Scrum Flow at a Glance

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Note: This article is updated at Scrum at a Glance.

When I analyze process flows, I like to see them at a glance, in terms of activities and artifacts.  This helps me compare it with other approaches to find similarities and differences.  This is my view of Scrum at a glance:

Activities Artifacts
Product Backlog
  • Product backlog review
  • Identify user-prioritized stories
  • Identify themes
  • Identify priorities
  • Identify size (T-shirt sizes)
  • Selected Product Backlog
  • Stories
Sprint Planning
  • Identify the sprint goal
  • Identify the sprint duration
  • Break stories into tasks
  • Estimate the tasks
  • Sprint Backlog
  • Duration
  • List of tasks
  • Estimates
  • Sprint View
Daily Work
  • Daily Scrum Meeting
  • Identify what got done
  • Identify what to get done
  • Identify impediments
  • Update Sprint Backlog (time remaining for each task)
  • Update Sprint Burndown Chart
  • Burndown Chart
  • Sprint Backlog
  • Impediment List
  • Story Cards
Sprint Review
  • Present the Sprint results
  • Demo to stakeholders
  • Update product burndown chart
  • Product Increment
  • Demo
Release
  • Release a product increment
  • Product increment
Retrospective
  • Retrospective
  • Identify what went well
  • Identify what to improve
  • Identify actionable improvements with owners and dates (these could become sprint tasks.)
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The Talk-Through Version …
From the product backlog, you identify a product increment to execute.  For Sprint planning, you identify the goal, the sprint duration, the relevant stories, and the tasks.  To do so, you break the stories into tasks.  You estimate the tasks.

As part of daily work, you have a daily standup meeting, identify what got done, what will get done, and any impediments.  You update the Sprint backlog and Sprint burndown charts.

At part of the Sprint review, you demo the product increment to stakeholders and you update the product burndown chart.

After release, you perform a retrospective, to identify what went well, and what to improve.

If you have any feedback or suggestions on how to improve my scannable view, please share.

Many thanks to James Waletzky for review and feedback.