Scrum Artifacts and Commitments
Three artifacts, three commitments
Each artifact carries a commitment that makes it inspectable: the Product Backlog → Product Goal, the Sprint Backlog → Sprint Goal, and the Increment → Definition of Done.
Product Backlog is an emergent, ordered list of what is needed to improve the product; it is the single source of work. The Product Owner is accountable for its ordering and transparency. Refinement - decomposing and clarifying items - is an ongoing activity, not a formal event.
Product Goal describes a future state of the product and is the long-term objective the team plans against. It is not the Sprint Goal.
Sprint Backlog is composed of the Sprint Goal (why), the selected items (what) and the plan for delivering them (how). It belongs to the Developers and is updated throughout the Sprint as more is learned. It is not a fixed contract with a fixed scope.
Increment is a concrete stepping stone toward the Product Goal. Each Increment is additive to previous ones and must be usable. Several Increments may be created within a single Sprint. The Definition of Done is the formal description of the quality state required; the whole Scrum Team creates it, and if multiple teams work on one product they must share and mutually define it. Work that does not meet the Definition of Done is not part of the Increment and returns to the Product Backlog.
Traps
- Confusing the Product Goal (long-term, product-wide) with the Sprint Goal (one Sprint).
- Treating the Sprint Backlog as a promise of fixed scope rather than an emerging plan.
- Assuming "usable Increment" means it must be released every Sprint.
- Believing the Product Owner alone sets the Definition of Done.
- Thinking artifacts must be specific documents or tools.
Rule of thumb
Artifact = information you inspect; commitment = the target that makes inspection meaningful.