The Scrum Values

In addition to the Agile Values and Principles, Scrum also has its own set of values to follow. They complement Scrum’s rules and structure, described according to its accountabilities, artifacts, and events. In this sense, the Scrum values represent the pillars for all the work done by people who work on a product’s development.

The five Scrum values are: commitment, focus, openness, respect, and courage (SCHWABER; SUTHERLAND, 2020). I will explain these values in detail below:

Commitment – The team members are committed to pursuing agreed goals aimed at generating value by satisfying the next most important business needs. They are committed to working collaboratively on defined priorities, converging in each product development cycle towards something done and with quality. They commit to inspecting and adapting what is already done so they can deliver more value. The team members are also committed to following the rules of the Scrum framework and continually seek to improve their way of working, thereby becoming increasingly effective as a team.

Focus – The team members work in short, fixed-length cycles, which helps them keep their focus on the work planned for the current work cycle. Their focus, however, is much more on the value to be generated than on the tasks to be accomplished. As such, in each cycle the team members keep their focus on clear and achievable value goals, aimed at maintaining their efforts on the most important business needs at each moment. They plan continuously and gradually, keeping their greatest focus on what is closest. The team benefits from the work of a facilitator, who removes any impediments that may hinder or block their work. This facilitator also shields the team from harmful external distractions and interferences, so they can remain focused on their work. The most productive teams work on only one product at a time, avoiding multitasking.

Openness – The team members foster a culture where transparency and honesty are paramount. Openness is necessary for the team to be able to inspect and make adaptations. Thus, the team and stakeholders agree to be open about the work and the lessons learned, in addition to the challenges that arise from doing it. The team is open to receiving frequent feedback from its own members, which allows it to improve its way of working, creates transparency about problems and stimulates the search for solutions. The team is also open to receiving feedback from stakeholders on what it has produced, which in turn creates transparency regarding necessary changes and allows it to continually improve the product. As a result, the team feels secure about planning the work it believes can be done and keeps the progress of that work visible, so it can take corrective action if necessary. The team also interacts, whenever necessary, with whoever it needs to in order clarify doubts and questions and to have any impediments to its work removed as soon as possible.

Respect – The team members respect each other and are respected by others as adult, capable and responsible people. The well-being and right to a private life of the people performing the work are respected. The team members, business people and customers collaborate and share accountabilities, striving together for success in developing the product. They respect each other’s opinions, listen to each other and seek to understand different points of view. The team also shows respect to the stakeholders by frequently presenting done and working parts of the product, enabling their feedback, and providing a real sense of progress. Technical decisions made by the team members are respected, and they respect business decisions made regarding the defined order for the work to be performed.

Courage – The team members have the courage to do the right thing, to work through difficult problems and to speak up when something is wrong. They have the courage to accept change as a natural part of the product development process. The organization of which they are a part has the courage to trust the team and give it the freedom to do the work necessary to realize the agreed goals. The team has the courage to allow failure and to create transparency regarding problems, thereby learning from those failures and problems as early as possible. The team also has the courage to submit to feedback and frequently deliver the parts of the product it has created. This is in addition to the courage to remove any impediments to its work and to make the necessary changes in the organization that can help it become more productive and the organization, more agile.