Scrum guide · Scrum basics
Scrum Principles and Values: Pillars of Empiricism Explained
Scrum rests on two foundations: empiricism, expressed as three pillars, and five values that guide how people behave. Without them, Scrum's events and artifacts become empty rituals.
Key takeaways
- Scrum's pillars are transparency, inspection and adaptation.
- Its values are commitment, focus, openness, respect and courage.
- The values make the pillars work in practice.
The three pillars
| Pillar | Meaning | In practice |
|---|---|---|
| Transparency | The process and work are visible to those doing and receiving it | Visible backlogs and boards; honest Definition of Done |
| Inspection | Artifacts and progress are inspected frequently | Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, Retrospective |
| Adaptation | When something deviates, adjust as soon as possible | Re-plan the Sprint, re-order the backlog, change practices |
See empiricism in Scrum.
The five values
- Commitment: the team commits to achieving its goals and supporting each other.
- Focus: on the work of the Sprint and progress towards the goals.
- Openness: about the work and the challenges.
- Respect: for each other as capable, independent people.
- Courage: to do the right thing and tackle tough problems.
Values in everyday behaviour
| Value | Looks like | Doesn't look like |
|---|---|---|
| Openness | Raising a risk at the Daily Scrum | Hiding a problem until the Review |
| Courage | Telling stakeholders a feature isn't ready | Releasing work that doesn't meet the Definition of Done |
| Focus | Finishing Sprint work before starting new tasks | Constant context switching |
| Respect | Letting Developers decide how to do the work | Assigning tasks over their heads |
| Commitment | Working together towards the Sprint Goal | Committing to unrealistic scope to please others |
Other principles often taught with Scrum
Earlier Scrum training materials, and frameworks such as SBOK, list further principles like self-organisation, collaboration, value-based prioritisation, time-boxing and iterative development. These are consistent with the Scrum Guide but not part of its official text.
Frequently asked questions
What are the three core Scrum principles?
Transparency, inspection and adaptation, often called the three pillars of empiricism.
Why do the Scrum values matter?
Because empiricism only works when people are open, courageous and respectful enough to share honest information and act on it.
What are the five Scrum values?
Commitment, focus, openness, respect and courage. The Scrum Team commits to its goals, focuses on the Sprint's work, is open about the work and its challenges, respects each other, and has the courage to do the right thing.
What does transparency mean as a Scrum principle?
Transparency means the process and the work are visible to those performing it and those receiving it. Without it, inspection is based on misleading information and decisions carry more risk.
How does inspection work as a Scrum principle?
Inspection means frequently and diligently examining the Scrum artifacts and progress towards agreed goals to detect problems early. Scrum's events provide the regular points for this.
What is adaptation as a Scrum principle?
Adaptation means adjusting the process or the product as soon as possible when inspection shows something has drifted outside acceptable limits. The Scrum Guide expects adjustments to be made quickly to minimise further deviation.
When were the Scrum values added to the Scrum Guide?
The five values were added to the Scrum Guide in its 2016 update and remain in the 2020 version.
Is self-organisation a Scrum principle?
The 2020 Scrum Guide describes Scrum Teams as self-managing, meaning they decide who does what, when and how. Self-organisation appears in some training frameworks as a principle, but the official text uses the term self-managing.
How can a team live the Scrum values?
Discuss what each value looks like in practice, agree working agreements that reflect them, and revisit them in the Sprint Retrospective. Behaviours such as raising risks early and refusing to cut quality show the values in action.
What happens if a team ignores the Scrum values?
Events and artifacts tend to become rituals, information gets hidden and trust drops, so empiricism stops working. Teams often keep the meetings but lose the benefits.
How do Scrum values relate to the Agile Manifesto?
Both put people, collaboration and responding to change at the centre. The Scrum values describe the behaviours that make Agile principles workable within a Scrum Team. See Agile Manifesto.