Scrum guide · Artifacts and practices
Scrum Techniques: Practices That Complement the Framework
The Scrum Guide is deliberately minimal. It leaves room for teams to choose the practices that suit them. These are the techniques most commonly used alongside Scrum.
Key takeaways
- Scrum leaves room for complementary practices.
- User stories, story mapping and planning poker help with the backlog.
- Pick techniques that solve real problems for your team.
Backlog techniques
- User stories: "As a [user], I want [goal], so that [benefit]."
- Acceptance criteria: clear conditions for each item, often in Given-When-Then form.
- Story mapping: arranging stories along the user journey to plan releases.
- INVEST: Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small, Testable.
- Splitting patterns: split by workflow step, business rule, data type or interface.
Planning and tracking techniques
- Planning poker and other estimation methods.
- Sprint burndown and release burnup charts.
- Capacity planning; see Agile capacity planning.
- Definition of Ready, an optional checklist for items entering a Sprint.
Delivery techniques
- Pair or mob programming.
- Test-driven development and continuous integration.
- Swarming on high-priority items.
- WIP limits within the Sprint.
Improvement techniques
- Varied retrospective formats.
- Five Whys and root-cause analysis.
- Team working agreements.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Definition of Ready an official Scrum technique?
No. It is an optional practice some teams use; it shouldn't become a rigid gate.
Are user stories a required Scrum technique?
No. Scrum only requires Product Backlog items; user stories are a popular format.
How do user stories work as a Scrum technique?
A user story is a short description of a need from the user's point of view, often written as: As a user], I want [goal], so that [benefit]. See [user stories.
How is the INVEST model used as a Scrum technique?
It is a checklist for good backlog items: Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small and Testable. It was proposed by Bill Wake.
Is story mapping a useful Scrum technique?
Yes. Story mapping arranges user stories along the user's journey, with priority from top to bottom, to plan releases and find the smallest valuable slice.
How does a Definition of Ready work as a Scrum technique?
It is an optional checklist that a backlog item should meet before entering a Sprint, such as clear acceptance criteria. It is not part of the Scrum Guide.
Why are acceptance criteria a useful Scrum technique?
They set the conditions a backlog item must meet to be accepted, often written in Given-When-Then form. They differ from the Definition of Done, which applies to all items.
What is swarming as a Scrum technique?
Several Developers working together on one item to finish it quickly, rather than everyone starting separate items. See Agile swarming.
Is mob programming a Scrum technique?
It is a complementary practice rather than part of Scrum itself: the whole team works on the same task at the same time at one computer, rotating who types. It spreads knowledge and reduces handoffs.
Why is test-driven development a useful Scrum technique?
Test-driven development means writing an automated test before writing the code that makes it pass, then refactoring. It supports a strong Definition of Done.
Which Scrum techniques help split large user stories?
Split by workflow step, business rule, data type, interface or simple versus complex cases, keeping each piece valuable on its own. See epics vs stories vs tasks.