Professional Scrum Master I cheat sheet

Scrum is a lightweight framework founded on empiricism and lean thinking; empiricism asserts knowledge comes from experience and decisions are made on observed evidence.

The three empirical pillars are transparency, inspection, and adaptation; if any pillar is missing, the resulting artifacts and progress are unreliable.

Scrum is built on three process-control pillars plus five values: commitment, focus, openness, respect, and courage.

The framework is intentionally incomplete; it defines only the minimum required to make its processes and roles effective, leaving practices to the team.

Scrum is deliberately iterative and incremental, delivering a usable Increment each Sprint to maximize opportunities for feedback.

Lean thinking in Scrum reduces waste and focuses on essentials; it is one of the two theoretical foundations alongside empiricism.

Transparency requires a shared, common understanding of work; low transparency leads to decisions that diminish value and increase risk.

Inspection must be frequent enough to detect undesirable variance without disrupting the work itself; Scrum events are the inspection points.

Adaptation follows inspection: if a process aspect or product deviates beyond acceptable limits, the process or product must be adjusted as soon as possible.

Scrum defines exactly three accountabilities: Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Developers; together they form the Scrum Team.

The Scrum Team is one self-managing unit of ten or fewer people; smaller teams communicate better, and larger teams need more coordination.

Product Owner accountability: maximize product value by managing and ordering the Product Backlog effectively; the PO is one person, not a committee.

The Product Owner owns the Product Goal and may delegate work but remains accountable; the entire organization must respect the PO's decisions.

Scrum Master accountability: establish Scrum as defined in the Scrum Guide and improve team effectiveness through coaching, teaching, and facilitation.

The Scrum Master is a true leader who serves the Scrum Team and the wider organization; the role is not a project manager or a people manager.

Developers are accountable for creating a usable Increment each Sprint, instilling quality, and self-managing their own work.

Developers own the Sprint Backlog and adapt their plan daily; only Developers create the Increment, though they may involve others.

No sub-teams or hierarchies exist inside the Scrum Team; accountability is shared for the whole team's outcomes and value delivery.

The Sprint is the container event for all other events; it is a fixed length of one month or less, and a new Sprint starts immediately after the previous one.

Five events exist: Sprint, Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, and Sprint Retrospective; each has a maximum timebox and a clear purpose.

Sprint Planning (max 8 hours for a one-month Sprint) answers why, what, and how; it produces the Sprint Goal and the Sprint Backlog.

The Daily Scrum is a 15-minute event for Developers to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt the Sprint Backlog; it is not a status meeting.

The Sprint Review (max 4 hours) inspects the Increment and adapts the Product Backlog; it is a working session, not a presentation.

The Sprint Retrospective (max 3 hours) plans ways to increase quality and effectiveness; the most impactful improvements may be added to the next Sprint Backlog.

Three artifacts exist: Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, and Increment; each has a commitment: Product Goal, Sprint Goal, and Definition of Done.

The Definition of Done is a formal description of the Increment's quality state; if an item is not Done, it returns to the Product Backlog for rework.

Artifacts represent work or value and are designed to maximize transparency; commitments attach to them to reinforce focus and measure progress.

The Scrum Master serves the Scrum Team by coaching self-management, helping focus on valuable Increments, and facilitating removal of impediments.

The Scrum Master serves the Product Owner by helping find effective Product Backlog management techniques and facilitating stakeholder collaboration.

The Scrum Master serves the organization by leading Scrum adoption, removing barriers between stakeholders and teams, and planning Scrum implementation.

The Scrum Master causes removal of impediments but does not act as the team's decision-maker; the team remains self-managing.

Professional Scrum emphasizes empiricism, self-management, and continuous improvement over prescribed processes or certifications.

The Scrum Master teaches and coaches Scrum in both the team and the organization, ensuring the framework is understood and enacted.

A key Scrum Master activity is facilitating Scrum events as requested or needed, keeping them timeboxed and productive without controlling content.

The Scrum Master helps the team and organization become more empirical by increasing transparency and enabling frequent inspection and adaptation.

Scrum is a lightweight framework founded on empiricism and lean thinking; empiricism asserts knowledge comes from experience and decisions are made on observed evidence.

The three empirical pillars are transparency, inspection, and adaptation; if any pillar is missing, the resulting artifacts and progress are unreliable.

Scrum is built on three process-control pillars plus five values: commitment, focus, openness, respect, and courage.

The framework is intentionally incomplete; it defines only the minimum required to make its processes and roles effective, leaving practices to the team.

Scrum is deliberately iterative and incremental, delivering a usable Increment each Sprint to maximize opportunities for feedback.

Lean thinking in Scrum reduces waste and focuses on essentials; it is one of the two theoretical foundations alongside empiricism.

Transparency requires a shared, common understanding of work; low transparency leads to decisions that diminish value and increase risk.

Inspection must be frequent enough to detect undesirable variance without disrupting the work itself; Scrum events are the inspection points.

Adaptation follows inspection: if a process aspect or product deviates beyond acceptable limits, the process or product must be adjusted as soon as possible.

Scrum defines exactly three accountabilities: Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Developers; together they form the Scrum Team.

The Scrum Team is one self-managing unit of ten or fewer people; smaller teams communicate better, and larger teams need more coordination.

Product Owner accountability: maximize product value by managing and ordering the Product Backlog effectively; the PO is one person, not a committee.

The Product Owner owns the Product Goal and may delegate work but remains accountable; the entire organization must respect the PO's decisions.

Scrum Master accountability: establish Scrum as defined in the Scrum Guide and improve team effectiveness through coaching, teaching, and facilitation.

The Scrum Master is a true leader who serves the Scrum Team and the wider organization; the role is not a project manager or a people manager.

Developers are accountable for creating a usable Increment each Sprint, instilling quality, and self-managing their own work.

Developers own the Sprint Backlog and adapt their plan daily; only Developers create the Increment, though they may involve others.

No sub-teams or hierarchies exist inside the Scrum Team; accountability is shared for the whole team's outcomes and value delivery.

The Sprint is the container event for all other events; it is a fixed length of one month or less, and a new Sprint starts immediately after the previous one.

Five events exist: Sprint, Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, and Sprint Retrospective; each has a maximum timebox and a clear purpose.

Sprint Planning (max 8 hours for a one-month Sprint) answers why, what, and how; it produces the Sprint Goal and the Sprint Backlog.

The Daily Scrum is a 15-minute event for Developers to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt the Sprint Backlog; it is not a status meeting.

The Sprint Review (max 4 hours) inspects the Increment and adapts the Product Backlog; it is a working session, not a presentation.

The Sprint Retrospective (max 3 hours) plans ways to increase quality and effectiveness; the most impactful improvements may be added to the next Sprint Backlog.

Three artifacts exist: Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, and Increment; each has a commitment: Product Goal, Sprint Goal, and Definition of Done.

The Definition of Done is a formal description of the Increment's quality state; if an item is not Done, it returns to the Product Backlog for rework.

Artifacts represent work or value and are designed to maximize transparency; commitments attach to them to reinforce focus and measure progress.

The Scrum Master serves the Scrum Team by coaching self-management, helping focus on valuable Increments, and facilitating removal of impediments.

The Scrum Master serves the Product Owner by helping find effective Product Backlog management techniques and facilitating stakeholder collaboration.

The Scrum Master serves the organization by leading Scrum adoption, removing barriers between stakeholders and teams, and planning Scrum implementation.

The Scrum Master causes removal of impediments but does not act as the team's decision-maker; the team remains self-managing.

Professional Scrum emphasizes empiricism, self-management, and continuous improvement over prescribed processes or certifications.

The Scrum Master teaches and coaches Scrum in both the team and the organization, ensuring the framework is understood and enacted.

A key Scrum Master activity is facilitating Scrum events as requested or needed, keeping them timeboxed and productive without controlling content.

The Scrum Master helps the team and organization become more empirical by increasing transparency and enabling frequent inspection and adaptation.

Scrum is a lightweight framework founded on empiricism and lean thinking; empiricism asserts knowledge comes from experience and decisions are made on observed evidence.

The three empirical pillars are transparency, inspection, and adaptation; if any pillar is missing, the resulting artifacts and progress are unreliable.

Scrum is built on three process-control pillars plus five values: commitment, focus, openness, respect, and courage.

The framework is intentionally incomplete; it defines only the minimum required to make its processes and roles effective, leaving practices to the team.

Scrum is deliberately iterative and incremental, delivering a usable Increment each Sprint to maximize opportunities for feedback.

Lean thinking in Scrum reduces waste and focuses on essentials; it is one of the two theoretical foundations alongside empiricism.

Transparency requires a shared, common understanding of work; low transparency leads to decisions that diminish value and increase risk.

Inspection must be frequent enough to detect undesirable variance without disrupting the work itself; Scrum events are the inspection points.

Adaptation follows inspection: if a process aspect or product deviates beyond acceptable limits, the process or product must be adjusted as soon as possible.

Scrum defines exactly three accountabilities: Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Developers; together they form the Scrum Team.

The Scrum Team is one self-managing unit of ten or fewer people; smaller teams communicate better, and larger teams need more coordination.

Product Owner accountability: maximize product value by managing and ordering the Product Backlog effectively; the PO is one person, not a committee.

The Product Owner owns the Product Goal and may delegate work but remains accountable; the entire organization must respect the PO's decisions.

Scrum Master accountability: establish Scrum as defined in the Scrum Guide and improve team effectiveness through coaching, teaching, and facilitation.

The Scrum Master is a true leader who serves the Scrum Team and the wider organization; the role is not a project manager or a people manager.

Developers are accountable for creating a usable Increment each Sprint, instilling quality, and self-managing their own work.

Developers own the Sprint Backlog and adapt their plan daily; only Developers create the Increment, though they may involve others.

No sub-teams or hierarchies exist inside the Scrum Team; accountability is shared for the whole team's outcomes and value delivery.

The Sprint is the container event for all other events; it is a fixed length of one month or less, and a new Sprint starts immediately after the previous one.

Five events exist: Sprint, Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, and Sprint Retrospective; each has a maximum timebox and a clear purpose.

Sprint Planning (max 8 hours for a one-month Sprint) answers why, what, and how; it produces the Sprint Goal and the Sprint Backlog.

The Daily Scrum is a 15-minute event for Developers to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt the Sprint Backlog; it is not a status meeting.

The Sprint Review (max 4 hours) inspects the Increment and adapts the Product Backlog; it is a working session, not a presentation.

The Sprint Retrospective (max 3 hours) plans ways to increase quality and effectiveness; the most impactful improvements may be added to the next Sprint Backlog.

Three artifacts exist: Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, and Increment; each has a commitment: Product Goal, Sprint Goal, and Definition of Done.

The Definition of Done is a formal description of the Increment's quality state; if an item is not Done, it returns to the Product Backlog for rework.

Artifacts represent work or value and are designed to maximize transparency; commitments attach to them to reinforce focus and measure progress.

The Scrum Master serves the Scrum Team by coaching self-management, helping focus on valuable Increments, and facilitating removal of impediments.

The Scrum Master serves the Product Owner by helping find effective Product Backlog management techniques and facilitating stakeholder collaboration.

The Scrum Master serves the organization by leading Scrum adoption, removing barriers between stakeholders and teams, and planning Scrum implementation.

The Scrum Master causes removal of impediments but does not act as the team's decision-maker; the team remains self-managing.

Professional Scrum emphasizes empiricism, self-management, and continuous improvement over prescribed processes or certifications.

The Scrum Master teaches and coaches Scrum in both the team and the organization, ensuring the framework is understood and enacted.

A key Scrum Master activity is facilitating Scrum events as requested or needed, keeping them timeboxed and productive without controlling content.

The Scrum Master helps the team and organization become more empirical by increasing transparency and enabling frequent inspection and adaptation.