Scrum Study Guide

Scrum is an ubiquitous frameworks within the agility space. It is also one of the most misrepresented and misunderstood. So much of what people call scrum can be said to have polluted the framework extensively in the so-called "Real world"

So in this section of the study area, we go back to the source and build from there. But before we do it's important to understand the two primary stances of people interacting with Scrum.

Dual Stances of Scrum

All members of organisations, no matter their level of seniority or authority, fall into one of two categories in Scrum - Stakeholders or Scrum Team Members. Each of these have important obligations to the other to fulfil. Understanding, applying and adhering to such obligations results in better ROI, reduced risk and, improved performance of the organisation. There are other benefits too which will become clearer as these obligations are kept in mind while learning Scrum.

Stakeholders

Stakeholders are entities who consume, benefit, regulate, support, interact or otherwise have a vested interest in the success of a product.

Stakeholders are requested to:

• Make themselves available when requested by the Scrum Team
• Regularly inspect and provide feedback to the Scrum Team when requested
• Not interrupt the focus time of the Scrum Team while they are working in a Sprint
• Negotiate new requirements with the Product Owner
• Respect the Product Owners decision as they are juggling multiple Stakeholders requests and have the best insight into most appropriate next action

Key Stakeholders

A subset of stakeholders, those who have a specific interest in the current iteration of work produced by Scrum Team Members, are requested to join Sprint Reviews to provide timely and regular feedback while maintaining sprint focus. If the team seek clarity regarding the current Sprint Goal in order to deliver that goal, they are encouraged to reach out.

The Sprint Review is a dedicated time to raise new ideas, significant change of direction or, further refinements - creating a regularity to improving quality and realigning expectations.

Scrum Team Members

Scrum team members are entities who work on a specific goal each sprint toward a defined product goal chosen to increase the value of a product.

They are obliged to:

• Be transparent about the work being done, coming up or changing based on uncovered information which may affect forecasted goals
• Commit to doing all they can to meet the Sprint Goal as per forecast
• Use their time wisely in the pursuit of improved product value