ScrumGuide Flashcards
Purpose of the Scrum Guide
This Guide contains the definition of Scrum. This definition consists of Scrum’s roles, events, artifacts, and the rules that bind them together.
What are the 3 Characteristics of the Scrum framework?
- Lightweight
- Simple to understand
- Difficult to master
What is Empiricism?
Empiricism asserts that knowledge comes form experience and making decisions based on that is known.
Three pillars of empirical process control
transparency, inspection, and adaptation
What is Transparency?
Significant aspects of the Scrum process must be visible to those responsible for the outcome. Transparency requires those aspects be defined by:
- A common language referring to the scrum process shared by all participants; and.
- Those performing the work and those accepting the work product must share a common definition of “Done”
What is Inspection?
Scrum users must frequently inspect Scrum artifacts and progress toward a Sprint 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.
Four formal events for inspection and adaptation
- Sprint Planning
- Daily Scrum
- Sprint Review
- Sprint Retrospective
Make up of a Scrum Team
Product Owner, the Development Team, and a Scrum Master
What are the two primary characteristics of a Scrum Team?
- Scrum Teams are self-organizing and cross-functional.
- The team model in Scrum is designed to optimize flexibility, creativity, and productivity.
Describe the Product Owner
The Product Owner is responsible for maximizing the value of the product and the work of the Development Team.
Who is responsible for managing the Product Backlog?
The Product Owner
What is involved in Product Backlog Management?
- Clearly expressing Product Backlog Items;
- Ordering the items in the Product Backlog to best achieve goals and missions;
- Optimizing the value of the work the Development Team performs;
- Ensuring that the Product Backlog is visible, transparent, and clear to all, and shows what the Scrum Team will work on next; and,
- Ensuring the Development Team understands items in the Product Backlog to the level needed.
Who Manages the Product Backlog?
The Product Owner may do the work, or have the Development Team do it. However, the Product Owner remains accountable.
Characteristics of a Development Team
- 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;
- Scrum recognizes no 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; and
- Individual Development Team members may have specialized skills and areas of focus, but accountability belongs to the Development Team as a whole.
Optimal Development Team Size
3-9; small enough to remain nimble and large enough to complete significant work within a Sprint.
How does the Scrum Master server the Product Owner?
- Finding techniques for effective Product Backlog management;
- Helping the Scrum Team understand the need for clear and concise Product Backlog items;
- Understanding product planning in an empirical environment;
- Ensuring the Product Owner knows how to arrange the Product Backlog to maximize value;
- Understanding and practicing agility; and,
- Facilitating Scrum events as requested or needed.
How does the Scrum Master serve the Development Team?
- Coaching the Development Team in self-organization and cross-functionality;
- Helping the Development Team to create high-value products;
- Removing impediments to the Development Team’s progress;
- Facilitating Scrum events as requested or neededl and,
- Coaching the Development Team in organizational environments in which Scrum is not yet fully adopted and understood.
How does the Scrum Master serve the Organization?
- Leading and coaching the organization in it’s Scrum adoption;
- Planning Scrum implementations within the organization;
- Helping employees and stakeholders understand and enact Scrum and empirical product development;
- Causing change that increases the productivity of the Scrum Team; and,
- Working with other Scrum Masters to increase the effectiveness of the application of Scrum in the organization.
What does a time-boxed event mean?
Every event has a maximum duration.
Ways that a sprint event can end
- Event hits the time box or
- It can be cancelled if the Sprint Goals becomes obsolete.
What is the heartbeat of Scrum?
Sprint
What is a Sprint?
a time-box of one month or less during which a “Done”, useable, and potentially releasable product Increment is created.
When does a new Sprint start?
A new Sprint starts immediately after the conclusion of the previous Sprint.
Scrum has 3 guidelines/rules during a sprint. What are they?
- No changes are made that would endanger the Sprint Goal;
- Quality goals do not decrease; and
- Scope may be clarified and re-negotiated between the Product Owner and Development Team as more is learned.
Advantages of doing work in sprints.
Enable predictability by ensuring inspection and adaptation of progress toward a Sprint Goal.
Who cancel a sprint?
Only the Product Owner can.
Reasons to cancel a Sprint?
The Sprint goal becomes obsolete. This might occur if the company changes direction or if market or technology conditions change.