• Agile & Scrum Basics

The new Scrum Guide: these are the 5 most important changes

Since Nov. 18, Jeff Sutherland and Ken Schwaber have updated the Scrum Guide again. After more than 3 years, it was about time. Quite a few changes have been made. Some changes are subtle and will lead to little change in how you apply Scrum now. Other changes are more radical. These are the most important changes in the new Scrum Guide:

1. It’s about more than just software

Ken and Jeff recognize that Scrum is being applied much more broadly than just to software development – and successfully. In addition to omitting software specifics, for example, they have changed the definition of Scrum to: Scrum is a lightweight framework that helps people, teams and organizations generate value through adaptive solutions to complex problems. Clear!

2. More emphasis on the Scrum Team.

What is immediately noticeable is that one of the roles has been renamed. We no longer speak of Development Team, but of Developers. The reason behind this change is that it reduces the distance between Product Owner and Developers in particular. There is now no sub-team in the Scrum Team and thus the focus is more on the entire Scrum Team.

3. There is a Product Goal

New to the Scrum Guide is the Product Goal. This is one of three commitments in addition to the Sprint Goal and the Definition of Done. With the Product Goal, the Product Owner makes clear the vision and purpose of the product or service the Scrum Team is working on. So there is more emphasis on what you are trying to achieve with your product, on the value you are trying to create. As Product Owner, you do more than prioritize items on a backlog: you have a vision and goal in mind, and that becomes a lot clearer in this edition of the Scrum Guide.

4. Scrum teams are self-managing

Scrum Teams have traditionally been labeled as autonomous. But there are gradations to that, of course. Previously, they were labeled as self-organizing. Now the Scrum Guide goes a step further and calls them self-managing. Not only does the Scrum Team decide how and who does the work, but also what they do when.

5. Sprint Planning consists of 3 parts

Sprint Planning always consisted of two parts: what are we going to do this sprint and how are we going to do the chosen work in a smart way. That is now preceded by a third – or actually first – question: why is this sprint valuable? Again, there is more emphasis on the goal the Scrum Team is trying to achieve. In this first step of Sprint Planning, the Product Owner suggests how the product can be made even more valuable in the coming sprint. Together with the Developers, the Product Owner creates an outline for the Sprint Goal, which can be communicated to stakeholders at the end of the Sprint Planning.

And more subtle changes

Beyond these changes, among other things, the values have been described more explicitly, the three example questions in the Daily Scrum description are gone (finally) and the guide has become a lot shorter.

What do we think? More broadly applicable, less prescriptive and a greater focus on value with the Product Goal: we think it’s another step forward!