Knowledge Base / What is Scrum?
Scrum is agile
Scrum is agile because, like other methods, methodologies and frameworks, its use must follow the principles and values of the Manifesto for Agile Software Development (BECK et al., 2001). Please see the chapter Agile.
This manifesto emphasizes individuals and interactions over processes and tools, working software over comprehensive documentation, customer collaboration over contract negotiation, and responding to change over following a plan. Scrum embodies these values in several key ways.
- Individuals and interactions over processes and tools: Scrum emphasizes the role of the team and its dynamics, prioritizing shared responsibility, effective communication, and collaboration. It encourages teamwork and promotes various meetings where team members interact directly and continuously. Additionally, Scrum offers facilitation to support and enhance the quality of these human interactions. This focus on people and their collaborative efforts is valued more than rigid adherence to specific tools and processes.
- Working software over comprehensive documentation: The primary goal of Scrum is to produce at least one valuable and usable increment of the product at the end of each short development cycle, which can be delivered to its users. This approach ensures that the team consistently focuses on delivering value in the form of a working product, rather than becoming burdened by the creation of extensive documentation or other artifacts. While documentation is not disregarded, it is tailored to be sufficient and necessary for understanding and maintaining the product, and it grows alongside the product development.
- Customer collaboration over contract negotiation: Scrum fosters close collaboration with the customer, focusing on maximizing the value of the product. It encourages continuous engagement with stakeholders, integrating their inputs and feedback throughout the development process. This ongoing interaction leads to a deeper insight into what the customer values most, ensuring that the results closely align with their expectations. Rather than relying on strict contracts, this collaborative approach drives success and reduces risks by being adaptable to emerging customer needs.
- Responding to change over following a plan: One of the most significant aspects of Scrum is its adaptiveness and responsiveness to change. Scrum teams work in short cycles, allowing them to assess and adapt their plans at regular intervals. This flexibility means that the team is always ready to incorporate feedback, tackle unforeseen challenges, and make necessary adjustments. This approach differs considerably from traditional, plan-driven methodologies that resist changes once the plan is set.
Scrum embodies the essence of Agile by promoting adaptiveness, continuous improvement, high-quality human interactions, and a deep focus on delivering value to the customer.
Scrum is the choice of 70% of organizations that use methods, methodologies or frameworks which adhere to the Agile Manifesto, according to a survey conducted between 2017 and 2018 (VERSIONONE, 2018).
Fun fact: Mike Beedle
I had the pleasure of talking to and interacting with one of the signatories of the Manifesto, the late Mike Beedle, during the 2014 Scrum Gathering in Rio de Janeiro (https://scrumrio.com). He, my business partners and had a few beers when Mike showed us on his cellphone a list of the names that were considered for the movement at that meeting in 2001. He was the one who suggested the term “Agile.” Among other words on that list, I saw: “adaptive.”
Mike Beedle co-authored the first Scrum book, published in 2002 (SCHWABER; BEEDLE, 2002) and was a Scrum Alliance Certified Scrum Trainer (https://scrumalliance.org), just like I am.
Sadly, Mike Beedle passed away on March 23, 2018, in Chicago, following an apparent robbery. He left six children.