SCRUM€¦ · 1. INTRODUCTION SCRUM is a mega trend. Whoever manages projects or deals with the...

PLAYBOOK

SCRUMAll you need to know

TABLE OF CONTENTS1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2. Reasons for success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

3. The basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

3 .1 . The term SCRUM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

3 .2 . Empirical process control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

3 .3 . The three pillars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

3.4.ThefivevaluesofSCRUM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

4. How SCRUM works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

4 .1 . SCRUM Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

4 .2 . The SCRUM process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

4.3.Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

4 .3 .1 . Sprint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

4 .3 .2 . Sprint Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

4 .3 .3 . Daily Scrum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

4.3.4.SprintReview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

4.3.5.SprintRetrospective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

4 .4 . Rolls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

4 .4 .1 . Scrum Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

4 .4 .2 . Scrum stakeholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

4 .4 .3 . Product owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

4 .4 .4 . Scrum Master . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

4.4.5.Developmentteam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

4.5.Theartifacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

4 .5 .1 . Product Backlog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

4 .5 .2 . Sprint Backlog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

4 .5 .3 . Increment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

2 / 42

IFAAI Playbook / SCRUM

1. INTRODUCTIONSCRUMisamegatrend.Whoevermanagesprojectsordeals

withthetopicofprojectmanagementcannolongeravoidthe

issueofagility.AgilitytodaymeansSCRUM,becauseSCRUMis

usedinmorethanninetypercentofallagileprojects.There-

fore,SCRUMisthemostsuccessfulmethodofagileproject

managementworldwide.Howisthatpossible?Well,thebasic

principlesandapproachestaughtwithSCRUMareabsolutelyin

linewiththetrend:hierarchicalprojectmanagementisreach-

ingitslimitsinthecurrentVUCAworld.Autonomous,self-

managingteamsareamatterofcoursetoday.Topicssuchas

Holocracy,DesignThinkingshowquiteclearly:thepowertoday

lieswiththeteamortheemployees.Thistrendisalsoevident

inthemanagementofprojects.Thefocusofagilemethodslike

SCRUMisonfastiterativecyclesthattakemarketandcustom-

erfeedbackintoaccount.

This white paper »All you need to know about SCRUM« summa-

rizes the most important contents of the SCRUM Framework.

Itistheperfectpreparationmaterialfortheexamandcertifica-

tionattheInstituteforAgilityandInnovation(IFAAI).Theexam

questionsarebasedonehundredpercentonthiswhitepaper.

Byworkingthroughthiswhitepaperyouprepareoptimallyfor

theexam.

3 / 42

IFAAI Playbook / SCRUM 1. Introduction

REASONS FOR SUCCESS

IFAAI Playbook/SCRUM

2. REASONS FOR SUCCESSMorethanninetypercentofallprojectsthataremanagedagileuseSCRUM.

Agilityisthetrend–andSCRUMisallthemoreso.Impressively,morethantwelve

millionpeopleworldwideuseSCRUMasamethodinprojectmanagement.

Today you can say: Agility means SCRUM.SCRUMhasbeenaroundformorethan

twentyyearsnow.So,whatmakesSCRUMsosuccessful?Whatisthesecretbehind

thesuccessofSCRUM?Thefollowingreasonsreflectouropinionasauthorsandfans

ofSCRUM:

SCRUMworks

is just

is agile

has nohierarchy

is pragmatic

IFAAI Playbook / SCRUM 2. Reasons for success

SCRUM is just…

SCRUMconsistsofveryfewrulesand

is,therefore,verysimple.Specifically,it

consistsofonlythreeroles,fiveevents

andthreeartifacts.Inouropinion,this

simplicityisthemainfactorforthe

successofSCRUM.Peopleoftentryto

managethecomplexityofourtimeand

ourenvironmentbyusingcorrespond-

inglycomplexapproachesandmethods.

TheSCRUMGuide,publishedbyJeff

SutherlandandKenSchwaber,describes

SCRUMonjustsixteenpages.

SCRUM is agile…

And agile means SCRUM . No other meth-

odology,nootherapproach,noother

techniquehasbeenassuccessfulinagile

projectsasSCRUM.Asalreadydescribed,

ninetypercentofallagilemanaged

projectsuseSCRUM.Tospeakofmarket

leadershipherewouldbeanunderstate-

ment . Especially since one can assume

that the ten percent who claim not to

use SCRUM are at least partially using

SCRUM.Forexample,adailystanduphas

becomethestandardinalmostallagile

projects.

6 / 42

IFAAIPlaybook/SCRUM2. Reasons for success

SCRUM is pragmatic…

SCRUMgetsbywithaslittleadministrationaspossible.Ifyou

thinkabouthowmuchenergygoesintoprojectplanning,

budgetmanagementandstatusreportsinsteadofintothe

actualmanagementoftheprojectwhenprojectsaremanaged

accordingtotheclassicwaterfallmethod,itquicklybecomes

clearwhySCRUMissosuccessful.Allthiseffortisalmost

completely eliminated with SCRUM . SCRUM is simply more

pragmaticandefficientthanothermethods.Communication

nolongertakesplaceinformoflonge-mails,e-mailchains

andPowerPointpresentations,butface-to-face,withoutmedia

breaks,frompersontoperson.Problemsarenotcommunicated

viatrafficlightsbutdiscusseddirectlywiththepersoncon-

cerned .

SCRUM works…

OftenthefathersofSCRUM,JeffSutherlandandKenSchwaber,

describeSCRUMwithverystrikingstatementssuchas“Howyou

canachievetwiceasmuchinhalfthetimewithSCRUM”.These

statementsarecertainlysomewhatexaggerated.Nevertheless,

onecanadmitwithoutenvythatthemethodologyofSCRUMis

veryeffectiveandefficientduetothefeaturesalreadyde-

scribedabove,therefore,simplyworks.Otherwise,itwouldnot

havebeenpossibleforSCRUMtobecomesosuccessfulandto

spreadworldwideforinmorethan20years.

7 / 42

IFAAI Playbook / SCRUM 2. Reasons for success

SCRUM – THE BASICS


3. THE BASICSWhatisSCRUM?Amethod,atool,atech-

nique,aprocess?Let’sstartwithwhere

thetermSCRUMcomesfrom.

3.1 The term SCRUM

ThetermSCRUMcanbetracedbackto

twoJapaneseeconomistsNonakaand

Takeuchi.Intheirarticle“TheNewProd-

uctDevelopmentGame”,publishedin

1986,theywriteaboutwhattheycallthe

“rugbyapproach”,usingananalogyfrom

rugby.Theyassumethatoneofthemost

extraordinarysuccessfactorsofverysuc-

cessfulproductdevelopmentteamsisthe

physicalproximityoftheteamduringthe

developmentwork.Thisisthecasewith

rugby,wheremanyplayersstandclosely

togetherinaformationcalledscrum.

Rugbyteamsalsoworkassmalland

self-organizedunits.Theyareonlygiven

aroughdirectionfromoutside.Itisleft

tothem,however,howtheyachievetheir

commongoal.Thiskindofcooperation

shouldalsomakeprojectssuccessful.

Thisrugbyapproachwasthendeveloped

morethantenyearslaterbythefathers

ofSCRUM,JeffSutherlandandKen

Schwaber,intoaframeworkforsoftware

developmentprojects.Theynamedthis

framework,withacorrespondingrefer-

encetothearticlebyNonakaandTakeu-

chi: SCRUM .

SincethebeginningsofSCRUMmore

thantwentyyearsagoSCRUMhasbe-

comemoreincreasinglysuccessful,more

andmoreSCRUMvariantshavebeende-

veloped.Thisisduetothefactthatmany

authors,consultantsandexpertswanted

togettheireconomicshareoftheever-

growingSCRUMcake.Asaresult,the

coreofwhatconstitutesSCRUMhasbeen

increasingly distorted .

ThetwofathersofSCRUM,JeffSuther-

landandKenSchwaber,alsorecognized

thisproblemandforthisreasonpub-

lished the SCRUM Guide in 2010 . This

guidewaslastrevisedin2017.Itsumma-

rizesthecoreandbasicunderstanding

ofSCRUMaccordingtoSutherlandand

Schwaber.

9 / 42

IFAAI Playbook / SCRUM 3. The basics

3.2 Empirical process control

ThescientificbasisofSCRUMisthetheoryofempirical“process

control”,alsocalled“empiricaltheory”.Empiricaltheorystates

thatknowledgeisbasedonexperienceandthatdecisions

aremadeonthebasisofthisexistingknowledge.Throughits

iterativeandincrementalapproach,SCRUMensuresthatthere

isapossibilityofreviewingandadaptingatregularandshort

intervals.

Inthiswayexperienceisregularlytransferredintoknowledge.

This knowledge in turn is then used to make decisions again

andagain.Themoreexperience,themoreknowledge,andthe

betterdecisionscanbemade.Thisapproachallowsriskstobe

minimized,detectedearlyonandcounteracted.

SCRUM FRAMEWORK

EmpiricalTheory

Principles(Agile

Manifesto)Values Rules

10 / 42

IFAAIPlaybook/SCRUM3. The basics

Transparency

Open communication and

knowledge sharing is the

basisfortransparency.In

addition,theentireproce-

dure or process in a SCRUM

projectshouldbetranspar-

entforallparticipants.This

includes in particular the

termsusedinaproject.

Everybodyshouldhavethe

same idea in mind when a

certain term is used . A typi-

calexampleofaprojectis

thatthereisauniformun-

derstandingof“done”,i.e.

when something is done .

The participants need to

knowwhichexactcriteria

are used to determine that

something is done .

Inspection

It means that all proce-

dures and work results are

regularly checked . In a

SCRUMproject,thismeans

that the SCRUM team regu-

larlycheckstheartifactsto

seeiftheyaresuitablefor

achievingtherespective

SCRUM Sprint Goal . How-

ever,theexaminationmust

nottakeplacesooftenthat

itinterfereswiththeactual

projectwork.Itmustal-

waysremainefficient.The

reviewsmusttakeplacein

such a way that they also

representanaddedvalue

fortheprojectwork.

Adaptation

It means adapting to the

frameworkconditionsinor-

dertobecomefaster,bet-

terandtoachievethegoal

efficiently.Ifinthecourse

ofareviewitisdetermined

that the procedure or the

workresultsexceedan

unacceptablelimit,ad-

justmentsmustbemade.

Theseadjustmentsmust

bedecidedonasquickly

aspossible,withoutdelay,

inordertopreventfurther

unnecessarydeviations.

3.3 The three pillars

EMPIRICAL THEORY

TR

AN

SPA

RE

NC

Y

AD

AP

TIO

N

INSP

EC

TIO

N

11 / 42


Thefivevaluesensurethatthethreepil-

larsofSCRUMarelived.Inwhatfollows,

wedescribethesefivevaluesbriefly

according to the SCRUM Guide . Many

authorshavedescribedthesevaluesin

detailandconcretizedthem.However,

wedonotwanttogivetoomanyguide-

linesandleaveituptoeachSCRUMteam

todefine,liveandimplementtheseval-

uesforthemselves.Thisapproachfollows

thebasiclogicofSCRUM,tobesimple,to

setupfewrulesandtoleavethedesign

totheprojectteamintermsofflexibility.

Basically,itisalsothecasethatSCRUM

setsupclearrules.However,inthesense

ofreviewandadjustments,therulescan

bespecifiedindetailforeachprojectin

suchawaythattheyfittherespective

projectandtherespectiveprojectenvi-

ronment.Despiteveryclearandunam-

biguousrules,SCRUMstilloffersroomfor

individualdesign.

Courage – Courage

ThemembersoftheSCRUMteamhave

the courage to do the right things and to

workonthechallengesandproblemsin

theproject.

Focus – Focusing

Everyonefocusesontheworkofthecur-

rentsprintandthegoalsoftheSCRUM

team .

Commitment – Self-commitment

Everyoneispersonallycommittedtosup-

portingandachievingthegoalsofthe

SCRUM team .

Respect

ThemembersoftheSCRUMteamrespect

eachotherandenableeachothertobe

competentandindependentindividuals.

Openness – Openness

The SCRUM team and its stakeholders

agreetobeopenabouttheworkandthe

challengesinvolved.

3.4 The fi ve values of SCRUM

COURAGE COMMITMENT OPENNESS

FOCUS RESPECT

12 / 42


HOW SCRUM WORKS


4 HOW SCRUM WORKSInwhatfollows,weexplainhowSCRUMworks,i.e.whichmeth-

odsandtechniquesareusedwithintheSCRUMframework.

Inourview,thecoreofSCRUMistheSCRUMprocess.Thisterm

doesnotoriginatefromthefathersofSCRUM,itwasdefined

byusfordidacticreasons.TheSCRUMprocessessentiallyde-

scribeswhicheventsandartifactsinteractwitheachotherand

inwhichtemporalcourse.Finally,theSCRUMprocessshows

wheneventstakeplaceandwhichartifactsareused.

ROLES

EVENTS ARTIFACTS

RULES

14 / 42

IFAAIPlaybook/SCRUM4. How SCRUM works

4.1 SCRUM Rules

The SCRUM Rules are written down in the

SCRUMGuide.Theydescribehowthees-

sentialelementsofSCRUM–roles,events

andartifacts–interplay.Forexample,

theyprovidetheanswertothequestion

ofwhenwhicheventtakesplace,which

rolesarepresentinwhichevent,which

taskstheyhavetoperform–oreven

whichroleisresponsibleforwhicharti-

fact.Thetherulesareexplainedindetail

laterinthisbook.

Roles

Theyregulatethetasksofeachteam

member,dependingontheroleheorshe

belongstoaccordingtotherolesdefined

inSCRUM.Eachrolehasspecifictasks,

rights and duties .

Artifacts

Thesearecertaintoolsandtechniques

thatmaketheapplicationofSCRUM

successfulandarenecessarytomakethe

projectprocessefficient.

Events

Theyregulatetheform,frequencyand

contentofcommunicationbetweenthe

rolesandmembersintheproject.

Rules

They determine the interaction and inter-

actionsofroles,artifactsandevents.

ThisSCRUMframeworkisalsodescribed

inthisformintheSCRUMGuidepub-

lishedbyJeffSutherlandandKenSchwa-

ber.Allfurthercomponentsandelements

beyondtheonesmentionedherehave

beenaddedtoSCRUMbyotherauthors

andpractitionersovertheyears.Itisab-

solutely not recommended that SCRUM

bedistortedbytheadditionofother

elements,atleastifyouwanttomanage

aprojectpurelyagile.Itcanmakesense

fromourpracticalpointofviewtoadopt

elementsfromSCRUMintoclassicalproj-

ect management .

TheindividualrolesaccordingtoSCRUM

interact throughout the entire SCRUM

process.Togetacompleteoverviewof

artifactsandeventsoftherolesinvolved

atanygiventime,wehavecreatedthe

SCRUMFrameworkOverview.

15 / 42

IFAAI Playbook / SCRUM 4. How SCRUM works

4.2 The SCRUM process

The SCRUM process starts when one or

more stakeholders need a product . The

requirementsfortheproductarethen

collectedinaso-calledproductbacklog.

Theproductbacklogisthusthesummary

ofallproductpropertiesthatthefinal

product should include .

Aftertheproductbacklogiscomplete,

you start with the Sprint Planning . Here

youplanwhichproductfeaturesaretobe

implementedinthenextsprint.Thissub-

setofproductfeaturesisthentransferred

toasprintbacklog.Thesprintbacklog

thusincludesallproductfeaturesthat

aretobeimplementedinthenextsprint.

Thesearethesprinttarget,sotospeak.

Afterthatthesprintbegins.

TheSprintistheactualphaseofproduct

development.Inthecontextofproduct

development,theSCRUMteamthen

exchangesinformationonadailybasis

in the Daily SCRUM . Once the Sprint is

complete,theresultshouldbethecre-

ationofnewproductpropertiesforthe

product increment . A product increment

isafinishedpartofthetotalproduct.

AftertheSprintthereisthepossibilityof

checkingandadjustingintheformofa

SprintReview.Heretheproductthatis

beingdevelopedisreviewedandadjust-

edifnecessary.Itispossibleforeveryone

whowasnotinvolvedinthedevelopment

processtoobtaininformationaboutthe

currentdevelopmentstatus,suchasthe

stakeholders . All those who were directly

involvedinthedevelopmentprocessthus

receivefeedbackontheextenttowhich

theirworkinthelastsprinthasbrought

them closer to the product characteristics

oftheentireproduct.

NEWFUNCTIONALITY

Spri

nt P

lann

ing

Sprint Planning

24hours

DailyScrum

SPRINTBACKLOG

SPRINT REVIEW

USER STORIES

PRODUCTBACKLOG

SELECTEDPRODUCTBACKLOG

VISION

RETROSPECTIVE

2 – 4weeksprint

16 / 42


4.3 Events

Events,accordingtoSCRUM,alwaystakeplaceinapersonalform.Theytakeplace

regularlyinordertobeabletocontinuouslycheckandadapt.Alleventshaveafixed

timewindow.ThistimewindowisalsocalledTimebox.Thismeansthatatimeframe

issetforeachevent,whichisadheredtoinanycase.ItisthetaskoftheSCRUM

mastertokeeptothistimewindow.Iftherearestillmoretopicsthanthetimeofthe

eventallows,thesetopicsaremovedtothenextevent.Figure20givesyouanover-

viewofthemainpropertiesofeventsafterSCRUMandanoverviewofwhichevents

there are .

Characteristics of events

EventsaccordingtoSCRUMhaveaveryspecialcharacteristic,whichmakesevents,

accordingtoSCRUM,“typical”SCRUM.Thesecanbedescribedasfollows:

Regularity

InordertoensuretheiterativecharacterofSCRUM,theeventsatSCRUMtakeplace

regularly.Thereisafixedfrequencyinwhichtheeventstakeplace.Thisfrequency

isnotchangedoradjusted.Itisconsistentlyfollowedthroughouttheentireproj-

ect.Alsothelocationoftheeventsshouldalwaysbethesame.Thisregularityand

thecleardefinitionoffrequencyandlocationensuretheflowandefficiencyofthe

SCRUM process .

Timebox

Afixedtimeframeissetforeachevent.Thismeansthatatimeframehasbeen

definedinadvanceforeachevent.Thistimeframewillbekeptunderanycircum-

stances.Whenthetimewindowexpires,theeventisfinished.Thereisnoextension

oftheevent.Topicsthatarestillopenwillbediscussedinthenexteventormoved

tothenextevent.Inaddition,accordingtoSCRUM,theeventsalwaystakeplaceat

thesametime,thatis,withreferencetothetimeanddayoftheweek.Thisreduces

thecoordinationeffortoftheeventorganization.Apostponementofeventsorthe

repeatedfixingofthetimeofeventsisdeliberatelynotplanned.

17 / 42


The five events of SCRUM

Thereareexactlyfiveeventsthattake

placewithintheframeworkofaproject

managedaccordingtoSCRUM.Further

eventsarenotallowed.

However,itisimportanttonotethatthis

doesnotmeanthattheremustbeno

communicationoutsideoftheSCRUM

events.Onlythetypeandnumberof

eventsthemselvesareclearlyspecified.

Nevertheless,inrecentyearsseveral

authorsandpractitionershaveidenti-

fiedfurthereventsintheirpublications

asuseful.However,thesearenotpartof

SCRUMandforthisreasonarenotpre-

sentedinthisbook.

Itisimportantforustomentionthatthe

twofoundersofSCRUM,KenSchwaber

andJeffSutherland,emphasizethatany

modificationandadditiontothe“core”

ofSCRUMasdefinedbythemwillreduce

thesuccessandefficiencyofthemethod.

18 / 42


4.3.1 Sprint

Theaimofthesprintistoachievethe

respectivegoalorgoalsthatthedevel-

opmentteamhassetitselfforthere-

spectivesprint.Specifically,theproduct

featurestobeimplementedinthesprint

arerecordedinsprintbacklog.TheSprint

itselfisnotanindependentevent,but

ratherthebracketaroundseveralevents

that take place within the Sprint . In this

respect,thereisnoconcreteformin

whichthesprintitselftakesplace.

Theeventsthattakeplacewithinthe

sprintare:SprintPlanning,DailySCRUM,

theDevelopmentWork,theSprintReview

andtheRetrospective.

Participants within the Sprint are the

ProductOwner,theSCRUMMaster,the

developmentteamandthestakeholders.

Thesprintitselfisnotmoderated,sinceit

isabracketorcontaineraroundseveral

events,asalreadymentioned.Therefore,

thereisnoagendaoftheeventitself.

Duringthesprint,nochangesaremade

thatjeopardizethesprintgoal.The

demandforqualityworkmustnotbe

changed.Thescopeofthesprintmaybe

negotiatedbetweentheproductowner

andthedevelopmentteamifitserves

learningpurposes.Theagendaofthe

sprintistheprocessingofthesprintback-

log.WithintheSprint,therolesinvolved

havethetasks,competenciesandrespon-

sibilitiesthatarebasicallyassignedto

themaccordingtotheirroledefinition.

Theresultofthesprintistheprocessing

oftheproductpropertiesintendedforthe

sprintaccordingtotheproductbacklog.

Thedurationofthesprintvaries.Asprint

canlastfromafewdaysuptoamonth.

Themaximumdurationofasprintisfour

weeks or one month . It is important that

thesprintsalwayshavethesamedura-

tion.Thisisbecauseithasbeenproven

thattheperformanceofthesprintteams

is highest when the duration is the same .

Basically,onecansaythatsprintsshould

alwaysbeasshortaspossible.When

asprintisover,thenextsprintalready

starts.So,thereisvirtuallynobreakbe-

tweenthesprints.Everysprintisimmedi-

atelyfollowedbythenextsprint.

How many sprints take place within a

SCRUMprojectvaries.Ultimately,sprints

take place as long as the product or ser-

vicebeingdevelopedexists.Thestructure

within a sprint is also always the same . A

sprintalwaysbeginswithSprintPlanning

asthefirstevent.

19 / 42


4.3.2 Sprint Planning

ThegoalofSprintPlanningistoplantheupcomingsprint.The

sprinttakestheformofapresenceevent,whichisalwaysthe

firsteventofasprint.Sprintplanningtakesplaceonceper

sprint.Everysprintbeginswithit.

SprintPlanninginvolvestheentireSCRUMteam,theProduct

Owner,theSCRUMMasterandthedevelopmentteam.Sprint

Planningtakesamaximumofeighthoursforasprintoffour

weeks.Ifthesprintlastslessthanfourweeks,thedurationof

SprintPlanningisproportionallyadjustedaccordinglyandis

shorter .

TheSCRUMMasterisresponsibleforensuringthattheSprint

PlanningtakesplaceandthatallmembersoftheSCRUMteam

understandwhatthegoaloftheeventis.Heisalsoresponsible

forensuringthattheSprintPlanningremainswithintheagreed

timeframeintermsofduration.TheSprintPlanningisdivided

into two parts .

20 / 42


4.3.3 Daily Scrum

Afterthespringplanningiscompleted,

thedevelopmentteambeginsitswork.In

concreteterms,thismeansthatitpro-

cessesthetasksdefinedinSprintPlan-

ninginaself-organizedmannerwithin

the team . It is important here that the

developmentteamprocessesthetasks

oneaftertheotherandideallyworks

together and simultaneously on the same

backlogitem.Duringthisdevelopment

work,theSCRUMteamphysicallymeets

onceadayfortheDailySCRUM.

This always takes place at the same time

atthesameplace.Thereasonforthis

istoreducetheorganizationalworkof

eventplanningandthecomplexity.The

durationoftheDailySCRUMislimitedto

amaximumoffifteenminutes.Thegoal

oftheDailySCRUMistoensurethatthe

developmentteamiscoordinatedand

synchronized.

ForeachDailySCRUM,development

workisplannedforthenexttwenty-four

hours.Theworkofthelasttwenty-four

hoursisalwaysmadetransparentfirst

andanoutlookonthetasksofthenext

twenty-fourhoursisgiven.Thedevelop-

mentteamcheckstheprogressofthelast

twenty-fourhoursregardingthesprint

target . It also analyses the progress with

respecttothebacklogitemsthatarein

thesprintbacklog.ThemaingoalofDaily

SCRUMistomaximizetheprobability

thatthedevelopmentteamwillachieve

the sprint goal .

Theagendaoftheeventissetbythe

developmentteamitself.Thereareno

concreteguidelines,accordingtoSCRUM,

onhowtheDailySCRUMshouldbe

structuredaslongaseverythingisaimed

atachievingthesprintgoal.Thereare

developmentteamsthatusestructured

questions,suchas:

• What did I do yesterday for the

development team to achieve the

Sprint goal?

• What will I do today for the

development team to achieve the

Sprint goal?

• Are there any obstacles that prevent

me or the development team from

achieving the Sprint goal?

Otherdevelopmentteamshowever,use

theDailySCRUMfordetaileddiscussions.

TheexactagendaoftheDailySCRUM

isultimatelyuptotheSCRUMteam,as

longasitisaboutachievingtheSprint

goalandthemaximumdurationoffifteen

minutes .

21 / 42


4.3.4 Sprint Review

TheSprintReviewalwaystakesplaceattheendofthedevel-

opment work . It is used to present the most important results

ofthesprintandtocheckand,ifnecessary,adjustthem.Inthis

way,thelateststatusoftheproductincrementcanbemade

transparentandtheproductbacklogcanbeupdatedaccord-

ingly .

TheSprintReviewtakesplaceintheformofaphysicalevent.

Theproductownerinvitestotheevent.TheentireSCRUMteam

ispresentattheSprintReview.Stakeholdersarealsoinvited.

Thisgivesthemanoverviewofthelateststateofdevelopment

workandallowsthemtogivefeedbacktothedevelopment

team .

Thepresentationoftheresultsofthesprintismainlyintended

toprovidefeedbackandtopromotecooperation.TheSprint

Reviewlastsamaximumoffourhoursforasprintthatlasts

fourweeks.Ifthedurationofthesprintisshorter,theSprint

Reviewshouldbeadjustedaccordingly.

TheSCRUMMasterisresponsibleforensuringthattheevent

takesplaceandthateveryoneknowsthereasonfortheevent.

TheSCRUMMasteralsohelpstoensurethateveryonewho

participatesintheeventhelpstokeeptheeventwithintheset

timeframe.

23 / 42


The Sprint Review typically has the following agenda:

• Thedevelopmentteampresentstheworkthatisdone,

“Done”andanswersquestionsabouttheproductincrement.

• TheProductOwnerexplainswhichitemsoftheProduct

Backlogaredone,i.e.“Done”,andwhicharenot.

• The Product Owner discusses the Product Backlog in its

currentstate.Hegivesanoutlookonfuturedeliverydates

andtargetsbasedoncurrentprogress(ifnecessary).

• Thewholegroup(SCRUMteamandstakeholders)works

togetheronwhatshouldbedonenextsothattheSprintRe

viewprovidesvaluableinputforthenextSprintPlanning.

• Reviewhowthemarketorthepotentialuseoftheproduct

mayhavechangedintermsofwhatthebestnextstepwould

be.

• Reviewtheschedule,budget,potentialresourcesandmarket

forthenextupcomingreleaseintermsoftheproduct’s

featuresandcapabilities.

The result of the Sprint Review is a revised product backlog.

The product backlog can also be fundamentally adjusted if new

opportunities arise.

24 / 42


4.3.5 Sprint Retrospective

TheaimoftheSprintRetrospectiveistogatherfeedbackinor-

dertoimprovethedevelopmentprocessorganizationallyand

structurally.So,itisnotaboutfeedbackontheworkachieved

asintheSprintReview,butabouthowitwasandwhatcanbe

improved.Inessence,itisaboutidentifyingpotentialforim-

provementintermsofpeople,interactions,processesandtools.

TheeventalwaystakesplaceaftertheSprintReviewandbe-

foretheupcomingSprintPlanning.Theeventtakesplaceinthe

formofapresenceevent.TheentireSCRUMteamparticipates

intheevent,butnotthestakeholders.ThisisbecausetheSprint

Retrospectivereferstoanimprovementinthedevelopment

work,thatis,thewaythedevelopmentteam,includingtherest

oftheSCRUMteam,hasworkedtogether.However,thefocus

ofthestakeholdersisontheoutcomeofthisprocess,thatis,

theproduct.Thedurationoftheeventislimitedtoamaximum

ofthreehoursforasprintoffourweeks.Forashortersprint,the

SprintRetrospectivelastscorrespondinglyshorter.

25 / 42


TheSCRUMMasterisresponsibleforthe

organisationoftheevent.Healsohas

to make sure that all participants know

thereasonfortheevent.Hetakespart

intheevent,asheisresponsibleforthe

compliance with the SCRUM rules . The

SprintRetrospectiveisoneofthemost

importanteventsinwhichtheSCRUM

Master can check the compliance with

theSCRUMrulesandpossiblybecome

activeasacoach.Moreover,hehasto

makesurethattheeventisproductive

andpositive.Heshouldalsoencourage

allparticipantstokeeptheeventwithin

theplannedtimeframe.

The following objectives of the event

determine its agenda:

• Reviewhowthelastsprintwent,

focusingonpeople,relationships,

processes and tools .

• Identificationandstructuringofthe

topics that went well and potential

areasforimprovement.

• Drawing up a plan on how the areas

forimprovementcanbeimplemented

sothattheSCRUMteamcandoitsjob

best.

WithintheframeworkoftheSCRUM

retrospective,variousmethodsareused

toobtainfeedback.Theeasiestwayisto

divideametaplanwallintothreefields:

Liked,Learned,Lacked.Eachmember

oftheSCRUMteamwritesaboutthese

three points on a metaplan card and pins

it to the wall . The SCRUM Master then

moderateswhathasbeenpinnedtothe

wallandworkswiththeteamtoidentify

thepotentialforimprovementandaplan

to implement it .

26 / 42


4.4 Rolls

SCRUMgivesaverysimpleandcleardefinitionofthedifferentroleswithinthe

SCRUMframework.Thetasksoftheserolesaredescribedclearlyaswellawhat

competenciesandresponsibilitiestheyhave.Itisimportantthateachmemberofthe

SCRUMteamknowswhattheirroleisandwhatexpectationsareplacedonthisrole.

ThisisnecessarytoimplementSCRUMsuccessfully.IfthevaluesaccordingtoSCRUM

applytoallmembersoftheSCRUMteamtherolesforeachindividualteammember

definetheirtasksveryconcretelyandindividually.

4.4.1 Scrum Team

TheSCRUMteamworksinaself-organizedandinterdisciplinaryway.Ultimately,

SCRUMassumesthattheSCRUMteamishighlymotivatedandcandecideindepen-

dentlyhowtoachievetherespectivegoal.Itdoesitsworkwithouthavingtorelyon

peoplefromoutsidetheSCRUMteam.Furthermore,SCRUMteamsareinterdisci-

plinaryintermsoftheirabilitiesandskills.Ofteninprojectsthatarenotmanaged

accordingtoSCRUM,individualsub-projectsareformedaccordingtofunctionaries

ordepartments.Anexampleisasub-projectforproductstrategyandasub-project

forITimplementation.InSCRUM,theseindividualpersonsandtopicsareallunited

inateam.Aseparationintosub-projectsnolongerexists.IntheSCRUMteam,there

isacleardefinitionofroles.Eachteammemberknowsexactlywhichroleheorshe

shouldperform.

Product Owner

Scrum Master

Delevopment

Customers

Users

ManagementSTAKE-

HOLDERSCRUMTEAM

27 / 42


4.4.2 Scrum stakeholders

TheSCRUMframeworkhasthreeroles,whicharecollectivelyreferredtoasthe

SCRUMteam.AllthosewhoarenotpartoftheSCRUMteambuthaveaninterestin

thedevelopmentoftheproductorknowledgeabouttheproductarecalledstake-

holders.StakeholdersarethereforenotpartoftheSCRUMteamitself.Andyetthey

participateintheSCRUMprocessindifferentways.TypicalstakeholdersinSCRUM

projectsarecustomers,users,management.

SCRUMdoesnothaveotherrolesinitscore.Nevertheless,thereareotherframe-

worksforthemanagementoflargerunitsandseveralteams,suchastheScaledAgile

FrameworkorLargeScaleSCRUM.TheserepresentfurtherdevelopmentsofSCRUM

andonlypartlygobacktothefathersofSCRUM.Asalreadymentioned,theseframe-

worksarenotthecoreoftheactualSCRUMmethod.Forthisreason,wewillnot

discussthematthispoint.InSCRUMthereareonlythreeroles,whichhaveprovento

beabsolutelysufficientforthemanagementofaSCRUMproject.

Overview of the three roles of SCRUM

SCRUMhasonlythreecoreroles:theProductOwner,theSCRUMMasterandtheDe-

velopmentTeam.Themaintasksoftheserolesarethefollowing:

Product Owner

Herepresentstheinterestsoftheclientorcustomer.Heisresponsibleforthecom-

mercialsuccessoftheproduct.

SCRUM Master

HeistheServantLeaderandresponsiblefortheimplementationoftheSCRUMrules.

Weliketospeakhereoftherulekeeper,moderatorandcoach.

Development team

Thisteamdevelopstheproduct.Itisresponsiblefororganizingitselftoachievethe

goalofthesprint.ThedevelopmentteamistheheartofSCRUM.Itisresponsiblefor

themostimportantpartofaSCRUMproject:thedevelopmentoftheproduct.

STAKE-HOLDER

28 / 42


4.4.3 Product owner

Theproductownerisresponsibleforthe“what”.Whatisimple-

mentedtomaximizethevalueoftheproduct?Hehasthefol-

lowingtasks,responsibilitiesandcompetencies.

Tasks of the Product Owner

Theproductownerisveryactivelyinvolvedthroughouttheen-

tireSCRUMprocess.AtthebeginningoftheSCRUMprocess,he

hasthetaskofcoordinatingthefeaturesoftheproductcharac-

teristicstobedevelopedinconsultationwiththestakeholders.

Inaddition,hemustalsomanagetheseproductfeaturesina

structuredmannerintheformofaproductbacklog.Hisessen-

tialtoolistheproductbacklog.Duringthedevelopmentwork

itself,hewithdrawssomewhatandleavesthemostimportant

decisionstothedevelopmentteamitself.

Afterasprintorattheendofthesprint,hebecomesmoreac-

tiveagainintheformthathedirectshisattentiontowhether

themostimportantproductbacklogitemshavebeenpro-

cessedduringthedevelopmentwork.Specifically,hehasthe

followingtasks:

• Maximizesthevalueoftheproductbyprioritizingthe

productbacklog

• Optimizesthevalueoftheworkofthedevelopmentteam

• Performsthesetasksaloneordelegates

• Remainsresponsible

• Hasavisionandapassionfortheproduct

PRODUCTOWNER

PO

29 / 42


Competencies of the Product Owner

TheProductOwnerhasthecompetenceforthefollowing

topics:

• Hehasthecompetence,astheonlyoneintheSCRUMteam,

toassigntaskstothedevelopmentteamintheformofre

quirementsdefinedinthebacklog.

• Heactsonbehalfofthestakeholders,suchasthecustomer

ormanagement,orrepresentstheirinterestsintheSCRUM

process . He has all the powers relating to the product to

makeitsuccessful.

• Theproductowner“owns”theproduct,sotospeak.Ideally,

heisalsotheonewhohasthebudgetnecessarytodevelop

the product .

• Heistheowneroftheproductbacklogandhasthe

competencetodefineorprioritizethebacklogitemsinthe

productbacklog.

Responsibility of the Product Owner

TheProductOwnerisresponsibleforthefollowingtopics:

• Responsibilityforthefinancialsuccessoftheproduct

• Maximizingthevalueoftheproductingeneralandineach

sprint

• Managementandmaintenanceoftheproductbacklog

• Entriesintheproductbacklogmustbeclearlyworded

• Entriesintheproductbacklogshouldbesortedsothatgoals

andmissionsareoptimallyachieved

• Theentireorganizationmustrespecttheproductowner

• DecisionsoftheProductOwnermustbevisibleinthecontent

andorderoftheProductBacklog.

PRODUCTOWNER

PO

30 / 42


The Product Owner is a role in the SCRUM team that may only

beperformedbyasingleperson.Thisisbecausethisisthe

onlywaytoensurethatthereisalwaysaclearprioritization

ofbacklogitems.Inaddition,therearealwaysclearanswers

toquestionsfromboththedevelopmentteamandthestake-

holders.Italsohastheresponsibilityofbundlingthegoalsand

requirementsofthestakeholdersandrepresentingtheminthe

developmentwork.

Forthisreason,theproductownerhastwofaces,sotospeak.

Oneisturnedtowardsthestakeholders:Hereitisamatterof

continuouslyunderstanding,sortingandbundlingtherequire-

mentsofthestakeholders.Anotherfaceisturnedtowardsthe

developmentteam:Hereitistheirtasktomakethedevelop-

mentworkefficientthroughclearspecificationsintheproduct

backlogandtoevaluateoracceptdevelopmentresultsaccord-

ingtoclearlydefinedacceptancecriteria.

PRODUCTOWNER

PO

31 / 42


4.4.4 Scrum Master

TheSCRUMmasterisresponsibleforvirtuallyeverythingthat

makesaSCRUMproject:theSCRUMrules.Hemakessure

thateverythingduringthesprintrunsaccordingtotherulesof

SCRUM .

Tasks of the SCRUM Master

TheSCRUMmasterisalsocalledthe“ServantLeader”.What

doesthismean?InSCRUMthereisnoprojectleaderorproject

managerequippedwithleadershipskills.However,theSCRUM

Masterhasmanytasksthatwouldotherwisebeassignedtoa

classicprojectmanager.Hehastodesignthewholeprocess

anditscommunicationandeventstructuresaccordingtothe

rulesofSCRUM.Hisrolehereisthatofacoachormoderator.

HistaskistoenabletheotherteammembersintheSCRUM

teamtoapplytherulesofSCRUMforthemostefficientproject

work . He also has to make sure that all those who are not part

oftheSCRUMteamunderstandhowtointeractsuccessfully

withtheSCRUMteam.Inaddition,hehelpseveryonetoar-

rangetheseinteractionsinsuchawaythattheyensuremaxi-

mumvalueoftheworkoftheSCRUMteam.

Responsibility of the SCRUM Master

TheSCRUMMasterisresponsibleforthefollowing:ensuring

thatallpartiesunderstandtheSCRUMtheory,practices,rules

andvalues.Heistheambassadorwithintheorganizationfor

everythingrelatedtoSCRUM.

SCRUMMASTER

SM

32 / 42


Competencies of the SCRUM Master

TheSCRUMMasterhasthefollowingsubjectsascompetence:

The SCRUM Master has the competence to point out to all

SCRUMteammemberswhenSCRUMruleshavenotbeen

appliedcorrectly.Inaddition,hehasthecompetencetotake

measures at any time which are necessary to strengthen the

understandingoftheSCRUMrulesintheSCRUMteamandthus

alsotoimprovetheirapplication.

SincetheSCRUMMasterhasthissupportingfunctionwithinthe

SCRUMprocess,histasksarestructuredbelowinsuchaway

thatitisclearwhichtaskshehasinsupportoftheotherroles

withintheSCRUMteamandwhichtaskshehasinsupportof

everyoneoutsidetheSCRUMteam.

Basic tasks of the master

The SCRUM master is thus the control guardian within the

SCRUMprocess.Atalltimesduringthedevelopmentwork,

events,etc.,hemustensurethatallparticipantsadheretothe

rulesaccordingtotheSCRUMguidelinesandthatallevents

takeplaceintheappropriateform.Heactsasmoderatorand

coach.Thismeansthathedoesnotactasprojectmanager

orprojectleaderatanytime;histaskisonlysupportingthe

SCRUMprocess.HisgoalistoenabletheSCRUMteamtowork

accordingtotherulesofSCRUMandtobeefficient.

SCRUMMASTER

SM

33 / 42


DEVELOPMENTTEAM

D

4.4.5 Development team

Thedevelopmentteamisresponsibleforthe“how”:Howisthe

productdevelopedandimplemented?

Characteristics of the development team

DevelopmentteamsaccordingtoSCRUMhaveveryspecial

characteristicsthatmakeupthespiritofSCRUM.Theseare

describedbelow.

Team size

Thedevelopmentteamconsistsofthreetonineteammembers.

Sevenpeopleareconsideredoptimal.Forthepurposeofthis

calculation the SCRUM Master and the SCRUM Product Owner

arenotcounted.TheyaremembersoftheSCRUMteam,butnot

ofthedevelopmentteam.

Self-organizing

Developmentteamsdonothaveprojectmanagersorsubproj-

ectmanagers.Theyorganizethemselves.Itisthetaskoftheor-

ganizationorcompanytodoeverythingpossibletoenablethe

developmentteamtoorganizeandmanageitself.Itprovides

alltheskillsandresourcesneededtodothis.Theonlyspecifi-

cationthatthedevelopmentteamgetsfromProductOwneris

thetypeandpriorityoftheproductfeaturestobeimplemented

in all sprints . These are stored in the so-called Product Backlog .

Howtheteamachievestheproductpropertiesofthesprint

backlogandthegoalsofthesprintisentirelyuptotheteams.

Interdisciplinary

Asdescribed,thedevelopmentteamsworkinaninterdisciplin-

aryway.Thismeansthatdifferentcompetenciesandskillsare

availablewithintheteam.

34 / 42


DEVELOPMENTTEAM

DNo titles

Therearenotitleswithindevelopmentteams.Theroleswithin

thedevelopmentteamareallequallyimportant.Titlesare

thereforenotrelevant.Thisdoesnotmean,however,thatthere

arenotdifferentdistributionsoftaskswithintheteam.Howev-

er,thisdistributionoftasksisalwaysdefinedbytherespective

taskandisnotmanifestedbytheassignmentofatitlewithin

the team .

Development team remains responsible as a whole

Whilethedevelopmentteamcanorganizetaskswithinthe

teamwithdifferentcompetencies,italwaysremainsrespon-

sibleasawholeforachievingthegoalofasprint.Nooneinthe

developmentteamhasmoreorlessresponsibilitythansome-

oneelseintheteam.Theteamasawholeisalwaysresponsible

forsuccess.

Tasks of the development team

Themaintaskofthedevelopmentteamistobuildordevelop

theproductcorrectly.Themembersofthedevelopmentteam

aretheonlyonesworkingontheincrement.Allothertasksof

thedevelopmentteamaresubordinatetothismaintaskand

are only supporting to ensure this during the sprint .

Itisimportantthattheindividualtasksareassignedtothedif-

ferentmembersofthedevelopmentteam.Thedistributionof

taskswithinthedevelopmentteamiscarriedoutbythedevel-

opmentteamitself.Ideally,asmanymembersofthedevelop-

mentteamaspossibleshouldalwaysworkonabacklogitem.

Youshouldavoidhavingtoomanymembersofthedevelop-

mentteamworkingontoomanydifferentbacklogitemsin

parallel.Theprincipleoffocusingandprioritizedprocessing

oneaftertheotherthereforeapplies.Evenifdifferenttasks

aredistributedamongdifferentmembersofthedevelopment

team,theresponsibilityremainswiththeentireteam.

35 / 42


DEVELOPMENTTEAM

D

Responsibility of the development team

Thedevelopmentteamisresponsibleforthefollowing:

• Developmentofthecurrentincrement

• Prioritizationoftasksinthedevelopmentteam

• OrganizationoftheDailySCRUM(roomsetc.)

• DailyparticipationandinvolvementintheDailySCRUM

• ManagementoftheDailySCRUMaccordingtotherulesof

SCRUM

• Trackingtheprogressofthesprintincludingupdatingthe

toolsusedforthispurpose(e.g.taskboard,sprintburn-down

chart,etc.)

Competencies of the development team

ThefollowingtopicsareamongthecompetencesoftheSCRUM

team:

• Ownerofthesprintbacklog.Onlythedevelopmentteamis

allowedtomakechangestothesprintbacklog.Nooneelse

in the SCRUM team may do this .

• Decision-makingauthorityon“howmuch”,i.e.quantityand

scopewithintheframeworkofSprintPlanning

Optimal team size of the development team

Optimally,betweenthreeandnineteammembersareneeded.

Iftherearelessthanthreeteammembers,thereisariskofa

gapinskills.Teamswithmorethanninemembershaveavery

highcoordinationeffort.InthesecalculationstheSCRUMMas-

ter and the SCRUM Product Owner are not included . They are

onlycountediftheyarealsoinvolvedintheprocessingofthe

backlogitems.DuringtheentireSCRUMprocess,thedevelop-

mentteamshouldconsistofthesamepeopleifpossible.The

reasonforthisisthatthiswayabetterlearningcurvecanbe

achievedwithintheSCRUMprocess.Inaddition,whathasbeen

learnedcanbebettercontinuedintheinteractionoftheteam

members.

36 / 42


4.5 The artifacts

Asalreadymentioned,therearethree

artifactsaccordingtoSCRUM.

Thesearethefollowing:

• Product Backlog

• Sprint Backlog

• Increment

SCRUMARTIFACTS

SPRINTBACKLOG

PRODUCTBACKLOG

INCREMENT

38 / 42


4.5.1 Product Backlog

What is the goal of the Product Backlog?

TheProductBacklogisalistofallprod-

uctfeaturesthattheproductshould

containwhenitisdeveloped.Theprod-

uctfeaturesintheproductbacklogare

calledproductbacklogitems.Theyare

arrangedinaspecificorderofpriority.It

isthesolesourceofallrequirementsfor

the product and all changes made to the

product.Theproductbacklogexistsas

longastheproductexists.Italsocontains

allbacklogitemsoruserstoriesthathave

alreadybeenprocessed.

Theproductbacklogisnevercomplete,it

livesthroughouttheentiredevelopment

processandisconstantlyreviewedand

adapted.ThefirstversionoftheProduct

Backlogshowstherequirementsinitially

knowntothebestofourknowledge.The

ProductBacklogchangesovertimeas

theareaofapplicationoftheproduct

andalsotheproductitselfchanges.The

ProductBacklogisthereforeverydynam-

ic . It is constantly changing to determine

whattheproductrequirestobeappropri-

ate,competitiveanduseful.

Ifaproductexists,aproductbacklogalso

exists.ThisistheworldofSCRUM.The

productbacklogcontainsallfeatures,

functions,requirements,improvements,

changes,whichshouldbeimplemented

infutureversionsoftheproduct.Eachof

these entries in the Product Backlog is

called Product Backlog Item . Each Prod-

uctBacklogItemhasseveralattributes:

Description,prioritization,estimation,etc.

Inmostcases,ProductBacklogItemsalso

containadescriptionoftheacceptance

criteriathatdefinethe“done”inthecon-

textofacceptancebytheProductOwner.

Who is responsible for the Product

Backlog?

Theproductownerisresponsibleforthe

productbacklog.Heisresponsiblefor

creating the Product Backlog and main-

taining it throughout the entire process .

Inparticular,heisresponsibleforitscon-

tent,structure,prioritizationofbacklog

items,andavailability.

How in the SCRUM process is the Product

Backlog used?

The Product Backlog is used through-

out the entire SCRUM process . It is at all

timesthebasisforthetransparencyof

theproducttobedeveloped.TheProduct

BacklogisthecollectionofseveralBack-

logItems,whichinitsentiretycoversall

functionsoftheproducttobedeveloped.

Inthefirststep,aProductBacklogItemis

onlythenameofarequirementsuchas

“externalpool”.

39 / 42


4.5.2 Sprint Backlog

What is the goal of the Sprint Backlog?

ThegoaloftheSprintBacklogistomakeittransparenttothedevelopmentteam

whichbacklogitemsaretobeimplementedinthesprintandhow.Italsoprovides

informationatanypointinthesprintaboutthecurrentstatusofthedevelopment

team’sworkandwhichtasksstillneedtobecompletedtoachievethesprintgoal.To

ensurecontinuousimprovement,italsocontainsatleastoneimprovementmeasure

thatwasidentifiedasimportantorofhighpriorityinthelastSprintRetrospective.The

sprintbacklogisultimatelyasubsetofthebacklogitemsfromtheproductbacklog.

Theselectionofthesebacklogitemsfromtheproductbacklogforthesprintbacklog

takes place during Sprint Planning .

Who is responsible for the Sprint Backlog?

TheSprintBacklogisthesoleresponsibilityofthedevelopmentteam.Alladjustments

andchangestotheSprintBacklogmayonlybemadebythedevelopmentteam.The

prerequisitefortransferringabacklogitemtothesprintbacklogis,firstly,thatitis

sufficientlydetailed.Itmustbesufficientlydetailedsothatthedevelopmentteamhas

alltheinformationtheyneedtoprocessthebacklogiteminthesprint.Secondly,the

backlogitemmusthavebeenselectedbythedevelopmentteamfortheupcoming

sprint,sothatthedevelopmentteamconsiderstheitemfeasibleintermsofitsown

availablecapacityduringthesprint.

How in the SCRUM process is the Sprint Backlog used?

Thesprintbacklogcontainsaplanofhowtheincrementwillbedeliveredandhow

thesprintgoalwillbeachieved.Specifically,thesprintbacklogcontainsthedevelop-

mentteam’splanningofwhichfunctionalitywillbethenextproductincrement,and

thedevelopmentworkrequiredtoconvertthefunctionalitytoa“done”.Thisplan

mustbedetailedenoughsothatitcanbeusedandappliedintheDailySCRUM.

40 / 42


4.5.3 Increment

Theincrementistheproductinitsmostrecentdeliverystateincludingeverything

thathasbeenimplementedinthecurrentSprint.

What is the goal of the increment?

Theincrementisoftenalsocalledproductincrement.Itincludesallproductbacklog

itemsthatwereimplementedinthepastsprints.Italsoincludesthevalueofallincre-

mentsthatwereconvertedintheprevioussprints.Theincrementisalmostalways

the current product in its last release status . The increment represents an important

componentandcontributiontoachievingtheprojectgoalorproductvision.

Who is responsible for the increment?

Thedevelopmentteamisresponsibleforcreatingapassableincrementattheend

ofeachsprint.Oncecompleted,theincrementmustbepassedtotheproductowner.

Theproductownerisresponsiblefordecidingwhethertoreleaseorputtheincre-

ment into operation . He can accept the product and still decide that he does not want

to release it .

How in the SCRUM process is the increment applied?

Attheendofeachsprint,thedevelopmentteamhandsoveritsworktotheproduct

ownerintheformofthedeliverableincrement.Animportantprerequisiteforthe

transferisthattheincrementisdeliverable.Thisincludesthatitcomplieswiththe

SCRUMteam’s“DefinitionofDone”andisalsoinapotentiallydeliverablestate.For

awell-rehearsedSCRUMteam,thischeckshouldnotonlybecarriedoutwhenthe

incrementishandedovertotheproductowner,butshouldalreadybecarriedout

duringthesprint.Theincrementmustalwaysbereadytobeputintooperation,re-

gardlessofwhethertheproductownerconsidersitsuitableforthispurpose.

41 / 42


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