What is Scrum?

Scrum is a lightweight framework for agile product development that encourages team members to work on a problem together. It helps teams gather knowledge from experience and learn self-organization by working on an issue.

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Difference between Agile and Scrum

Agile Scrum

Agile

Scrum

Agile is a flexible way of executing projects where either scope, time, or cost get adjusted based on the pace of the project. Scrum is an agile software development framework. Scrum is a 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 a core of Scrum, and the sprint cycle can’t be more than one month. All events take place within a defined time box.
But agile is much more than just mindset. Agile that we refer to has originated from the manifesto for agile software development. A manifesto crafted by 17 people in 2001. In Scrum, the cross-functional teams are self-managed, and they have collective ownership for delivery.
Agile software development is a common term for frameworks and methodologies that share values and principles described in the manifesto. Scrum has five values — courage, commitment, focus, respect, and openness that help the team to be self-managed
Agile values and principles enable adaptiveness in approach while solving complex problems. Scrum has three roles that help in defining clear accountability.
Continuous delivery of the working Product is the priority in Agile. Scrum has three artifacts to enable transparency in terms of To-Do (Product Backlog), Doing (Sprint Backlog), and Done (Increment), and also Scrum has five events that provide opportunities to inspect and adapt.

What are Scrum Values?

The bottom line is that successful Scrum depends on the entire team embodying specific values.

The values of Scrum drive it’s implementation. The 5 values of Scrum includes-

What are Scrum Values?

Openness

Scrum Teams need to be open to learning new things and opportunities. Transparency and seeking help is a value that is appreciated.

Commitment

The ability to commit makes the Scrum team agile. Commitment makes it easy to build an agile culture. Scrum teams should deliver on their commitments and take up only tasks they are confident of completing.

Courage

Commitment to delivering complex work requires courage. Courage is one of the cornerstones of Scrum. Scrum Teams shouldn’t hesitate to say no, seek help, or try new things.

Focus

Focus is key to developing a product successfully using Scrum. The goal should be to limit the amount of work-in-progress (WIP) to stay focused on the task at hand.

Respect

Scrum advocates respect where all members respect the Scrum Master, Product Owner, Development Team, and stakeholder’s accountability. Everyone’s contribution is equally respected, and the team’s success relies on mutual collaboration.

Scrum Roles and Responsibilities

The Scrum framework has 3 roles where each have their own unique responsibilities

Scrum Master:

As per Scrum Guide, Scrum Masters are accountable for Scrum Team’s effectiveness. The Scrum Master ensures the successful implementation of the Scrum framework while focusing on principles and values.

The Scrum Master is responsible to serves Scrum Team, Product Owner, and Organizations. They serve by doing the following:

  • Coach and impart training to team members and stakeholders
  • Facilitate Scrum events (as needed), team decisions, and conflict resolutions
  • Causing the removal of impediments that become barriers to successful product delivery
  • Removing barriers between stakeholders and Scrum Teams
Scrum Master
Product Owner

Product Owner:

A Product Owner is an individual accountable for maximizing the value of work done by the Scrum Team. In addition, the product owner optimizes the business value by creating and maintaining the product backlog.

Product Owner has their fair share of responsibilities, such as-

  • Creating and owning the Product Vision
  • Managing the Product Backlog
  • Working with Scrum Team to ensure the requirement is well understood
  • Manage budget, scope, releases, and stakeholders of the Product
  • Effective communication to the stakeholders of the Product
  • Collaborating with the developers during Product Backlog Refinement
  • Measure the Product’s value and decide what next while working with Scrum Team and Stakeholders.

Developers:

The Developers are a group of people committed to delivering usable Increment in every Sprint. Developers have all the skills required to turn Product Backlog Items (PBIs) into the Product Increment (PI). A typical cross-functional team developing software products consists of software engineers, quality analysts, UI/UX designers, business analysts, data analysts, and IT support for developing and testing a product.

The Scrum Team is accountable for-

  • Take care of the sprint backlog
  • Use daily Scrum to Inspect and Adapt.
  • Maintain quality as per the Definition of Done
Developers

What is Scrum Artifacts

Scrum Artifacts provide vital information about the Product under development to the Scrum Team and stakeholders.

Product Backlog

A backlog is a list of items, features, user stories, modifications to existing features, and bug fixes that the Scrum team needs to complete to produce potentially Product Increment. Product Backlog is an emergent to-do list that keeps growing as we learn more about products and users. It enables transparency at work where everyone, including Stakeholders, knows what is yet to do done.

Sprint Backlog

The Sprint Backlog contains the list of items that developers have pulled for the current Sprint. The sprint backlog includes the Sprint Goal that enables flexibility in complex work and helps the Scrum Team align towards a single goal. In addition, the Sprint Backlog may have subtasks that developers create during planning to complete forecasted Product Backlog Items. Sprint Backlog is a work-in-progress artifact to enable transparency.

Product Increment

Product Increment is the sum of all the product backlog items that met the Definition of Done. The Increment must be in a releasable condition. In simple terms, Increment is done work. Any incomplete Product Backlog Items should not get added to Increment and must return to Product Backlog for the purpose of transparency.

The Scrum Framework At a Glance

The Scrum Framework At a Glance

What are Scrum Events?

Scrum Events are important events that ensure the Sprint goes smoothly. They are structured to adhere to the principles of the Scrum framework and give Opportunities to inspect and adapt artifacts.

Sprint:

The purpose of the Sprint is to produce a Done Increment. The moment a Product Backlog item meets the Definition of Done, an Increment is born. A sprint is a container event, and all other events occur inside the Sprint.

Sprint Review:

This is an opportunity for the Scrum Team and Stakeholders to meet and discuss the progress made towards the Product Goal. Developers demonstrate a working product to collect feedback.

Sprint Planning:

Scrum Team comes together as soon as a Sprint starts to plan the work for the Sprint. Scrum Team craft a goal for the Sprint. Developers pull the work from the product backlog to the sprint backlog and prepare a plan to meet the sprint goal.

Sprint Retrospective:

The Scrum Team meets the end of the Sprint to inspect and adapt themselves, existing processes, and practices. It is an opportunity to review the Definition of Done to improve the quality of Increments.

Daily Scrum:

Developers meet every day to inspect the work and adapt the plan to meet the Sprint Goal. It helps them to review work at regular intervals and mitigate risks.

Scrum Training and Certification FAQs

To be a Professional Scrum Master™, you have to undertake the Professional Scrum Master™ course, post- that, pass the Professional Scrum Master™ Certification examination.

Institutions are offering Professional Scrum Master™ certification at highly competitive rates and one can become a certified Professional Scrum Master™, without having to worry about budget and affordability. However, patience and a thorough thought process are equally significant.

Once you are a certified Professional Scrum Master™, your career will take a turn in an extensively desirable way. Apart from being a mentor to other teams and companies, explore below some other roles that are open to a Professional Scrum Master™.

  • Information Technology (IT) Consultant
  • Agile Coach
  • Agile Consultant
  • Transformation Agent
  • Change Agent

Undertaking a Professional Scrum Master™ course and earning a certification establishes several new opportunities for a professional.

Some of the most significant ones are:

  • Earning the status of an industry-recognized Professional Scrum Master™.
  • Get remarkable recognition throughout the industry.
  • The capability to take on projects that require knowledge of SCRUM management.
  • The ability to market their skills and thus negotiate better benefits at the current workplace or new ones

Attending the PSM course is one of the most efficient pathways to becoming a certified Professional Scrum Master™.

The benefits include:

  • Gain a solid understanding of Scrum knowledge
  • Interactive session with the best trainers in the market.
  • Get noteworthy recognition throughout the industry and become an industry-recognized Professional Scrum Master™
  • After getting the certification, get better job opportunities at your workplace and new ones as well.

The main topics that are covered in the PSM training are:

  • Basics of Scrum Methodology: A clear understanding of Scrum theory and principles
  • Definition of DONE: Explore the Definition of Done in Scrum
  • Scrum in organizations: To start using Scrum effectively in an organization
  • The role of Scrum Master: Insights into servant-leadership for understanding the role of a Scrum Master- for Scrum Teams and other stakeholders.

Follow the steps to Enroll for the course.

  • Enroll for the course.
  • Pay the training fee, which is inclusive of the exam fee
  • After the successful completion of the course, participants will receive a password to attend the PSM I assessment.
  • If the participants take the assessment within 14 days (of receiving this email with the password), and scores less than 85%, they are entitled to the 2nd attempt at no cost.

No, the Professional Scrum Master™ Certification doesn’t need renewal.

PDUs are expanded as Professional Development Units which are issued by the Project Management Institute. A candidate is given access to the PDU when they complete the Scrum Master course. 16 PDUs for 2 days training.

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