Scrum Defined

Scrum is a framework within which people can address complex adaptive problems, while productively and creatively delivering products of the highest possible value.

Scrum is:

• lightweight
• easy to understand, but very hard to master
• focused on delivering the highest business value in the shortest time
• enables rapid and repeated inspection of actual working software
  

Most of all Scrum is…

A project management approach for iterative and incremental development superimposed on your:

• engineering practices
• development methods
• standards and compliance needs
• Produces a working software increment in 30 days

Scrum Theory

Scrum is based upon empirical process control theory:

• Knowledge comes from experience
• Make decisions based upon what is known now

Three (3) pillars of empiricism:

• • Transparency
  • Inspection
  • Adaption

Four (4) formal opportunities for inspection and adaptation:

• • Daily scrum meeting
  • Sprint planning
  • Sprint review
  • Sprint retrospective

Scrum Values

The Scrum values are:

• Commitment
• Courage
• Focus
• Openness
• Respect

Supplemental Guidelines for Getting Started with Scrum

To get started with Scrum, you need a product vision and an ordered product backlog with enough items for at least one Sprint. However, you may need to do the following tasks if you team is new to Scrum and/or you are working on a new initiative:

• Get your team or teams formed and organized
• Identify the high level scope and vision for the project
• Gain Stakeholder agreement around the vision
• Identify initial risks, constraints and assumptions
• Develop a high level project or release schedule with best guess velocity
• Estimated budget and project approval
• Technical requirements and high level architecture overview
• Technical setup and team work environment

Be sure that you allow for sufficient time during the first Sprint to get the team organized, refine the product backlog, agree on story points and set up the technical environment. The first Sprint goal may be to get the technical environment ready and prove it out by producing a potentially consumable product increment with a minimal number of features to enable the team to gel.

For more about Scrum, see Scrum Resources.