Scrum is an agile framework for developing products in fixed-length Sprints with defined roles (Product Owner, Scrum Master, Development Team) and ceremonies (Planning, Standup, Review, Retrospective). It emphasises delivering working software frequently and adapting based on feedback.
Teams building software in predictable cycles where scope can be defined per sprint. The most widely adopted agile framework globally.
- Product Owner maintains and prioritises the Product Backlog
- Sprint Planning: team pulls highest-priority items into the Sprint Backlog and commits to a Sprint Goal
- Daily Standup: 15 minutes — completed, will do today, any blockers?
- Development team works to complete Sprint Backlog items
- Sprint Review: team demos working software to stakeholders and collects feedback
- Sprint Retrospective: team reflects on process and commits to one concrete improvement
Spotify's famous 'Squad model' was built on Scrum principles — small, autonomous teams (Squads) owned specific parts of the product and shipped in regular cycles. Each Squad had a clear mission, backlog, and review cadence while remaining aligned to broader Tribe goals. The model became a global reference for scaling agile at tech companies.
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- Treating Scrum as a way to measure developer velocity rather than deliver customer value
- Letting the sprint become a mini-waterfall with separate design, build, and test phases
- Skipping retrospectives when the team is under pressure — these are when improvement matters most
- Scrum — Jeff Sutherland
- The Scrum Guide — Schwaber & Sutherland (free online)