PSL N41 flashcards
PSL N41 · Build recall with a focused review session.
32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Empiricism
- The Scrum foundation holding that knowledge comes from experience and that decisions are based on what is observed rather than on assumptions or predictions.
- Three empirical pillars
- Transparency, inspection, and adaptation. Transparency makes the process visible; inspection checks progress toward goals; adaptation adjusts the process or product when results deviate.
- Scrum values
- Commitment, focus, openness, respect, and courage. These guide behavior and support the transparency and trust that empiricism requires.
- Iterative and incremental
- Scrum builds value in small cycles (iterations) while progressively adding completed, usable pieces (increments), improving predictability and controlling risk.
- Transparency failure symptom
- When the artifact state is not visible or shared, inspection produces misleading conclusions and adaptation targets the wrong problem.
- Scrum Team composition
- One Scrum Master, one Product Owner, and Developers, forming a single cohesive unit typically of ten or fewer people with no sub-teams.
- Self-managing team
- The Scrum Team internally decides who does what, when, and how, rather than being directed by people outside the team.
- Cross-functional team
- The team collectively possesses all skills needed to create value and complete an Increment each Sprint, reducing external dependencies.
- Product Owner accountability
- Maximizing product value by managing and ordering the Product Backlog and ensuring items are clear and understood by the team.
- Scrum Master accountability
- Establishing Scrum as defined in the Scrum Guide and improving the Scrum Team's effectiveness, serving the team, Product Owner, and organization.
- Developers accountability
- Creating the Sprint Backlog, instilling quality, adapting the plan daily toward the Sprint Goal, and holding each other accountable as professionals.
- Sprint
- The fixed-length container event of one month or less in which all other events occur and a usable Increment is created.
- Sprint Planning
- The event that defines why the Sprint is valuable (Sprint Goal), what can be done, and how the chosen work will be accomplished.
- Daily Scrum
- A 15-minute event for Developers to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt the Sprint Backlog for the next 24 hours.
- Sprint Review
- A working session where the Scrum Team and stakeholders inspect the Increment and adapt the Product Backlog toward future value.
- Sprint Retrospective
- An event where the Scrum Team inspects how the last Sprint went regarding individuals, interactions, processes, and tools, and plans improvements.
- Sprint cancellation
- Only the Product Owner may cancel a Sprint, and only when the Sprint Goal becomes obsolete; completed items are reviewed for use.
- Product Backlog
- An emergent, ordered list of what is needed to improve the product; it is the single source of work undertaken by the Scrum Team.
- Product Goal
- The commitment attached to the Product Backlog; a long-term objective describing a future state of the product that guides planning.
- Sprint Goal
- The commitment attached to the Sprint Backlog; a single objective for the Sprint that provides flexibility on the exact work needed.
- Definition of Done
- The commitment attached to the Increment; a formal description of quality measures the Increment must meet to be considered complete.
- Sprint Backlog
- Composed of the Sprint Goal, the selected Product Backlog items, and the actionable plan for delivering the Increment; updated daily.
- Increment
- A concrete, usable stepping stone toward the Product Goal; multiple Increments may be created within a single Sprint.
- Purpose of timeboxing
- Fixing a maximum duration for an event creates focus and forces convergence, making inspection and adaptation predictable and bounded.
- Divergent then convergent
- A facilitation pattern where the group first generates options broadly, then narrows to a decision, keeping discussion and choice separate.
- Effective Daily Scrum signal
- Conversation centers on progress toward the Sprint Goal and plan adaptation rather than individual status reports to a manager.
- Retrospective follow-through
- Improvements are only real when the team tracks whether previous actions were completed and adjusts its approach accordingly.
- Facilitation outcome test
- An event succeeded when it produced its defined result-Sprint Goal, revised backlog, or concrete improvement-not merely when it ran on time.
- Servant leadership
- A leadership stance that serves the team by removing impediments, enabling self-management, and prioritizing team growth over directing work.
- Coaching versus mentoring
- Coaching uses questions so people find their own answers; mentoring shares the mentor's experience and direct guidance when knowledge is missing.
- GROW model
- A coaching conversation sequence: Goal, Reality, Options, Will-establishing the aim, current state, choices, and commitment to act.
- Powerful coaching question
- An open-ended question starting with what or how that invites reflection and avoids embedding the coach's preferred answer.