Scrum Framework 2020 Infographic
Scrum in One Diagram
(Download a high-quality PDF here)
I find this infographic of the Scrum Framework to be one of the better diagrams out there and I love that it covers so many areas of the Scrum Framework in one picture. I use this diagram in my workshops where I prefer to incrementally draw it on a whiteboard while we learn about Scrum; however, I also have successfully used it in my virtual workshops as a PowerPoint. I was introduced to this diagram by Steve Schmitz**, the original creator, and I have recently updated it to include the latest changes from the 2020 Scrum Guide. I am sharing it with you along with some commentary below.
Let’s start with the shape. It’s by design that the diagram looks like the head or avatar of a person and it illustrates the importance of the Agile Value, “Individuals and Interactions over Process and Tools.”
Empiricism and its three pillars create the shoulders or foundation. I decided not to add Lean Thinking to this section even though the 2020 Scrum Guide mentions it as part of the foundation. I am not a fan of the explanation from the 2020 Scrum Guide on Lean Thinking where it states “Lean Thinking reduces waste and focuses on the essentials.” Reducing Lean Thinking down to waste and focusing on the essentials is like saying ice hockey is about fighting. Fighting in ice hockey is pretty cool, but there is a little bit more than that. There is a little bit more to Lean Thinking as well. I would have preferred instead that the Scrum Guide stated Lean Thinking is about Respect for People and Continuous Improvement.
The Scrum Values on the diagram form the outline of the head that sits on the shoulders of Empiricism and it is a container that holds the Scrum framework together. I arranged the order of the Values so you can read them as Focus, Respect, Openness, Courage, and Commitment. I love acronyms as a memorization technique and this order allows me to use the acronym F.R.O.C.C.
The three Accountabilities in the Scrum Team are displayed horizontally to represent no hierarchy and self-management.
The circular arrow demonstrates the iterative nature of Scrum. This was one of the biggest attractions that I had to this particular diagram. Several Scrum infographics show the Events such as Sprint Planning, Sprint Review, and Sprint Retrospective outside of the Sprint circle. This is completely wrong and it sends the wrong message about how the Sprints work. Simply google “scrum infographic” and you will see several examples of some really sad Scrum infographics.
The Events, Artifacts, and Commitments flow in a sequential manner on this diagram which is also a helpful way to introduce these concepts when facilitating a Scrum workshop.
I thought about adding the Definition of Ready underneath Backlog Refinement similar to the relationship of the Commitments to the Artifacts. However, I chose not to do this for two reasons. First, the Definition of Ready is not part of the Scrum Guide. Secondly, it’s generally used as a checklist during Sprint Planning to say that we are ready to have a Backlog Item come into our Sprint. If you are doing Backlog Refinement in a healthy manner, you do not need this toll gate. Remember the Agile Value of Customer Collaboration over Contract Negotiation?
I also debated making Backlog Refinement look similar to the Sprint arrow since Backlog Refinement can and should happen anytime during the Sprint. I chose instead to have it as an activity block where I normally introduce the concept of Backlog Refinement in the workshops.
For Sprint Review, I had a small box under it that said, “Demo / Adapt”. I didn’t like the word “Demo” here, so I changed it to read “Review” which matches up with the 2020 Scrum Guide. Then I later decided to remove the whole box because I did not want it to distract from the other Scrum Events where we should be using all of the Events as an opportunity for Inspecting and Adapting.
That’s it. I hope you find this Scrum Framework Infographic as useful as I have. I would like to thank Steve Schmitz** for permission to use and update his original diagram.
I am very interested to learn what you think about this topic. My LinkedIn profile is https://www.linkedin.com/in/phooey
GO MAKE A HULLABALOO!!!
* The link to Steve Schmitz’s original Scrum Framework Infographic can be found at ModernKanban.com using the following link: Scrum in One Diagram
