Scrum Guide - Cheatsheet / Scrum Exams

Disclaimer
This document is based on the Scrum Guide 2020 but it is not intended to be used to skip the reading of the scrum guide. Please go to
https://www.scrumguides.org/ and read the original scrum guide carefully.
This document just has keywords to remember concepts of the scrum guide but it is not covering all the concepts and rules of the scrum guide.

This material is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License, except that the reference to the author and all links included here must be referenced (Ignacio Paz).

Contents

Disclaimer 1

Contents 1

Recommended courses 1

Scrum Guide Cheat Sheet 2

Scrum Guide Cheatsheet drawings 7

Main differences between Scrum Guide 2017 and Scrum Guide 2020 16

Recommended courses
The following courses are recommended to review the topics and practice realistic questions that mimic the certification exams:

Agile & Scrum in PSM1 Professional PSM2 Professional PSPO1 Professional CSaSP Certified SPS Scaled Professional
Depth: Guide, Scrum Master Scrum Master II Product Owner I Scrum@Scale Scrum Certification
Simulation and Best certification Practice certification Practice certification Practice Practitioner Practice Practice Tests
Practices Tests Tests Tests Tests

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 PA PS PS
PSK I Professional PAL I Professional Agile PSPO II Professional D Professional Scrum U Professional Scrum
L-EBM Professional
Scrum with Kanban Leadership Certification Product Owner II Developer certification with User Experience
Agile Leadership
Certification Practice Practice Tests Certification Practice Practice Test Practice Tests
Evidence-Based
Tests Tests Management
Certification Practice

Scrum Guide Cheat Sheet

Scrum: Framework, not methodology. From Complex adaptive problems -> people, teams and organizations -> Deliver Adaptive Products of the highest value.
● Empirical process control: Knowledge comes from experience - Scrum Pillars: Transparency, Inspection, Adaptation.
● Lean Thinking: reduce waste and focuses on the essentials.
● 5 Values: Commitment, Courage, Focus, Openness, Respect.
● Scrum Pillars + Scrum Values => Trust.
● Scrum contains no tools, no methods, no practices.

Accountabilities Scrum Team (ST): PO+DT+SM Product Owner (PO) Developers (DT) Scrum Master (SM)

Main Goal / Deliver valuable and usable increment Maximize Value of the Product Build the usable increment. Promote Scrum as it is in the
Accountability every sprint obtained from DT’s work. Scrum guide.

Size Typically 10 or fewer 1 per Product. 1 per Scrum Team.

Can work as Dev too Can work as Dev too

Also All product-related activities. Product Backlog Management Create Sprint Backlog Scrum Team’s effectiveness
accountable for Creating a valuable, useful Increment Commit to Sprint Goal
every Sprint. Quality and adhere to DoD
Adapt their plan every day
Holding each other

Owns Increment PB SB Scrum adoption in ST and Org

Multiple Teams Integrate increments often. Coordinate, 1 PO for all Scrum Teams Frequently integrate Up to 1 per ST or shared by many
working on a minimize dependencies. STs
Product In Nexus: 3-9 STs

Responsibilities Improve every sprint. Manages the PB. Decides how Estimate. Ensures time-boxes.

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 Optimize flexibility, creativity, and to manage it. Meet in Daily Scrum. Teaches to keep events within
productivity. Determine the Value of PBIs. Decide how to build. time-boxes.
Receive feedback. Order PBIs. Manage/Monitor progress of Facilitates Scrum Events as
Work iteratively and incrementally. Clarify PBIs. Sprint. needed or requested.
Make PB visible, transparent, Membership changes should short Teach outsiders how to interact
Definition of “Done” (DoD) and clear. term reduction in productivity. with the Scrum Team.
● ST defines DoD Progress of product goals. Decides how to organize new Brings Artifacts Transparency
● DoD must follow organizational Interacts with Stakeholders. teams and team members. Serves PO: goals, PB management,
standards/ Maximizes value of work of DT. Solve internal conflicts. clear PBIs, empirical, maximize
● Multiple teams have one DoD value.
● Includes testing Serves ST: Self-managing, cross-
functionality, protect, empowers,
high-value products, remove
impediments, adopt scrum.
Serves Organization: Scrum
adoption/implementation, avoid
vocabulary change, ST productivity,
work with other SMs.

Characteristics / Self-managing. Not a committee. Accountability as a team. Servant-leader.

Skills Cross-functional. Represents stakeholders. Self-organizing. Coach, Facilitator, mentor.
Mixed skills, No dependencies. Cross-functional, multi-skills. Considered a Management role.
Creative and productive. Work on all layers.
No sub-teams, no titles, No No titles.
hierarchies. No sub-teams.

Role of the The Organization or management Respects PO decisions. Empowers the DT. Support SM.
Organization or support and respect the roles and Supports PO with insights into
management empower them to decide who does high value.
what, when, and how.

EVENTS Sprint Sprint Planning Daily Scrum Sprint Review Sprint

Retrospective

Goal Build one or many PI. Plan why, what, and how Inspect and adapt the work Inspect Increment and Inspect ST and
to build in the sprint. of the sprint. adapt PB. create a plan for
improvements for
the next Sprint.

Max Time-box 1 month. 8 hours. 15 min. 4 hours. 3 hours.

Participants PO, DT, SM PO, DT, SM, (invitees). DT PO, DT, SM, Stakeholders PO, DT, SM

Optional attendees Experts invited by ST (only SM to facilitate, keep time-

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 for advice). box, avoid other attendees
to participate/disrupt

inputs Last increment. PB, PI, Capacity, Past SB, Spring Goal PB, PI Current Sprint
Performance, DoD.

Required Outputs Increment. Sprint Goal, SB. Revised SB Revised PB Improvement(s)

Characteristics Constant Length. Topic 1: Why DT decides structure. ST present results. Review: people,
Length cannot be changed Set Sprint Goal. Optional format: Receive feedback. relationships,
once started. Topic 2: What can be Yesterday, Today, Ideas, changes in market process, tools.
No changes that endanger done. Impediments. place and potential uses Detect What went
sprint goal. ST adds PBIs to Sprint Eliminates the need for What to do next. well and
Quality goals do not Backlog other meetings. opportunities.
decrease. Topic 3: How will be Actions for the day to meet Plan for
Scope may be clarified and done. the sprint goal. Improvements.
re-negotiated. DT Decompose PBIs for Work plan for 24hs. Review DoD.
No special sprints. first days of Sprint. PO
Sprint cancellation: clarifies PBIs.
Only by PO. DT can explain to SM and
When Sprint goal PO how they will deliver.
becomes obsolete. Sprint goal provides
Done items typically guidance to DT.
accepted.
Not done items re-
estimated and added to
PB.
ST regroups in a Panning.
Length: Short enough for
PO’s risks and DT’s work

ARTIFACTS Product Backlog (PB) Sprint Backlog (SB) Product Increment (PI)
(Transparents)

Description List of Product Backlog items (PBIs) known that Sprint Goal + Set of PBIs selected PBIs completed in sprint + value of
are needed for the product. for the Sprint + Plan for delivering. previous increments.
Why + what + how.

Multiple Scrum Teams One PB per Product One SB per DT At least one Integrated Increment by

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 Sprint Review.

Commitment Project Goal: One at a time. Spring Goal: single objective. Definition of Done (DoD): ST
Progress Towards Product Goals: Remaining Progress Towards Sprint Goal: understands what done means. Defined
work to reach a goal can be summed from PB Remaining work of sprint can be by ST.
and monitored. summed from SB and monitored. DoD is a standard of the Organization ->
ST must follow at a minimum.
Many STs working on the same Product
=> one DoD defined mutually by all STs

Characteristics Maintained by PO. Belongs to PO Maintained by DT. Belongs to DT. Potentially releasable. Usable.
Single source of requirements. Forecast by DT of what may be in PO decides whether to release it.
Never complete. Dynamic. the increment. Can be released before Sprint Review.
PBIs have description, Value, estimate, order. May include 1+ improvement from Only DT can build it.
Optional: Tests to validate when they are done. Retrospective. Meets DoD.
Higher ordered PBIs are clearer. Details and new work emerge A step towards the Product Goal.
during the Sprint. One or more increments/releases per
PB Refinement: Progress managed by DT. Sprint.
Ongoing process DT+PO. As needed. SG2017 A PBI meets DoD -> new Increment
“suggests” < 10% capacity DT
Add detail, estimates, and order PBIs.
Make PBIs ready for SB.
PBI size: can be done within 1 sprint.

Additional concepts

1. Technical debt: Technical debt is incurred by quick and dirty solutions that will need some rework in the future. This might artificially increase velocity in the
short term but it will make changes and maintenance harder in the future.
2. Changes vs performance: Changing the members of the Scrum Team is allowed as needed but a short term reduction in performance or velocity might be
considered. Adding or removing members will require coordination, onboarding and therefore, productivity will drop.
3. No special Sprints: There is no such thing as hardening sprint, special sprint, or Sprint 0. The rules of a sprint apply to all sprints from the very first one.
4. Scaling Teams vs performance: Adding a new Scrum Team to work on the same product will cause a drop in productivity or velocity for the original team
because they need to coordinate with the new Scrum Team and integrate the increment.
5. Scrum Team or Developers Organization: When changing the membership or adding a new Scrum Team to work on the same product, the Scrum Team
decides how to re-organize the team members.
6. Integrated Increment: Multiple teams must produce one integrated increment at the end of the Sprint.
7. Scaling vs Sprint lengths: Multiple Scrum Teams working on the same product are neither required to have the same Sprint lengths nor the same Sprint
start or end dates. The only requirement is that they must integrate the increment by the Sprint Review.
8. Start the first Sprint: To get started in terms of what to Develop, Scrum requires no more than a Product Owner with enough ideas for a first Sprint, a
Developers to implement those ideas, and a Scrum Master to help guide the process.

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Scrum Guide Cheatsheet drawings

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Main differences between Scrum Guide 2017 and Scrum Guide 2020
Take a look at the document here: Scrum Guide 2020 vs Scrum Guide 2017.

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