PSPO II key terms

A small, cross-functional group made up of one Scrum Master, one Product Owner and the Developers, who work together toward a shared Product Goal and are jointly accountable for creating value every Sprint.

The Scrum Team member accountable for maximizing the value the product delivers; they set and communicate the Product Goal, order the Product Backlog, and balance the needs of stakeholders, customers and users.

The Scrum Team members who create a usable Increment each Sprint; they self-manage their work, commit to the Sprint Goal and hold one another accountable for quality and the Definition of Done.

The team member accountable for establishing Scrum as described in the Scrum Guide, coaching the team and the wider organisation, and helping remove impediments so value can flow.

The idea that knowledge comes from experience and that decisions should rest on what is observed. Scrum applies it through transparency, inspection and adaptation across its events and artefacts.

A fixed timebox of one month or less during which the Scrum Team turns selected Product Backlog items into a usable, valuable Increment, keeping a consistent length to build a rhythm.

A single objective for the Sprint that provides focus while allowing flexibility in the work; it explains why the Sprint is valuable and is agreed during Sprint Planning.

A shared, explicit list of quality criteria that a Product Backlog item must satisfy before it can be called complete and included in the Increment; the whole team uses the same one.

The concrete, usable step toward the Product Goal produced within a Sprint. Each Increment adds to earlier ones and must meet the current Definition of Done.

The penultimate event of the Sprint, where the team and stakeholders inspect the Increment and the Product Backlog together and adapt what comes next based on what they learn.

The closing event of the Sprint, in which the team inspects how it collaborated and worked, then chooses the most useful improvements to apply in the next Sprint.

A property of Scrum Teams meaning they decide internally who does what, when and how, instead of being directed by a manager or someone outside the team.

A long-term, measurable objective describing a future state of the product. It gives the Product Backlog something to aim at and is kept as an item in that backlog.

An emergent, ordered list of everything needed to improve the product. It is the single source of planned work for the Scrum Team and is never finished.

The ongoing activity of clarifying, splitting and re-ordering Product Backlog items so they are small and clear enough for upcoming Sprints. It is a continuous practice, not a formal Scrum event.

Composed of the Sprint Goal, the Product Backlog items chosen for the Sprint and the Developers' plan for delivering them; it is a forecast that is updated as new information appears.

Arranging Product Backlog items by value, risk, dependency or other factors so the most important work is tackled first. The Product Owner is accountable for the sequence.

The future cost of rework created by choosing a quick short-term solution over a better one that takes longer. Left unchecked it slows delivery and erodes the ability to innovate.

Making a new or updated product available to users. In Scrum a release can happen whenever it adds value and does not have to line up with the end of a Sprint.

A prediction of what the team can deliver within a timebox, based on evidence such as past performance and current capacity, rather than a fixed promise or guarantee.

The worth, usefulness or benefit a product provides to customers, users and the organisation. It depends on context, is hard to measure directly, and is often inferred from observed outcomes.

A measurable change in behaviour, performance or results experienced by users or the organisation after a product change. Outcomes reveal whether delivered work actually created value.

What a team produces, such as features, stories or releases. It is a means to an end and a weak indicator of value unless it is linked to observed outcomes.

A short, compelling description of the future state the product aims to create for its customers and users, used to guide long-term decisions and align the team.

The set of choices that turns a vision into a plan: which customers to serve, the value proposition offered, and the sequence of investments and bets to pursue.

A communication tool showing the intended sequence of product outcomes or themes over time. Modern roadmaps focus on goals and learning rather than fixed feature dates.

A clear statement of the benefits a product offers, who it is for, and why it is better than the alternatives; it underpins product decisions and how the product is positioned.

The discipline of discovering, delivering and measuring valuable products by connecting business goals, customer needs and technical feasibility across the whole life of a product.

The sequence of steps an organisation goes through to turn an idea into a delivered product or service. Mapping it exposes delays, handoffs and waste that slow value delivery.

Any person or group with an interest in, or influence over, the product, including customers, users, sponsors, regulators and internal teams. Their needs must be understood and balanced.

The person or organisation that chooses, buys or pays for the product, or owns the relationship with the supplier. A customer may or may not be an end user.

The person who actually uses the product to get a job done. Their behaviour and experience determine whether the intended value is ever realized.

The ongoing practice of identifying, communicating with and involving the people affected by or interested in the product, so their input shapes decisions and they stay supportive.

A framework for measuring, managing and increasing the value a product delivers, using empirical evidence from a small set of Key Value Areas to guide decisions and investment.

One of four areas used in Evidence-Based Management to organize measurement and focus improvement: Current Value, Unrealized Value, Ability to Innovate and Time to Market.

The value the product delivers to customers and users today, indicated by measures such as revenue, usage, customer satisfaction and retention.

The potential value the product could deliver if it satisfied currently unmet customer needs; it describes the gap between what is possible and what is realized today.

How quickly the organisation can turn an idea into value delivered to customers, measured from concept through build and release to receipt of feedback.

The organisation's capacity to create and deliver new value, limited by factors such as technical debt, defects, and time consumed by unplanned or reworked work.

A small, time-boxed test of an assumption or hypothesis, designed to generate evidence and reduce uncertainty before the organisation commits significant investment.