The Scrum framework consists of Scrum Teams and their associated roles, events, artifacts, and rules. Each component within the framework serves a specific purpose and is essential to Scrums success and usage. Specific strategies for using the Scrum framework vary and are described elsewhere. The rules of Scrum bind together the events, roles, and artifacts, governing the relationships and interaction between them. The rules of Scrum are described throughout the body of this document.
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Scrum Theory
Scrum is founded on empirical process control theory, or empiricism. Empiricism asserts that knowledge comes from experience and making decisions based on what is known. Scrum employs an iterative, incremental approach to optimize predictability and control risk. Three pillars uphold every implementation of empirical process control: transparency, inspection, and adaptation.
Transparency
Significant aspects of the process must be visible to those responsible for the outcome. Transparency requires those aspects be defined by a common standard so observers share a common understanding of what is being seen. For example: A common language referring to the process must be shared by all participants; and, A common definition of Done1 must be shared by those performing the work and those accepting the work product.
Inspection
Scrum users must frequently inspect Scrum artifacts and progress toward a goal to detect undesirable variances. Their inspection should not be so frequent that inspection gets in the way of the work. Inspections are most beneficial when diligently performed by skilled inspectors at the point of work.
Adaptation
If an inspector determines that one or more aspects of a process deviate outside acceptable limits, and that the resulting product will be unacceptable, the process or the material being processed must be adjusted. An adjustment must be made as soon as possible to minimize further deviation. Scrum prescribes four formal opportunities for inspection and adaptation, as described in the Scrum Events section of this document. Sprint Planning Meeting Daily Scrum Sprint Review Meeting Sprint Retrospective
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Scrum
Scrum is a framework structured to support complex product development. Scrum consists of Scrum Teams and their associated roles, events, artifacts, and rules. Each component within the framework serves a specific purpose and is essential to Scrums success and usage. The rules of Scrum bind together the events, roles, and artifacts, governing the relationships and interaction between them. The rules of Scrum are described throughout the body of this document.
The Product Owner may do the above work, or have the Development Team do it. However, the Product Owner remains accountable.
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The Product Owner is one person, not a committee. The Product Owner may represent the desires of a committee in the Product Backlog, but those wanting to change a backlog items priority must convince the Product Owner. For the Product Owner to succeed, the entire organization must respect his or her decisions. The Product Owners decisions are visible in the content and prioritization of the Product Backlog. No one is allowed to tell the Development Team to work from a different set of priorities, and the Development Team isnt allowed to act on what anyone else says.
They are self-organizing. No one (not even the Scrum Master) tells the Development Team how to turn Product Backlog into Increments of potentially releasable functionality; Development Teams are cross-functional, with all of the skills as a team necessary to create a product Increment; Scrum recognizes no titles for Development Team members other than Developer, regardless of the work being performed by the person; there are no exceptions to this rule; Individual Development Team members may have specialized skills and areas of focus, but accountability belongs to the Development Team as a whole; and, Development Teams do not contain sub-teams dedicated to particular domains like testing or business analysis.
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The Scrum Master helps those outside the Scrum Team understand which of their interactions with the Scrum Team are helpful and which arent. The Scrum Master helps everyone change these interactions to maximize the value created by the Scrum Team.
Scrum Events
Prescribed events are used in Scrum to create regularity and to minimize the need for meetings not defined in Scrum. Scrum uses time-boxed events, such that every event has a maximum duration. This ensures an appropriate amount of time is spent planning without allowing waste in the planning process.
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Other than the Sprint itself, which is a container for all other events, each event in Scrum is an opportunity to inspect and adapt something. These events are specifically designed to enable critical transparency and inspection. Failure to include any of these events results in reduced transparency and is a lost opportunity to insect and adapt.
The Sprint
The heart of Scrum is a Sprint, a time-box of one month or less during which a Done, useable, and potentially releasable product Increment is created. Sprints have consistent durations throughout a development effort. A new Sprint starts immediately after the conclusion of the previous Sprint. Sprints contain and consist of the Sprint Planning Meeting, Daily Scrums, the development work, the Sprint Review Meeting, and the Sprint Retrospective. During the Sprint: No changes are made that would affect the Sprint Goal; Development Team composition and quality goals remain constant; and, Scope may be clarified and re-negotiated between the Product Owner and Development Team as more is learned.
Each Sprint may be considered a project with no more than a one-month horizon. Like projects, Sprints are used to accomplish something. Each Sprint has a definition of what is to be built, a design and flexible plan that will guide building it, the work, and the resultant product. Sprints are limited to one calendar month. When a Sprints horizon is too long the definition of what is being built may change, complexity may rise, and risk may increase. Sprints enable predictability by ensuring inspection and adaptation of progress toward a goal at least every calendar month. Sprints also limit risk to one calendar month of cost.
Cancelling a Sprint
A Sprint can be cancelled before the Sprint time-box is over. Only the Product Owner has the authority to cancel the Sprint, although he or she may do so under influence from the stakeholders, the Development Team, or the Scrum Master. A Sprint would be cancelled if the Sprint Goal becomes obsolete. This might occur if the company changes direction or if market or technology conditions change. In general, a Sprint should be cancelled if it no longer makes sense given the circumstances. But, due to the short duration of Sprints, cancellation rarely makes sense. When a Sprint is cancelled, any completed and Done Product Backlog Items are reviewed. If part of the work is potentially shippable, the Product Owner typically accepts it. All incomplete Product Backlog Items are re-estimated and put back on the Product Backlog. The work done on them depreciates quickly and must be frequently re-estimated.
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Sprint cancellations consume resources, since everyone has to regroup in another Sprint Planning Meeting to start another Sprint. Sprint cancellations are often traumatic to the Scrum Team, and are very uncommon.
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Development Team to forecast what it believes it can do in the upcoming Sprint. Work planned for the first days of the Sprint by the Development Team is decomposed to units of one day or less by the end of this meeting. The Development Team self-organizes to undertake the work in the Sprint Backlog, both during the Sprint Planning Meeting and as needed throughout the Sprint. The Product Owner may be present during the second part of the Sprint Planning Meeting to clarify the selected Product Backlog items and to help make trade-offs. If the Development Team determines it has too much or too little work, it may renegotiate the Sprint Backlog items with the Product Owner. The Development Team may also invite other people to attend in order to provide technical or domain advice. By the end of the Sprint Planning meeting, the Development Team should be able to explain to the Product Owner and Scrum Master how it intends to work as a self-organizing team to accomplish the Sprint Goal and create the anticipated Increment.
Sprint Goal
The Sprint Goal gives the Development Team some flexibility regarding the functionality implemented within the Sprint. As the Development Team works, it keeps this goal in mind. In order to satisfy the Sprint Goal, it implements the functionality and technology. If the work turns out to be different than the Development Team expected, then they collaborate with the Product Owner to negotiate the scope of Sprint Backlog within the Sprint. The Sprint Goal may be a milestone in the larger purpose of the product roadmap.
Daily Scrum
The Daily Scrum meeting is a 15-minute time-boxed event for the Development Team to synchronize activities and create a plan for the next 24 hours. This is done by inspecting the work since the last Daily Scrum and forecasting the work that could be done before the next one. The Daily Scrum is held at the same time and place each day to reduce complexity. During the meeting, each Development Team member explains: What has been accomplished since the last meeting? What will be done before the next meeting? What obstacles are in the way?
The Development Team uses the Daily Scrum to assess progress toward the Sprint Goal and to assess how progress is trending toward completing the work in the Sprint Backlog. The Daily Scrum optimizes the probability that the Development Team will meet the Sprint Goal. The Development Team often meets immediately after the Daily Scrum to re-plan the rest of the
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Sprints work. Every day, the Development Team should be able to explain to the Product Owner and Scrum Master how it intends to work together as a self-organizing team to accomplish the goal and create the anticipated increment in the remainder of the Sprint. The Scrum Master ensures that the Development Team has the meeting, but the Development Team is responsible for conducting the Daily Scrum. The Scrum Master teaches the Development Team to keep the Daily Scrum within the 15-minute time-box. The Scrum Master enforces the rule that only Development Team members participate in the Daily Scrum. The Daily Scrum is not a status meeting, and is for the people transforming the Product Backlog items into an Increment. Daily Scrums improve communications, eliminate other meetings, identify and remove impediments to development, highlight and promote quick decision-making, and improve the Development Teams level of project knowledge. This is a key inspect and adapt meeting.
Sprint Review
A Sprint Review Meeting is held at the end of the Sprint to inspect the Increment and adapt the Product Backlog if needed. During the Sprint Review, the Scrum Team and stakeholders collaborate about what was done in the Sprint. Based on that and any changes to the Product Backlog during the Sprint, attendees collaborate on the next things that could be done. This is an informal meeting, and the presentation of the Increment is intended to elicit feedback and foster collaboration. This is a four-hour time-boxed meeting for one-month Sprints. Proportionately less time is allocated for shorter Sprints. For example, two week Sprints have two-hour Sprint Reviews. The Sprint Review includes the following elements: The Product Owner identifies what has been Done and what has not been Done; The Development Team discusses what went well during the Sprint, what problems it ran into, and how those problems were solved; The Development Team demonstrates the work that it has Done and answers questions about the Increment; The Product Owner discusses the Product Backlog as it stands. He or she projects likely completion dates based on progress to date; and, The entire group collaborates on what to do next, so that the Sprint Review provides valuable input to subsequent Sprint Planning Meetings.
The result of the Sprint Review is a revised Product Backlog that defines the probable Product Backlog items for the next Sprint. The Product Backlog may also be adjusted overall to meet new opportunities.
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Sprint Retrospective
The Sprint Retrospective is an opportunity for the Scrum Team to inspect itself and create a plan for improvements to be enacted during the next Sprint. The Sprint Retrospective occurs after the Sprint Review and prior to the next Sprint Planning Meeting. This is a three-hour time-boxed meeting for one-month Sprints. Proportionately less time is allocated for shorter Sprints. The purpose of the Sprint Retrospective is to: Inspect how the last Sprint went with regards to people, relationships, process, and tools; Identify and order the major items that went well and potential improvements; and, Create a plan for implementing improvements to the way the Scrum Team does its work.
The Scrum Master encourages the Scrum Team to improve, within the Scrum process framework, its development process and practices to make it more effective and enjoyable for the next Sprint. During each Sprint Retrospective, the Scrum Team plans ways to increase product quality by adapting the Definition of Done as appropriate. By the end of the Sprint Retrospective, the Scrum Team should have identified improvements that it will implement in the next Sprint. Implementing these improvements in the next Sprint is the adaptation to the inspection of the Scrum Team itself. Although improvements may be implemented at any time, the Sprint Retrospective provides a dedicated event focused on inspection and adaptation.
Scrum Artifacts
Scrums artifacts represent work or value in various ways that are useful in providing transparency and opportunities for inspection and adaptation. Artifacts defined by Scrum are specifically designed to maximize transparency of key information needed to ensure Scrum Teams are successful in delivering a Done Increment.
Product Backlog
The Product Backlog is an ordered list of everything that might be needed in the product and is the single source of requirements for any changes to be made to the product. The Product Owner is responsible for the Product Backlog, including its content, availability, and ordering. A Product Backlog is never complete. The earliest development of it only lays out the initially known and best-understood requirements. The Product Backlog evolves as the product and the environment in which it will be used evolves. The Product Backlog is dynamic; it constantly changes to identify what the product needs to be appropriate, competitive, and useful. As long as a product exists, a Product Backlog also exists.
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The Product Backlog lists all features, functions, requirements, enhancements, and fixes that constitute the changes to be made to the product in future releases. Product Backlog items have the attributes of a description, order, and estimate. The Product Backlog is often ordered by value, risk, priority, and necessity. Top-ordered Product Backlog items drive immediate development activities. The higher the order, the more a Product Backlog item has been considered, and the more consensus exists regarding it and its value. Higher ordered Product Backlog items are clearer and more detailed than lower ordered ones. More precise estimates are made based on the greater clarity and increased detail; the lower the order, the less detail. Product Backlog items that will occupy the Development Team for the upcoming Sprint are fine-grained, having been decomposed so that any one item can be Done within the Sprint time-box. Product Backlog items that can be Done by the Development Team within one Sprint are deemed ready or actionable for selection in a Sprint Planning meeting. As a product is used and gains value, and the marketplace provides feedback, the Product Backlog becomes a larger and more exhaustive list. Requirements never stop changing, so a Product Backlog is a living artifact. Changes in business requirements, market conditions, or technology may cause changes in the Product Backlog. Multiple Scrum Teams often work together on the same product. One Product Backlog is used to describe the upcoming work on the product. A Product Backlog attribute that groups items is then employed. Product backlog grooming is the act of adding detail, estimates, and order to items in the Product Backlog. This is an ongoing process in which the Product Owner and the Development Team collaborate on the details of Product Backlog items. During Product Backlog grooming, items are reviewed and revised. However, they can be updated at any time by the Product Owner or at the Product Owners discretion. Grooming is a part-time activity during a Sprint between the Product Owner and the Development Team. Often the Development Team has the domain knowledge to perform grooming itself. How and when grooming is done is decided by the Scrum Team. Grooming usually consumes no more than 10% of the capacity of the Development Team. The Development Team is responsible for all estimates. The Product Owner may influence the Team by helping understand and select trade-offs, but the people who will perform the work make the final estimate.
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toward completing projected work by the desired time for the goal. This information is made transparent to all stakeholders. Scrum does not consider the time spent working on Product Backlog Items. The work remaining and date are the only variables of interest. Various trend burndown, burnup and other projective practices have been used to forecast progress. These have proven useful. However, these do not replace the importance of empiricism. In complex environments, what will happen is unknown. Only what has happened may be used for forward-looking decision-making.
Sprint Backlog
The Sprint Backlog is the set of Product Backlog items selected for the Sprint plus a plan for delivering the product Increment and realizing the Sprint Goal. The Sprint Backlog is a forecast by the Development Team about what functionality will be in the next Increment and the work needed to deliver that functionality. The Sprint Backlog defines the work the Development Team will perform to turn Product Backlog items into a Done Increment. The Sprint Backlog makes visible all of the work that the Development Team identifies as necessary to meet the Sprint Goal. The Sprint Backlog is a plan with enough detail that changes in progress can be understood in the Daily Scrum. The Development Team modifies Sprint Backlog throughout the Sprint, and the Sprint Backlog emerges during the Sprint. This emergence occurs as the Development Team works through the plan and learns more about the work needed to achieve the Sprint Goal. As new work is required, the Development Team adds it to the Sprint Backlog. As work is performed or completed, the estimated remaining work is updated. When elements of the plan are deemed unnecessary, they are removed. Only the Development Team can change its Sprint Backlog during a Sprint. The Sprint Backlog is a highly visible, real-time picture of the work that the Development Team plans to accomplish during the Sprint, and it belongs solely to the Development Team.
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Increment
The Increment is the sum of all the Product Backlog items completed during a Sprint and all previous Sprints. At the end of a Sprint, the new Increment must be Done, which means it must be in useable condition and meet the Scrum Teams Definition of Done. It must be in useable condition regardless of whether the Product Owner decides to actually release it.
Definition of Done
When the Product Backlog item or an Increment is described as Done, everyone must understand what Done means. Although this varies significantly per Scrum Team, members must have a shared understanding of what it means for work to be complete, to ensure transparency. This is the Definition of Done for the Scrum Team and is used to assess when work is complete on the product Increment. The same definition guides the Development Team in knowing how many Product Backlog items it can select during a Sprint Planning Meeting. The purpose of each Sprint is to deliver Increments of potentially shippable functionality that adhere to the Scrum Teams current Definition of Done. Development Teams deliver an Increment of product functionality every Sprint. This Increment is useable, so a Product Owner may choose to immediately release it. Each Increment is additive to all prior Increments and thoroughly tested, ensuring that all Increments work together. As Scrum Teams mature, it is expected that their Definition of Done will expand to include more stringent criteria for higher quality.
Conclusion
Scrum is free and offered in this guide. Scrums roles, artifacts, events, and rules are immutable and although implementing only parts of Scrum is possible, the result is not Scrum. Scrum exists only in its entirety and functions well as a container for other techniques, methodologies, and practices.
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Acknowledgements
People
Of the thousands of people who have contributed to Scrum, we should single out those who were instrumental in its first ten years. First there was Jeff Sutherland, working with Jeff McKenna, and Ken Schwaber, working with Mike Smith and Chris Martin. Many others contributed in the ensuing years and without their help Scrum would not be refined as it is today. David Starr provided key insights and editorial skills in formulating this version of the Scrum Guide.
History
Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland first co-presented Scrum at the OOPSLA conference in 1995. This presentation essentially documented the learning that Ken and Jeff had over the previous few years applying Scrum. The history of Scrum is already considered long. To honor the first places where it was tried and refined, we recognize Individual, Inc., Fidelity Investments, and IDX (now GE Medical).
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Revisions
This July 2011 Scrum Guide is different from its predecessor, the February 2010 Scrum Guide. In particular, we have attempted to remove techniques or best practices from the core of Scrum. These will vary based on circumstance. We will be starting a Best Practices compendium to offer some of our experiences later. The Scrum Guide documents Scrum as developed and sustained for twenty + years by Jeff Sutherland and Ken Schwaber. Other sources provide you with patterns, processes, and insights about how the practices, facilitations, and tools that complement the Scrum framework. These optimize productivity, value, creativity, and pride. Release notes covering the following differences between this and the February 2010 version will be published elsewhere, including discussions on:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Release Planning Release Burndown Sprint Backlog Product and Sprint Backlog Burndown Commit is now forecast Team (to Development Team) Pigs and Chickens the lore of Scrum Ordered instead of prioritized
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