What are Scrum Artifacts and how to use them?
Scrum Artifacts.
Definition and functioning:
Scrum artifacts are tools that help
teams implement the Scrum framework and complete projects successfully. They
are information that a scrum team and stakeholders use to detail the product
being developed, actions to produce it, and the actions performed during the
project. The main agile scrum artifacts are product backlog, sprint backlog,
and increments. Scrum artifacts help ensure your team accomplishes what it
needs to within each project sprint and for the final project deliverable. The
three artifacts of Scrum enable you to identify and document the work that must
be done for the project to be successful. These artifacts capture essential
information about what your team must complete and where their priorities lie.
By maintaining up-to-date artifacts that are easily accessed by all
stakeholders, you increase transparency, and everyone can stay on top of what's
coming down the pipe for future work. Scrum artifacts comprise the information
that a scrum team and stakeholders use to detail a product’s development,
actions to produce it, and the actions performed during the project. Maintaining specific Scrum artifacts is essential
for the below-mentioned purposes.
a. Planning Estimating progress
b. calculating timelines
c. Monitoring success
They also create opportunities for self-reflection and facilitate adaptation
during a project.
Types of Scrum Artifacts:
There are three types of scrum artifacts. Let’s have a look at them. Product backlog Spring backlog Product increment.
1. Product backlog
The product
backlog is an ordered list of the features and requirements needed to complete
your project. The list can include bugs or defects that need to be resolved,
features that must be added, and other technical or project work your team has
to complete before the project is over. The order of the list is based on
priority — with the items at the top being either the most critical tasks or
tasks requiring immediate completion. Features are generally listed in the
backlog as user stories, which describe how the features will be useful to the
customer.
The product backlog helps ensure everyone knows what the project requirements
are and which ones have priority. It also helps your team address the remaining
project scope requirements and how much time may be needed to complete them.
The product backlog is often called a “living artifact” since it is
continuously updated to reflect changes in the project and customer feedback.
The process of updating the product backlog is called product backlog
refinement or backlog grooming.
2. Sprint backlog
Where the
product backlog lists everything that needs to be accomplished before the end
of the project, the sprint backlog includes only what needs to be completed
during the current sprint.
Since the sprint
backlog covers your most current activities, it often has greater detail and
more complete user stories than the rest of the product backlog. Your sprint
backlog should include your release plan explaining how you intend to achieve
the features and meet your sprint requirements. Before each sprint begins, your
team will conduct a sprint planning meeting where you review the product
backlog with the product owner and determine which requirements will move into
the sprint backlog and which will have to wait for future sprints. As with the
product backlog, the sprint backlog is a living document that is regularly
reviewed and updated as changes occur. Items can be removed if they become
unnecessary and new items added as requirements change.
3. Product increment
The product increment is often thought of as the most critical of the three
artifacts of Scrum. It's the version of the product that will be delivered at
the end of each sprint. While the sprint backlog outlines what must be
completed within a sprint, the product increment details the outcome of all
that work. The increment is a prototype, draft, or working version of the final
product expected by the customer. At the end of the initial sprint, your team
will deliver product version one, including all of that sprint’s backlog items.
At the end of the second sprint, version two will be delivered. Version two of
the product increment should include all of the features and requirements
already delivered in version one and any changes, new features, and requirements
added in the second sprint. Each product increment should include the features
of the current sprint and fully integrate all backlog items completed to date,
from all past sprints.
Concluding statement: Scrum artifacts
are powerful aids that help teams operate more efficiently. Therefore, it's
important all teams have access and visibility into the artifacts. Product
owners and scrum masters need to make it a regular practice to review and
discuss artifacts with development teams. This will help teams stay aware of
operational inefficiencies and produce creative ways to improve velocity. Scrum
involves completing a list of tasks (your sprint backlog) within a short period
(sprint) without losing sight of your overall project goals and requirements
(the product backlog). Juggling all of this effectively requires a great deal
of transparency, frequent communication, and confidence that all artifacts are
up-to-date and correct. Agile scrum artifacts are highly valuable but not hard
dependencies to an agile scrum workflow. A team can use agile without extra
effort to maintain these byproducts but will not reap any of the benefits. The
best way to get started with scrum artifacts is to use an agile task manager
product with agile scrum artifacts built in. A good agile task track manager
like Jira has artifact features built in to effortlessly generate burndown
charts, backlogs, and increments.
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