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The Scrum Guide
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The Scrum Guide

The Definitive Guide to Scrum: The Rules of the Game

Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland
Scrum Guides, 2020
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Applicable
  • For Beginners
  • Insider's Take

Recommendation

In their second edition of The Scrum Guide, the authors and inventors of the Scrum framework for product development, Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, lay out the basics of their work management process. Though it began with software development, Scrum has – over the past decade – spread to all types of product development. Schwaber and Sutherland break down each of their framework’s key elements, from assembling the right Scrum teams, to conducting Sprints and reviewing team effectiveness. Though brief, the guide offers enough detail for any firm to begin applying Scrums and Sprints to improve product development approaches and processes.

Summary

Scrum is a simple framework that helps organizations find answers to difficult problems, thereby adding value.

Scrum emphasizes learning by doing and decision-making based on observation. Its inventors deliberately avoided creating a detailed methodology for employing Scrum. Rather, their framework offers loose guidelines that permit teams the agility to adapt it to their needs. 

Nevertheless, leaders and their teams must adhere to three Scrum principles: “transparency,” “inspection” and “adaptation.” Team members and their work remain open and visible to the rest of the team and to the client. This permits meaningful assessment of progress, which, in turn, allows rapid adjustments to keep projects on track.

Scrum teams combine people with...

About the Authors

Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland invented the Scrum process in 1995. Schwaber leads Scrum.org, an organization that trains and certifies Scrum professionals. Sutherland serves as CEO of Scrum Inc., Chairman of the Scrum Foundation and an Agile coach.

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