2020 Scrum Guide Changes
A new Scrum Guide was published on November 18, 2020, to replace the 2017 version. The main changes in this guide are, indeed:
- The term “Development Team ” has been replaced by “developers”
- Introduced the concept of “Product Goal”
- The example of the three questions to be answered in the Daily Scrum was removed
Additionally, there were some additional changes in the new Scrum Guide that we want to draw attention to.
The Guide is less prescriptive
Over the years, the authors have been adding guidelines to the Scrum Guide, making it increasingly prescriptive. In this new edition, they decided to “clean up” the guide, using simpler words and removing everything that made it more complex. The main objective is to return to a minimalist framework that can be complemented with agile frameworks.
The guide is simpler and smaller
The guide has been rewritten to make it simple. The new English version has only 13 pages instead of the previous 19 pages.
Developers instead of Development Team
The term “Developers” replaced “Development team” , because the people that develop the product are part of the Scrum team but do not represent its entirety. Thus, it reinforces the idea that there are no sub-teams in Scrum. Additionally, removing the term “team” reinforces the idea that there are no hierarchies and that the whole team is responsible for reaching the sprint goal and delivering value.
The Scrum Guide introduced the concept of “Product Goal”
The product goal describes the product backlog and provides direction to the Scrum team. Its purpose is to help teams deliver value and guide each sprint towards a common product purpose.
The Daily Scrum three questions
The 2017 version included examples of questions that teams could use in a daily scrum. However, over time these suggested questions have become standardized. The suggested questions are no longer on the 2020 Scrum Guide to make the scrum less prescriptive.
Commitments
The new guide specifies commitments associated with artifacts. These commitments provide transparency and focus and remind everyone that artifacts represent work or value. The commitments are:
- The Product Goal represents a commitment to the Product Backlog
- The Sprint Goal represents a commitment to the Sprint Backlog.
- The definition of Done represents a commitment to the Increment.
Self-management instead of self-organization
The Scrum guide replaced the term “self-organization” with the term “self-management” to stress that the team decides who does what, when, and how.”
Sprint Planning
In the 2017 Scrum Guide, the Sprint planning meeting included two parts that addressed the “What” and the “How”. In the 2020 Scrum Guide, the meeting started to answer three topics to consider:
- “Why” is this Sprint valuable? – The product owner proposes how the sprint can increase the value of the product and the scrum team must define a sprint goal.
- “What” the team will do on this Sprint? – Developers may include product backlog items in the sprint backlog in a discussion with the product owner.
- “How” the team will work? – Developers decide the work required to complete the selected items
Share the Product owner
The new guide mentions that the Product owner can work in several teams. The Scrum Guide states that if the scrum team becomes too large, it should be divided into multiple smaller and cohesive teams sharing the same product. They must, therefore, share the same Product Goal, Product Backlog, and Product Owner.
Scrum Team dimension according to the Scrum Guide
The 2017 scrum guide states that the development team should have between 3 to 9 members, not including the scrum master and the scrum product owner. The new guide states that the Scrum Team must have no more than 10 elements, including the Scrum master and the product owner.
The term “servant leader”
The scrum master’s role description changed. The scrum master role is now accountable for:
- Establishing Scrum as defined in the Scrum Guide
- Effectiveness of the Scrum Team
- Being a catalyst for change in the organization.
The term “true leaders who serve” replaced “Servant leader”. The scrum master role is now more complex and leads the team towards a higher level of performance.
Simplifying language and opening the scrum to everyone, not just IT
The new language reflects that any area or industry can use Scrum. People may associate the term “Developers” with IT. However, every team in different areas of specialization develops something.