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What is Scrum

Also known as: scrum framework, scrum methodology

Definition

Scrum is a lightweight framework in which a small team works in sprints of one month or less, meets for 15 minutes a day and shows a working result each sprint.

Why it matters

Many small projects fail slowly: months of work, then a result the customer did not want.

Common mistakes

Treating the Scrum Master as the team's manager, when the role is to help the team work with Scrum.

Related terms

Worked exampleIllustration

A two week sprint on the clinic's online booking

A three person web team, with one Product Owner at the clinic, works in two week sprints.

  1. Day 1

    Sprint Planning: the Product Owner orders the backlog, and the team writes the Sprint Goal, patients can book and cancel online.

  2. Every day

    Daily Scrum, 15 minutes each morning: the team checks progress toward the goal and re-plans the day.

  3. Day 10

    Sprint Review: the team shows the working booking to the office manager and two receptionists, and their changes go into the backlog.

  4. Day 10

    Retrospective: the team picks one improvement for the next sprint.

Same length, same events, every two weeks. The goal holds inside a sprint, and the bigger plan changes between sprints.

Illustration

One sprint holds every event

Sprint: ten working days

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Each dot is a Daily Scrum.

The team picks the work that fits and writes the Sprint Goal, the one reason this sprint is worth doing.

Three accountabilities

  • Product OwnerOrders the backlog and answers for the value of the product.
  • Scrum MasterHelps the team and the business use Scrum well.
  • DevelopersBuild a usable increment every sprint.
Ten working days inside one Sprint. Tap an event to see its days on the strip and what it is for. The time limits are the Scrum Guide maximums for a one month sprint, and are usually shorter for two weeks.

Definition

The Scrum Guide by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, revised in November 2020, describes Scrum as a lightweight framework that helps people, teams and organizations generate value through adaptive solutions for complex problems. A Scrum team is typically 10 or fewer people, and it is self-managing: it decides internally who does what, when and how. The Guide names three accountabilities, the roles in plain words: the Product Owner orders the work, the Scrum Master helps the team use Scrum well, and the Developers build the result. Work happens in sprints of one month or less, and the sprint contains every other event: Sprint Planning, a 15 minute Daily Scrum, the Sprint Review and the Sprint Retrospective. For a one month sprint the Guide caps Sprint Planning at 8 hours, the Sprint Review at 4 hours and the Retrospective at 3 hours, less for shorter sprints. Three artifacts keep the work visible, each with a commitment: the Product Backlog with the Product Goal, the Sprint Backlog with the Sprint Goal, and the Increment with the Definition of Done.

Why it matters

Scrum puts a working result in front of the people who will use it every few weeks, so a wrong turn costs one sprint, not a season. The fixed rhythm also helps a small team: everyone knows when the plan is made, when progress is checked and when the work is shown, and the plan changes between sprints rather than every day.

Directly related: Sprint, Kanban, Agile.

Improvement tips

  • Keep the three accountabilities distinct: the Product Owner orders the work, the Developers decide how to build it, and the Scrum Master helps the team use Scrum.
  • Write one Sprint Goal at Sprint Planning, and use the Daily Scrum to check progress toward it, not to report hours.
  • Show a working result at every Sprint Review, and turn what you hear there into backlog items.
  • End each Retrospective with one concrete improvement for the next sprint.

Common mistakes

  • Using the Daily Scrum as a status report to a boss instead of a 15 minute re-plan toward the Sprint Goal.
  • Skipping the Retrospective to save time, so the team repeats the same problems.
  • Calling any team with a daily meeting Scrum, without a Product Owner, a Sprint Goal or a working result each sprint.
Agile vs Scrum vs Kanban

Related terms

Project ManagementBeginner

Sprint

A sprint is a fixed period, one month or less, in which a Scrum team works toward one goal and delivers a working result. The dates stay, the work can flex.

Project ManagementBeginner

Kanban

Kanban is a way to manage work on a board of columns with a limit on how many items can be in progress at once. New work starts only when a slot frees up.

Project ManagementBeginner

Agile

Agile is a way of working in short cycles: deliver a working result, learn from the people using it and adjust the plan. Scrum and Kanban are two ways to do it.

Project ManagementBeginner

Risk

A risk is something that has not happened yet and would affect a project for better or worse if it did. Threats are negative risks, opportunities positive ones.

Quick check

What is the purpose of the Daily Scrum, according to the Scrum Guide?

Choose an answer

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to understand Scrum before starting my business?
You need no certificate to work this way. The idea is useful early, though: build in short cycles and show a working result each time, instead of aiming for one big launch.
When does Scrum become relevant for a new business?
When a small team starts to build something complex together, such as a product, a website or a new service, and the right answer is not fully known at the start.
Can a business outside software use Scrum?
Yes. The Guide describes Scrum for complex problems in general. Teams use it for marketing, product design and operations, as long as each sprint ends with a result someone can see or use.
How does Scrum help a new business handle change?
The plan is revisited every sprint. At each Sprint Review the team shows what works and the backlog is reordered, so a change in the market changes the next sprint, not the last six months.
Why does Scrum matter for a business that is already running?
If priorities shift every week and projects drift, Scrum gives a fixed rhythm: one goal per sprint, a short check every day and a regular moment to show the work and adjust.
What goes wrong when a business uses Scrum but ignores the roles?
When a manager overrides the Product Owner's order, or the Scrum Master turns into a boss, the team gets two sets of priorities and stops managing its own work. The meetings go on, the benefit does not.
How do I start using Scrum without stopping daily work?
Pick one project and one small team. Set the sprint length, hold Sprint Planning, a 15 minute Daily Scrum, a Sprint Review and a Retrospective, and keep the rest of the business running as before.
How do I stop clients from changing the goals mid sprint?
Explain the rule: nothing that would endanger the Sprint Goal is added during the sprint, and new requests go to the backlog for the next one. Inside the goal, the Product Owner can clarify and renegotiate the scope.
What does Scrum mean in simple words?
A way for a small team to work in short fixed cycles: agree on one goal, build toward it with a short check every day, show the result, improve how you work, then repeat.
Is Scrum complicated or risky for a small team?
The Guide itself is short. The hard part is the discipline of holding the events and showing a working result every sprint, and that discipline is what catches mistakes early.
Do I need to hire a certified Scrum Master?
No. A small team does not have to hire one. A team member can take the Scrum Master accountability, as long as everyone knows who it is and that the job is to help the team, not to manage it.
What is the Daily Scrum and do we need it?
It is a 15 minute event each day in which the Developers look at progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt their plan. It is not a round of status reports, and it is one of the events Scrum requires.

Sources: Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, The Scrum Guide, November 2020, scrumguides.org

Last reviewed: 2026-09-24

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