SM key terms

The belief that knowledge comes from experience and from making decisions based on what is observed. Work proceeds in small increments so outcomes can be inspected and adjusted.

Making the process, work, and outcomes visible to everyone doing or receiving the work. Without clear visibility, inspection produces misleading conclusions and poor decisions.

Frequent, careful examination of artifacts and progress toward goals. Inspection works only when the thing being examined is genuinely transparent and the inspector has the skill to interpret it.

Adjusting process or product as soon as inspection reveals a deviation or an opportunity. Without adaptation, inspection adds no value and the team drifts from its goals.

Commitment, Focus, Openness, Respect, and Courage. These five qualities shape how team members behave and give direction when the framework leaves a choice open.

A team that decides internally who does what, when, and how. The team, not an outside manager, allocates work and takes responsibility for meeting its goals.

A small group made up of one Scrum Master, one Product Owner, and Developers. It is cross-functional, self-managing, and typically ten or fewer people.

The single accountable person for maximizing product value. This person manages and orders the Product Backlog and is the sole authority on what the product should contain.

The accountable person for the team's effectiveness. This person coaches the team and organization, removes impediments, and helps ensure Scrum is understood and enacted.

The team members who create a usable increment each Sprint. They own the Sprint Backlog, self-manage their daily work, and adapt the plan as they learn.

A style of leading that puts the needs of the team and its customers first. The leader coaches, removes obstacles, and helps others grow rather than directing their work.

Helping people improve through questions, observation, and feedback rather than instructions. The coach builds the team's own capability to solve problems instead of solving them for it.

Designing and guiding a group conversation so participants reach a useful outcome themselves. The facilitator manages process and participation, not the content or the decision.

Anything blocking the team's progress that it cannot resolve on its own. The Scrum Master's job is to help the team find and remove such obstacles.

Involving customers, users, and other interested parties so their needs inform the product. Engagement is continuous and feeds the ordering and refinement of the backlog.

A fixed-length period of one month or less during which a usable increment is created. A new Sprint starts immediately after the previous one ends.

The event that opens a Sprint. The team decides why the Sprint is valuable, what can be done, and how the work will be organized, producing the Sprint Backlog.

A short daily event for Developers to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt their plan. It is timeboxed to fifteen minutes and is for the team's own coordination.

A working session near the end of the Sprint where the team and stakeholders inspect the increment and discuss what to do next. It is not a formal sign-off gate.

The closing event of a Sprint, where the team inspects how it worked and identifies improvements. The most useful changes may be addressed as soon as the next Sprint.

A fixed maximum duration for an event. If the purpose of the event is achieved earlier, it can end sooner; it never runs longer than its limit.

A short statement of the single objective for the Sprint, giving the team a shared focus. It is created during Sprint Planning and may be revised if circumstances change.

The set of Product Backlog items selected for the Sprint plus the team's plan for delivering them. It is a living picture of the work, updated as the team learns.

The concrete, usable result produced during a Sprint. Each increment adds to previous ones and must meet the Definition of Done to count as complete.

A shared, explicit checklist describing the quality bar an increment must meet. Work that does not satisfy it is not complete and returns to the backlog.

An ordered, evolving list of everything that might improve the product. It is the single source of work for the team and is refined continuously by the Product Owner.

A long-term objective describing the future state of the product that the team is working toward. It provides context for the backlog and a target for each Sprint Goal.

The ongoing activity of breaking down and clarifying backlog items so they are ready for a future Sprint. It is not a formal event and can happen at any time.

The idea that knowledge and requirements appear as work proceeds rather than being fully known upfront. Plans and backlog items are expected to change as understanding grows.

A team that collectively holds all the skills needed to deliver a usable increment. It does not depend on people outside the team for its core work.

A rough measure of how much backlog work a team completes per Sprint, used for forecasting. It is a planning aid, never a target or a performance rating.

An optional team agreement describing when a backlog item is clear enough to bring into a Sprint. It is a local practice, not part of the Scrum framework itself.

A single entry in the Product Backlog, such as a feature, fix, or experiment. Items are ordered by value and refined until they are small enough to work on.

A visual display of the team's current work, often organized by workflow stage. It helps the team see flow and coordinate during the Sprint.

A team's explicit agreement about the stages work passes through and the limits on work in progress. It makes the flow of work visible and inspectable.