Scrum (Software Development)

What it is

Scrum is the most common agile framework: fixed-length sprints, three defined accountabilities, four ceremonies and a backlog that is refined continuously. It is one way to implement the values in Agile Methodology, and it is a specific one — it prescribes who decides what, and when.

Why it matters

Scrum’s value is that it makes the iteration explicit and gives a team a schedule they do not have to renegotiate: the sprint boundary is fixed, so the question each day is only what to finish before it. Its failure mode is equally specific and worth stating plainly: Scrum becomes a reporting ritual. When the daily stand-up exists to update a manager, when the retrospective produces no change, and when the sprint is treated as a commitment negotiated under pressure, the framework is delivering its meetings and none of its benefits. Scrum suits work that can be planned in a short batch; it is a poor fit when the work arrives unpredictably and cannot wait for the boundary.

In this track

1. Roles and ceremonies (04-product-process/10-scrum-software-development/01-roles-and-ceremonies) — who decides what, and what each meeting is for.
2. The backlog and sprint flow (04-product-process/10-scrum-software-development/02-the-backlog-and-sprint-flow) — how items enter, get refined, and leave as an increment.

Prerequisites

• Agile Methodology (04-product-process/02-agile-methodology)

Go deeper

• Agile Methodology (04-product-process/02-agile-methodology) — read this first; Scrum is one implementation of these values, not the values themselves.
• Kanban (04-product-process/11-kanban) — the flow-based alternative when work arrives unpredictably.
• User Story (04-product-process/12-user-story) — the commonest form of backlog item.
• Estimation & Story Points (04-product-process/17-estimation-story-points) — how the team sizes the items it commits to.