Understanding and Applying Scrum
Not publishedof exam
EmpiricismScrum ValuesAccountabilitiesEventsArtifactsDefinition of Done
Developing People and Teams
Not publishedof exam
Self-Managing TeamsFacilitationCoachingServant LeadershipImpediments
Managing Products with Agility
Not publishedof exam
Product GoalBacklog ManagementForecastingStakeholdersValue
Quick Facts
- Exam
- PSM I
- Credential
- Professional Scrum Master I
- Owner
- Scrum.org
- Questions
- 80
- Time
- 60 minutes
- Pass
- 85% (68/80)
- Format
- MC, MA, T/F
- Level
- Intermediate
- Blueprint
- Scrum Guide 2020
Three Pillars
Transparent work enables inspection; inspection enables adaptation.
TransparencyInspectionAdaptation
Product Owner vs Developers
Product Owner
- Owns value and backlog order
- Can cancel the Sprint
- Single accountable person
Developers
- Own the Sprint Backlog
- Build the Increment
- Decide the how
Value vs delivery
Event Picker
- Need Sprint objective→Sprint Planning(Set Sprint Goal)
- Check daily progress→Daily Scrum(Developers only)
- Inspect the Increment→Sprint Review(Stakeholders included)
- Improve team process→Retrospective(Ends Sprint)
- Goal becomes obsolete→Cancel Sprint(PO only)
- Need ongoing detail→Refinement(Not an event)
Three Pillars of Empiricism
- Transparency
- Work visible to all
- Inspection
- Frequent progress checks
- Adaptation
- Adjust from what's learned
- Empiricism
- Knowledge from experience
- Lean thinking
- Reduce waste, focus essentials
- Scrum
- Lightweight empirical framework
- Complexity
- Unknowns are expected
Five Scrum Values
Commit, focus, stay open, respect, show courage.
CommitmentFocusOpennessRespectCourage
Sprint Review vs Retrospective
Sprint Review
- Inspects the product
- Stakeholders attend
- Adapts the backlog
Retrospective
- Inspects the process
- Scrum Team only
- Ends the Sprint
Product vs process
Five Scrum Values
- Commitment
- Support team goals
- Focus
- Sprint work, not distractions
- Openness
- Share work and challenges
- Respect
- See others as capable
- Courage
- Do the right thing
- Trust
- Enables empiricism to work
Three Commitments
Product Goal, Sprint Goal, Definition of Done.
Product GoalSprint GoalDefinition of Done
Developers vs Development Team
Developers (2020)
- Current accountability name
- No internal sub-roles
Development Team (2017)
- Retired Scrum term
- Implied a separate group
Guide dropped old term
Three Scrum Accountabilities
- Product Owner
- Maximizes product value
- Scrum Master
- Accountable for Scrum's use
- Developers
- Build the Increment
- Scrum Team
- One cohesive unit
- Team size
- Ten or fewer people
- Cross-functional
- All skills inside team
- Self-managing
- Decide who, what, how
- No sub-teams
- No hierarchy inside team
Sprint Planning Topics
Plan the why, the what, then the how.
Why: the Sprint GoalWhat: selected itemsHow: the delivery plan
Five Scrum Events
- Sprint
- Container, one month max
- Sprint Planning
- Starts the Sprint
- Daily Scrum
- 15-minute daily check
- Sprint Review
- Inspects the Increment
- Sprint Retrospective
- Ends the Sprint
- Back-to-back Sprints
- No gap between Sprints
Timeboxes for a One-Month Sprint
- Sprint Planning
- 8 hours maximum
- Daily Scrum
- 15 minutes, always fixed
- Sprint Review
- 4 hours maximum
- Retrospective
- 3 hours maximum
- Shorter Sprints
- Proportionally shorter timeboxes
- Refinement
- Not a formal event
Three Artifacts and Commitments
- Product Backlog
- Ordered list of work
- Product Goal
- Backlog's long-term commitment
- Sprint Backlog
- Goal plus items plus plan
- Sprint Goal
- Sprint's single objective
- Increment
- Sum of Done work
- Definition of Done
- Increment's quality commitment
- Undone item
- Returns to Product Backlog
Self-Managing vs Self-Organizing
Self-managing (2020)
- Decide who, what, how
- Current Guide wording
Self-organizing (2017)
- Older, narrower term
- Replaced in 2020
Use 2020 wording
Scrum Master Response Picker
- Team lacks basics→Teach(Explain Scrum)
- Team can solve it→Coach(Build ownership)
- Meeting needs structure→Facilitate(Stay neutral)
- Blocker outside team→Remove impediment(Escalate if needed)
- Manager assigns tasks→Coach management(Explain self-managing)
- PO skips ordering→Coach PO(Focus on value)
Scrum Master Serves the Team
- Coaching
- Self-management, cross-functionality
- Facilitating
- Scrum events when needed
- Removing impediments
- Enables team progress
- Causes removal
- Not solving everything alone
- Teaching Scrum
- Theory and practice
- True leader who serves
- Leads by serving team
Coaching vs Managing
Coaching
- Grows team capability
- Enables self-management
Managing
- Assigns tasks directly
- Directs execution closely
Serve, don't command
Scrum Master Serves PO and Org
- Coach the PO
- Backlog management techniques
- Help stakeholders
- Understand empirical approach
- Lead adoption
- Organization-wide Scrum change
- Remove barriers
- Between organization and team
- Plan Scrum use
- Within the organization
- Influence change
- Increase team effectiveness
Facilitation and Coaching Stances
- Teaching
- Explains Scrum basics
- Mentoring
- Shares direct experience
- Facilitating
- Guides a neutral process
- Coaching
- Grows team capability
- Psychological safety
- Enables the Courage value
- Conflict
- Facilitate toward clarity
Product Goal vs Sprint Goal
Product Goal
- Long-term target
- One at a time
- Backlog's commitment
Sprint Goal
- Single Sprint objective
- Crafted by whole team
- Sprint Backlog's commitment
Destination vs waypoint
Product Decision Picker
- Need long-term target→Product Goal(One at a time)
- Need Sprint focus→Sprint Goal(Set by team)
- Item incomplete→Return to backlog(No partial credit)
- Feature value unclear→Forecast(Evidence-based only)
- Multiple teams, one product→Shared Product Backlog(One PO, one DoD)
- Stakeholder wants mid-Sprint change→Negotiate with Developers(Protect Sprint Goal)
Product Goal and Backlog
- Product Goal
- Long-term product target
- Emergent backlog
- Evolves as understanding grows
- Ordering
- Sole Product Owner accountability
- Refinement
- Ongoing, not a formal event
- Delegation
- PO may delegate the work
- One product
- One backlog, one PO
- Multiple teams
- Share one Product Backlog
Forecasting and Product Value
- Forecast
- Evidence-based projection, not promise
- Velocity
- Team planning tool only
- Not for individuals
- Never measure single people
- Release timing
- Any time; Product Owner decides
- Stakeholder input
- Central to Sprint Review
- Value maximization
- Product Owner's unique job
Common Traps
Accountabilities Count
Three accountabilities exist ≠ No Development Team term
Daily Scrum Purpose
Developers plan work ≠ Not a status report
Sprint Goal Stability
Goal stays fixed ≠ Scope can be renegotiated
Sprint Cancellation Authority
Only Product Owner cancels ≠ Not a team vote
Done Item Handling
Undone work returns to backlog ≠ No partial credit given
Velocity Usage
Team planning metric only ≠ Never rates individuals
Last Minute
- 1.85% pass means 68 correct
- 2.Sprint length: one month maximum
- 3.Daily Scrum always 15 minutes
- 4.Planning covers why, what, how
- 5.Every artifact has one commitment
- 6.PO alone orders Product Backlog
- 7.Developers alone own Sprint Backlog
- 8.Only PO can cancel Sprint
- 9.Retrospective is the last event
- 10.Self-managing replaced self-organizing in 2020
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