Get the Scrum Certification… Studying on Your Own!
Scrum is a process framework that has been used to manage complex product development since the early 90s. I studied by myself and created a daily schedule using the Scrum Guide as my primary study guide. I’ve now got my Scrum Master certification via Scrum.Org and I have shared my study notes and quizzes in this post. I hope they help you!
What’s Scrum?
Scrum is a framework within which people can address complex adaptive problems, while productively and creatively delivering products of the highest possible value. Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland developed Scrum and together, they stand behind the Scrum Guide.
Scrum is a framework for developing and sustaining complex products.
The Scrum framework consists of Scrum teams and their associated roles, events, artifacts, and rules, with each component within the framework serving as a specific purpose and is essential to Scrum’s success and usage.
Scrum Values
When the values of commitment, courage, focus, openness, and respect are embodied and lived by the Scrum team, the Scrum pillars of transparency, inspection, and adaptation come to life and build trust for everyone. The Scrum team members learn and explore those values as they work with the Scrum events, roles, and artifacts.
Scrum roles
Scrum is founded on the 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.
- 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. Those performing the work and those accepting the work product must share a common definition of “done”.
- Inspection: Scrum users must frequently inspect Scrum artifacts and progress toward a Sprint Goal to detect undesirable variances. 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 artifacts
Scrum’s artifacts represent work or value to provide transparency and opportunities for inspection and adaptation. Artifacts defined by Scrum are specifically designed to maximize transparency of key information so that everybody has the same understanding of the artifact.
- Increment: The sum of all the Product Backlog items completed during a Sprint (I’m explaining what’s Spring bellow) and the value of the increments of all previous Sprints.
- Product Backlog: An ordered list of everything that might be needed in the product. 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.
- Sprint Backlog: The set of Product Backlog items selected for the Sprint, plus a plan for delivering the product increment and realizing the Sprint Goal.
Scrum events
Once a Sprint begins, its duration is fixed and cannot be shortened or lengthened and the remaining events may end whenever the purpose of the event is achieved, ensuring an appropriate amount of time is spent without allowing waste in the process.
- Sprint: Sprints contain and consist of the Sprint planning, daily Scrums, the development work, the Sprint review, and the Sprint retrospective.
- Sprint Planning: The Development team works to forecast the functionality that will be developed during the Sprint.
- Daily Scrum: Held at the same time and place each day to reduce complexity. The Development team uses the daily Scrum to inspect progress toward the Sprint goal and to inspect how progress is trending toward completing the work in the Sprint backlog.
- Sprint Review: Held at the end of the Sprint to inspect the increment and adapt the Product Backlog if needed. The Product Owner discusses the Product Backlog as it stands and the projects likely completion dates based on progress to date (if needed).
- Sprint Retrospective: An opportunity for the Scrum team to inspect itself and create a plan for improvements to be enacted during the next Sprint.
Scrum team
The team model in Scrum is designed to optimize flexibility, creativity, and productivity. Scrum teams are self-organizing and cross-functional and deliver products iteratively and incrementally, maximizing opportunities for feedback. Incremental deliveries of “Done”product ensure a potentially useful version of working product is always available. The Scrum team consist of:
- The product owner
- The development team
- The scrum master
Product owner
- Clearly expressing Product Backlog items;
- Ordering the items in the Product Backlog to best achieve goals and missions;
- Ensuring that the Product Backlog is visible, transparent, and clear to all, and shows what the Scrum team will work on next;
- Ensuring the Development team understands items in the Product Backlog to the level needed;
- Maximizes the value of the product and the work of the development team;
- Responsible for managing the product backlog;
- 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 Product Backlog item’s priority must first address the Product Owner.
Development team
- Delivering increment of “Done” at the end of each sprint;
- Ideal size: 3 to 9 (The Product Owner and Scrum Master roles are not included in this count unless they are also executing the work of the Sprint Backlog);
- Only members of the Development team create the Increment;
- 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;
- Scrum doesn’t recognize titles for Development team members other than Developer, regardless of the work being performed by the person; there are no exceptions to this rule;
- Scrum doesn’t recognize sub-teams in the Development team, regardless of particular domains that need to be addressed, like testing or business analysis; 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;
- No one is allowed to tell the Development team to work from a different set of requirements, and the Development team isn’t allowed to act on what anyone else says.
Scrum master
- Server to the product owner and the development team;
- Helps everyone change interactions to maximize the value created by the Scrum team;
- The Scrum Master is a servant-leader for the Scrum team;
- The Scrum Master helps those outside the Scrum team understand which of their interactions with the Scrum team are helpful and which aren’t;
- The Scrum Master helps everyone change these interactions to maximize the value created by the Scrum team.
Definition of “Done”
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. Development teams deliver an Increment of product functionality every Sprint. This Increment is useable so a Product Owner may choose to immediately release it.
Sprint Goal
An objective that will be met within the sprint through the implementation of the product backlog if the work turns out to be different than the Development team expected, they collaborate with the Product Owner to negotiate the scope of Sprint Backlog within the Sprint.
Sprint Cancellation
When a Sprint is canceled, any completed and “Done” Product Backlog items are reviewed. If part of the work is potentially releasable, 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.
Monitoring Progress Toward a Goal
The total work remaining to reach a goal can be summed and the Product Owner tracks this total work remaining at least every Sprint review. This information is made transparent to all stakeholders.
Monitoring Sprint Progress
The Development team tracks this total work remaining at least for every daily Scrum to project the likelihood of achieving the Sprint goal. By tracking the remaining work throughout the Sprint, the Development team can manage its progress.
Important!
- The product increment should be usable and potentially releasable at the end of every Sprint, but it does not have to be released;
- The Product Owner decides what order on the Product Backlog makes the most sense to optimize the value of the work being done by the Development team;
- Scrum is a framework within which complex products in complex environments are developed;
- The Scrum team consists of the Scrum Master (manages the process), the Product Owner (decides what to do) and the Development team (does the work);
- The Development team should have all the skills needed to turn the Product Backlog items it selects into an increment of potentially shippable product functionality;
- The purpose of a Sprint is to have a working increment of product done before the Sprint Review;
The maximum length of a Sprint should not be so long that the risk is unacceptable to the Product Owner or so long that other business events can’t be readily synchronized with the development work, and no more than one calendar month;
- Per the Scrum Guide, the Scrum Master ensures that the Development team has a daily standup meeting and teaches the Development team to keep to a 15-minute time box. It is the Development team who is responsible for conducting the daily Scrum;
- Development team doesn’t nail down the complete architecture and infrastructure, and develop a plan for the rest of the project;
- The next Sprint begins immediately after the conclusion of the previous Sprint;
- Products have one Product Backlog, regardless of how many teams are used as any other setup makes it difficult for the Development team to determine what it should work on;
- Scrum Master is a “management” position and manage the Scrum process. If the Scrum Master is not a management position, she or he may not have the influence to remove impediments. The Scrum Master does not manage any team;
- Scrum is founded on the empirical process control theory or empiricism. Empiricism asserts that knowledge comes from experience and making decisions based on what is known. Three pillars uphold every implementation of empirical process control: transparency, inspection, and adaptation;
The Development team members can’t volunteer to own a Sprint Backlog. All Sprint Backlog Items are “owned” by the entire Development team, even though each one may be done by an individual development team member;
- The Development team should not be interrupted during the Sprint and the Sprint goal should remain intact. These are conditions that foster creativity, quality, and productivity;
- Sprint review is when the Scrum team and stakeholders inspect the outcome of the Sprint and figure out what to do in the upcoming Sprint;
- Every event in Scrum, besides the Sprint which is a container for the other events, is an opportunity to Inspect and Adapt;
- The Product Owner should know the most about the progress toward a business objective or a release and be able to explain the alternatives most clearly;
- The items selected for a Sprint have been selected as most valuable with the Product Owner. The items serve the Sprint’s goal and no changes should be made that endanger the Sprint goal. No changes can be pushed on the Development team (Sprint Backlog) and the Product Owner (Product Backlog);
- The role of management in Scrum supports the Product Owner with insights and information into high-value product and system capabilities and management supports the Scrum Master to cause organizational change that fosters empiricism, self-organization, bottom-up intelligence, and intelligent release of software;
Management external to the Scrum team is incredibly important in setting the vision and strategy to guide the overall direction of the business;
- Only the people doing the work described on the Sprint Backlog need to inspect and adapt at the Daily Scrum. If the Scrum Master or Product Owner is also on the Development team, they will need to be at the Daily Scrum, otherwise, the Scrum Master simply has to make sure the Development team knows how to conduct a Daily Scrum and does so;
- The Sprint Backlog makes visible all of the work that the Development Team identifies as necessary to meet the Sprint Goal. The Development team modifies the Sprint Backlog throughout the Sprint, and the Sprint Backlog emerges during the Sprint;
- During the Sprint, scope may be clarified and re-negotiated between the Product Owner and Development team as more is learned;
- The Development team uses the daily Scrum to inspect progress toward the Sprint goal and to inspect how progress is trending toward completing the work in the Sprint Backlog;
- Teams typically go through some steps before achieving a state of increased performance. Changing membership typically reduces cohesion, affecting performance and productivity in the short term;
- A Sprint can be canceled before the Sprint time-box is over. A Sprint would be canceled if the Sprint goal becomes obsolete which might occur if the company changes direction or if market or technology conditions change;
The Product Owner is the sole person responsible for managing the Product Backlog, which includes that the Product Backlog is visible, transparent, and clear to all, and shows what the Scrum team will work on next;
- The Product Owner is responsible for maximizing the value of the product and the work of the Development team;
- Scrum requires an Increment to be releasable. This is an Increment of product. Many teams working on a single product are expected to deliver such an Increment;
- The purpose of a Sprint is to produce a done increment of working product. The heart of Scrum is a Sprint, a time-box of one month or less during which a “Done”, usable, and potentially releasable product Increment is created;
- Products have one Product Backlog regardless of how many teams are used. Any other setup makes it difficult for the Development team to determine what it should work on;
- A Sprint’s goal is fixed and may not change;
- Backlog outside the current Sprint is always changing, evolving, and being reordered;
- Product Backlog items typically include: estimated cost (days, points), estimated value, and acceptance criteria.
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