Understandi

ng Scrum
in 30 Minutes
by Altaf Al-Amin
Understanding Scrum In 30 Minutes v1.0 is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0
Unported License.
Scrum (n): A framework within which people can address complex
adaptive problems, while productively and creatively delivering products
of the highest possible value. Scrum is:
Lightweight
Simple to understand
Extremely difficult to master
Scrum Overview in House-Keeping
Way
The relay race approach to
product developmentmay conflict
with the goals of maximum speed
and flexibility. Instead a holistic or
rugby approachwhere a team
tries to go the distance as a unit,
passing the ball back and forth
Hirotaka Takeuchi and Ikujiro Nonaka,
may better serve The todays
New New Product Development
competitive requirements.
Game, Harvard Business Review,
January 1986.
The Scrum Team
 The Product Owner
esponsible for the product backlog
nd maximizing the product ROI.
Owns Product Vision
Sole Person Not Committee
Represents the users (Business Owner)
Clearly expresses backlog items
Prioritize features according to market value
Ensures Visibility
Defines features of the product
Decide on release date and content
Accept or reject work results
Authority on What
The Development
Team
Responsible for delivering a potentially shippable increment of
working software.
Self-organized & Self-Directing
X functional
Not Titles Except Developer
Defines practices
Two pizza team - Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon
7(+/-)2
Full Time Engagement
Authority on How to do What
No Sub Teams
 The Scrum Master
Responsible for the scrum
process
Manager but Servent-Leader
Lot of Influence But No Authority
Scrum Master is NOT a Project
Manager
Enacting Scrum values
Services to Product Owner, Dev Team & Org
Team is functional
Removes impediments
Classroom Exercise
Walking around
Scrum Artifacts
The Product Backlog
Single source of requirements for any changes to be made
to the product.
Product Owner Owns it
Living list that is never complete
Ordered: value, risk, priority & necessity
Estimated by the team
Product Backlog lists all features, functions, requirements,
enhancements, and fixes
Evolutionary, Dynamic, reflects current state of affair
The Sprint Backlog
A subset of Product Backlog Items, which define the work
for a Sprint
Is created ONLY by Development Team
Each Item has its own status
Should be updated every day
No more than 300 tasks in the list
If a task requires more than 16 hours, it should be broken down
Team can add or subtract items from the list. Product Owner is not
allowed to do it
Changes
Team adds new tasks whenever they need to in order to meet the Sprint Goal
Team can remove unnecessary tasks
But: Sprint Backlog can only be updated by the team
Estimates are updated whenever theres new information
 The Dfinition of
edDone
to assess when work is complete on t
oduct increment.

o All of the Work of Only the Work Required To do

Defined by the product owner
Unique for the whole team
Must allow immediate release
Quality increases with maturity
Scrum Events /
Crmonies /
Rituals
The Sprint Planning
Two part time boxed meeting: 8hrs/1 Month sprint.
1. Defines what will be delivered in the increment
Team selects items from the product backlog
and defines a sprint goal
2. Defines how the increment will be achieved Sprint Backlog
Items are converted into tasks & estimated

1st Part:
Story Selection Done with the product owner
Determining the Sprint Goal.
Participants: Product Owner, Scrum Master, Scrum Team
2nd Part:
Plan Confirmation
Determination of Done
Participants: Scrum Master, Scrum Team
Creating Sprint Backlog
Classroom Exercise
Busting Myth of Multi Tasking
The Sprint
Heart of Scrum
Time Boxed (2 to 4 weeks)
During the Sprint:
No changes are made that would affect the Sprint Goal
Development Team composition remains constant
Quality goals do not decrease;
Scope may be clarified and renegotiated between the Product
Owner and Development Team as more is learned.
Each Sprint is Mini-Project
Limit the Risk to One Month of Cost
Only PO can cancel sprint before time
The Daily Scrum
15 minute time-boxed event for the Development Team to
synchronize activities.

Mandatory Stand-Up Meeting

Development Team is responsible for conducting Meeting
Everyone Answers:
What has been accomplished since last meeting?
What will be done before the next meeting?
What obstacles are in the way?
Same Place, Same Time
Not Status Update but Communicate &
Commitment to the Team Members

Classroom Exercise
Standing Survey
 The Sprint Review
hour time-boxed meeting / Month Sprint
Informal Show n Tell Meeting
Product owner identifies done / undone
Team discusses what went well, what problems it
ran into & those that were solved
Team demonstrates what it has done in a demo
Product owner discusses the backlog as it stands
Entire group collaborates on what to do next
Result: Revised Product Backlog
 The Sprint Retrospective
proves the process.

Sprint Review < Sprint Retrospective < Next Sprint Planning Meeting
Inspect how the last Sprint went PRPT (People, Relationship, Process, To
3 Hour / 1 Month Sprint
Identify and order the major items that went well & potential improvem
Create a plan for implementing improvements
Whole Team gathers and discusses What they would like to
Start
Stop
Continue
Further Reading
Agile and Iterative Development: A Managers Guide by Craig
Larman

Agile Estimating and Planning by Mike Cohn

Agile Project Management with Scrum by Ken Schwaber

Agile Retrospectives by Esther Derby and Diana Larsen

Agile Software Development Ecosystems by Jim Highsmith

Agile Software Development with Scrum by Ken Schwaber and

Mike Beedle

Scrum and The Enterprise by Ken Schwaber