66% of organizations use Scrum, while 85% said Scrum improved work-life balance per the 5th annual State of Agile Report. From mid-sized firms to Fortune 500 companies, Scrum is the firm favorite.
Understanding how the two relate helps teams adopt the right approach.
| Agile | Scrum |
|---|---|
| Agile is a flexible way of executing projects where scope, time, or cost get adjusted based on the pace of the project. | Scrum is an agile software development framework that serves as a foundation for agile software development. |
| Agile is a mindset that enables us to embrace change and respond to it quickly and deliberately while controlling risk. | Sprint is the core of Scrum and the sprint cycle can't be more than one month. All events take place within a defined time box. |
| Agile originated from the manifesto for agile software development — crafted by 17 people in 2001. | In Scrum, cross-functional teams are self-managed, with collective ownership for delivery. |
| Agile is a common term for frameworks and methodologies that share values and principles from the manifesto. | Scrum has five values — courage, commitment, focus, respect, and openness — that help the team stay self-managed. |
| Agile values enable adaptiveness in approach while solving complex problems. | Scrum has three roles that help define clear accountability. |
| Continuous delivery of working product is the priority in Agile. | Scrum has three artifacts for transparency: Product Backlog (To-Do), Sprint Backlog (Doing), and Increment (Done), plus five events to inspect and adapt. |
Successful Scrum depends on the entire team embodying these five core values.
Scrum Teams need to be open to learning new things and opportunities. Transparency and seeking help is a value that is appreciated.
The ability to commit makes the Scrum team agile. Teams should deliver on their commitments and take up only tasks they are confident of completing.
Commitment to delivering complex work requires courage. Scrum teams shouldn't hesitate to say no, seek help, or try new approaches.
Focus is key to developing a product successfully using Scrum. Limit work-in-progress (WIP) to stay focused on the task at hand.
Scrum advocates respect where all members respect each other's accountability. Everyone's contribution is equally valued, and success relies on mutual collaboration.
The Scrum framework has 3 roles where each have their own unique responsibilities.
As per Scrum Guide, Scrum Masters are accountable for the Scrum Team's effectiveness. The Scrum Master ensures successful implementation of the Scrum framework while focusing on principles and values.
A Product Owner is accountable for maximizing the value of work done by the Scrum Team. The product owner optimizes business value by creating and maintaining the product backlog.
Developers are committed to delivering usable Increments in every Sprint. They have all the skills required to turn Product Backlog Items into the Product Increment — including software engineers, QA analysts, UI/UX designers, business analysts, and more.
Scrum Artifacts provide vital information about the product under development to the Scrum Team and stakeholders.
An emergent to-do list of features, user stories, modifications, and bug fixes. It keeps growing as the team learns more about products and users, enabling transparency for all stakeholders.
Contains items developers have pulled for the current Sprint. Includes the Sprint Goal that enables flexibility in complex work and keeps the Scrum Team aligned towards a single objective.
The sum of all product backlog items that met the Definition of Done. The Increment must be in a releasable condition — incomplete items return to the Product Backlog for transparency.
Scrum Events are structured to adhere to the principles of the Scrum framework and give opportunities to inspect and adapt artifacts.
The purpose of the Sprint is to produce a Done Increment. A sprint is a container event — all other events occur inside the Sprint. The moment a Product Backlog item meets the Definition of Done, an Increment is born.
An opportunity for the Scrum Team and Stakeholders to meet and discuss progress made towards the Product Goal. Developers demonstrate a working product to collect feedback.
The Scrum Team comes together at the start of a Sprint to plan the work. They craft a Sprint Goal and developers pull work from the product backlog into the sprint backlog.
The Scrum Team meets at the end of the Sprint to inspect and adapt their processes and practices. It's an opportunity to review the Definition of Done to improve Increment quality.
Developers meet every day to inspect the work and adapt the plan to meet the Sprint Goal. This helps review work at regular intervals and mitigate risks.
To be a Professional Scrum Master™, you have to undertake the Professional Scrum Master™ course, then pass the Professional Scrum Master™ Certification examination.
Institutions offer PSM certification at highly competitive rates. One can become certified without worrying too much about budget, though patience and thorough preparation are equally important.
Once certified, some roles open to you include:
Key benefits include:
Benefits include:
No, the Professional Scrum Master™ Certification doesn't need renewal.
PDUs (Professional Development Units) are issued by the Project Management Institute. A candidate receives access to PDUs upon completing the Scrum Master course — 16 PDUs for 2 days of training.
