Organizational influence

Scrum Masters influence organisational change by educating leaders about Scrum benefits, addressing systemic impediments, and promoting agile mindsets. They work with management to create supportive environments, remove organisational barriers, and align policies with Scrum values. This influence extends beyond individual teams to departments, processes, and culture, requiring diplomacy, persistence, and change management skills.

Increment

The Increment is the sum of all completed Product Backlog items during a Sprint plus previous Sprints’ increments. It must be potentially releasable, meeting the Definition of Done and providing value to users. Increments enable frequent feedback, reduce risk through regular delivery, and provide tangible progress measures. Each increment builds upon previous work, creating cumulative value.

The Sprint

Sprints are time-boxed iterations (typically 1-4 weeks) during which Development Teams create potentially releasable product increments. Each Sprint includes Planning, Daily Scrums, development work, Review, and Retrospective. Sprint length remains consistent to establish rhythm and predictability. Sprints provide regular opportunities for inspection, adaptation, and stakeholder feedback whilst maintaining focus through clear goals and boundaries.

Refinement techniques

Backlog refinement techniques include story mapping, impact mapping, three amigos sessions, and estimation poker. Teams use these approaches to understand requirements, identify dependencies, break down large items, and estimate effort. Effective refinement balances detailed analysis with timely decision-making, ensuring the backlog remains current whilst avoiding over-analysis. Regular refinement keeps teams prepared for upcoming Sprint Planning.

Sprint Planning

Sprint Planning is a collaborative ceremony where teams define Sprint Goals and select Product Backlog items for the upcoming Sprint. The Product Owner presents priorities whilst the Development Team assesses capacity and technical feasibility. Teams create Sprint Backlogs, breaking down selected items into tasks. Effective planning balances ambition with realism, ensuring clear understanding of work scope and success criteria.

Estimation methods

Common estimation methods include Planning Poker, T-shirt sizing, and relative sizing using story points or ideal days. These techniques help teams understand work complexity and plan Sprint capacity. Estimation focuses on relative effort rather than absolute time, enabling better planning decisions. Teams improve estimation accuracy through experience, regular calibration, and retrospective analysis of actual versus estimated effort.

Self-organization

Self-organisation empowers Development Teams to determine how to accomplish their work without external direction. Teams choose their working methods, task distribution, and problem-solving approaches whilst remaining accountable for results. This autonomy increases motivation, creativity, and efficiency. Successful self-organisation requires clear goals, appropriate skills, psychological safety, and organisational support. It develops gradually as teams mature and gain experience.

Cross-functionality

Cross-functional Development Teams possess all necessary skills to complete work without depending on external team members. This includes technical skills like programming, testing, design, and analysis, plus domain knowledge and soft skills. Cross-functionality reduces dependencies, increases flexibility, improves knowledge sharing, and enables faster delivery. Teams develop cross-functionality through learning, pairing, mentoring, and gradually expanding individual skill sets.

Size and structure

Development Teams should contain 3-9 members to maintain effective communication and agility. Smaller teams may lack necessary skills, whilst larger teams create communication overhead and coordination challenges. Teams remain stable throughout projects to build relationships and working effectiveness. Structure is flat without sub-teams or hierarchies. All members share collective responsibility for Sprint success and product quality.

Product Owner

The Product Owner maximises product value by managing the Product Backlog and representing stakeholder interests. Responsible for defining product vision, prioritising features, writing acceptance criteria, and making scope decisions. They collaborate closely with stakeholders and Development Teams whilst maintaining sole authority over backlog content. Success requires strong business acumen, communication skills, decision-making ability, and deep product knowledge.