Professional Scrum Master I (PSM I) flashcards
PSM I · 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.
- Three pillars of empiricism
- Transparency, inspection, and adaptation support Scrum's empirical process control; if any pillar is weakened, the decisions made and the artifacts they rely on become unreliable.
- Empiricism
- Knowledge comes from experience and decisions are based on what is observed; Scrum applies this through short cycles of inspection and adaptation instead of up-front prediction.
- Transparency
- The emergent process and the work must be visible to those performing it and those receiving it; without visibility, inspection produces misleading conclusions about progress and value.
- Scrum value: commitment
- The Scrum Team commits to achieving its goals and to supporting each other; the commitment attaches to the team's goals, not to a fixed, unchangeable scope of work.
- Scrum value: courage
- Team members do the right thing and tackle tough problems; courage supports transparency because people are willing to surface bad news and difficult impediments.
- Scrum Team size
- Ten or fewer people: one Scrum Master, one Product Owner, and Developers. Smaller teams communicate better; larger groups should split into multiple cohesive Scrum Teams on the same product.
- Self-managing Scrum Team
- The team internally decides who does what, when, and how. Self-management means no external manager directs the team's day-to-day technical work.
- Product Owner accountability
- Accountable for maximizing product value and for effective Product Backlog management. The Product Owner is always one person, never a committee, and may delegate work while staying accountable.
- Scrum Master accountability
- Accountable for establishing Scrum as defined in the Scrum Guide and for the Scrum Team's effectiveness, serving the Scrum Team, the Product Owner, and the wider organization.
- Developers' accountabilities
- Developers build the Sprint Backlog, instill quality by following the Definition of Done, adapt their plan each day, and hold each other accountable as professionals.
- Cross-functional Scrum Team
- The team holds all skills needed to create value in every Sprint, which removes hand-offs and dependencies on people outside the team.
- Sprint timebox
- A Sprint is fixed at one month or less; a new Sprint begins immediately after the previous one ends, and the Sprint contains all other Scrum events.
- Sprint Planning timebox
- A maximum of eight hours for a one-month Sprint, shorter for shorter Sprints. Planning covers why the Sprint is valuable, what can be done, and how.
- Daily Scrum
- A fifteen-minute event for Developers on every working day, at the same time and place, to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt the Sprint Backlog.
- Sprint Review
- A maximum four-hour event for a one-month Sprint where the Scrum Team presents the Increment's outcome, stakeholders give feedback, and the Product Backlog is updated.
- Sprint Retrospective
- The Scrum Team inspects how the last Sprint went regarding individuals, interactions, processes, tools, and the Definition of Done, then plans the most helpful improvements.
- Sprint cancellation
- Only the Product Owner can cancel a Sprint, and only when the Sprint Goal becomes obsolete. Completed, Done items are reviewed and potentially released.
- Product Goal
- A long-term target for the Scrum Team described in the Product Backlog; it is the commitment against which the Product Backlog is measured.
- Sprint Goal
- The single objective for the Sprint, part of the Sprint Backlog; it provides focus and coherence while allowing flexibility about the exact work performed.
- Definition of Done
- A formal description of the quality measures required for an Increment; when it is an organizational standard, every Scrum Team must meet it as a minimum.
- Increment
- A concrete, usable stepping stone toward the Product Goal. Work cannot be counted as part of an Increment unless it satisfies the Definition of Done.
- Product Backlog
- An emergent, ordered list of what is needed to improve the product; it is the single source of the work the Scrum Team undertakes.
- Sprint Backlog
- Composed of the Sprint Goal, the Product Backlog items selected for the Sprint, and the plan for delivering them; it is updated throughout the Sprint.
- Timebox rule
- Every Scrum event is a maximum duration. An event may finish early but never runs long, and the Scrum Master keeps each event within its timebox.
- Sprint scope renegotiation
- As more is learned, scope may be clarified and renegotiated with the Product Owner, provided the Sprint Goal is not endangered and quality does not decrease.
- Sprint Goal stability
- The Sprint Goal is fixed for the duration of the Sprint; only the scope of the Sprint Backlog around it can be renegotiated with the Product Owner.
- Multiple teams, one product
- When several Scrum Teams work on the same product, they share one Product Owner, one Product Backlog, one Product Goal, and a common Definition of Done.
- Daily Scrum attendance
- The Daily Scrum is an internal meeting for Developers; a Product Owner or Scrum Master participates as a Developer only when actively working on Sprint Backlog items.
- Scrum is intentionally incomplete
- The framework defines only what is required to implement Scrum theory, leaving specific techniques, processes, and tools to the people using it.
- Scrum applicability
- Scrum can be used to develop products, services, and other complex work; it is not restricted to software development or to information technology.
- Adopting Scrum
- Implementing Scrum requires changes to organizational structure, processes, and practices; there is no single prescribed path or fixed rollout sequence.
- Engineering practices not prescribed
- The Scrum Guide does not mandate engineering practices, tools, or techniques; teams choose practices that fit their context and satisfy their Definition of Done.