Leaning Scrum for the first time can be a bit overwhelming. There are many new terms and concepts in Scrum. And you may be wondering:

What do all these new Scrum terms mean?

Well we’re here to help.

If you're just getting started in your Scrum journey, you might want to begin with the definition of Scrum, why Scum matters or even an everyday guide to using Scrum.

If you just have questions about key Scrum terms, below you will find a glossary of crucial Scrum concepts with definitions and links to relevant articles. 

Three Pillars of Scrum

Scrum is founded on the three pillars of empiricism.

Transparency

Transparency is the discipline of making things more visible. So much productivity and value are lost when there isn’t clarity, focus or shared understanding. 

Inspection

Once things are visible, the team can inspect them to achieve shared understanding and grow. 

Adaptation

The Scrum team makes necessary changes based on what they learn during inspection. The environment is constantly changing, and as leaders, we need to help our people and processes grow and adapt.  

Scrum Roles

Scrum Master

The Scrum Master is a master of process and an empowerer of people as they focus on maximizing the impact of the development team. They support the team by removing obstacles and representing Scrum to the rest of the organization. Learn about the Scrum Master role.

Product Owner

The Scrum Product Owner's primary responsibility is to maximize the value delivered to the product. They serve as the inflection point between the development team and stakeholders. Learn about the Product Owner Role.

Development Team

The Development Team is a self-organizing, cross-functional group that makes up most of the Scrum team. They transform backlog items into new value each sprint. Learn more about the Development Team role.

Scrum Events

Daily Scrum

Also called the standup, the Daily Scrum is a fifteen-minute meeting where the development team inspects the previous day's work, plans the next day’s work and identifies any barriers to getting things done. Learn to keep your team in sync with a daily standup.

Backlog Refinement

During the backlog refinement session, the Scrum team reviews new product backlog items asking questions to clarify the requirements and the goals. There is flexibility about when during the sprint to have the backlog refinement. Learn how to facilitate a backlog refinement session.

Sprint Planning

At the beginning of a new sprint, the team meets together to discuss how they will reach the sprint goal. They review the work selected for the sprint and make an initial plan that can be adapted via the daily scrum. Learn how to do sprint planning in Scrum.

Sprint Review

The sprint review occurs at the end of the sprint to inspect the delivered work. Various stakeholders and subject matter experts from across the organization attend to give feedback on the work completed. Learn to run a sprint review.

Retrospective

The retrospective occurs at the end of the sprint, focusing on the whole Scrum team. The tone is positive and productive, focused on improving the team. The team will identify points of growth and action steps to take in the next sprint. Learn how to facilitate a Scrum retrospective.

Scrum Artifacts

The Backlog

There are actually two backlogs, the product backlog and the sprint backlog. They each contain the definitive list of work to be done. The product owner keeps the backlog ordered by priority. Learn to use the backlog in Scrum.

Product Backlog Items (PBIs)

Each item in the backlog represents precise work and value to deliver. Often these PBIs are written using both user stories and acceptance criteria. The PBIs are what gets refined during the backlog refinement session, and if one is too large, it may be broken down into smaller PBIs.

Definition of Done

The definition of done is a list of what must be true in order to consider a PBI done. The whole team creates and agrees to what is in the definition of done and is updated as needed for the team to function effectively. Learn to use the definition of done. 

User Stories

User stories are a simple schema to order the PBI requirements around the end user's  needs, motivations, and goals. They keep the team focused on the value they create for the end-user. PBIs are evaluated against their user story during the sprint review. Learn to write your own user stories.

Acceptance Criteria

Acceptance Criteria defines the requirements which must be met for the sprint deliverables to be accepted by the product owner. Acceptance criteria follows a consistent structure of Give that... When... Then... See examples of acceptance criteria.

Story Points

Story points measure the relative size of a PBI.  They aren’t absolute measurements like hours or days but measure the amount of work a PBI takes relative to other PBIs. Learn to use story points.

Velocity

Velocity measures how many story points a Scrum team completes on average per sprint. This allows the product owner to forecast when future features will be ready. Learn to forecast in Scrum using velocity.

Increment

The increment is the new functionality or value delivered at the end of a sprint. The increment should be ready to release to the end-user even if the team chooses to wait.

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Scrum Values

Learn to align Scrum values with your organization.

Commitment 

The Scrum team members keep their commitment to achieving the goals of the Scrum Team. 

Courage

The courage to do the right thing and work on challenging problems is essential for a Scrum team to have a high impact.

Focus

The Scrum team focuses on the sprint goal and the work selected for a given sprint. Being freed up from worrying about the work of future sprints allows the team to deliver value consistently. 

Openness

Openness is vital to living out the pillars of transparency, inspection and adaptation. The Scrum team is open about all the work and the challenges with performing the work.

Respect

Collaboration requires respect for each other to be capable, independent people. I have often said Scrum treats you like an adult. 

Next steps​ for applying Scrum.

I hope this article helped you feel confident using and apply important Scrum concepts. If you want to learn more about Scrum in general, check out my What is Scrum? A Guide for Everyday People to Learn Scrum. If you have more questions, please feel free to reach out on LinkedIn.

Still not sure about your next step with Scrum? I offer a couple of free coaching sessions each month. You can signup for a free 1-hour coaching session, and we can work together to identify a good next step for you.