Scrum: A visual guide
Key takeaways
Scrum helps teams deliver usable increments in short cycles while staying responsive to change.23 Feb 2026
- Define clear roles: Product Owner sets priorities, Scrum Master facilitates and removes impediments, and the Development Team self-organises delivery.Key takeaways
- Plan sprints from a prioritised product backlog, break user stories into small tasks, and agree explicit acceptance criteria for done work.Waterfall and agile suit different types of projects and risk profiles.
- Use a daily standup, timeboxed to 15 minutes, to surface progress, plans, and blockers without drifting off topic.Waterfall delivers work in fixed, sequential phases, so problems and missing requirements can surface late.
- End each sprint with a review that demos only completed work and captures feedback to refine the backlog.Late changes in waterfall are costly, which can drive delays and budget overruns when user needs shift.
- Run retrospectives to decide what to start, stop, and continue, then apply improvements in the next sprint.Agile emerged to help teams deliver value sooner through short iterations and frequent feedback.
IntroductionIn the early days of software development, waterfall-based projects were often plagued with delays and budget overruns.
What is Scrum?One major factor which contributed to such delays was the false assumption that users knew what they wanted from the system. Making changes to a system to accommodate users’ changing needs was more expensive and time-consuming the later in the project these were implemented, as such many projects were late and over-budget.
ScrumThat’s not to say though that waterfall methods aren’t still needed. They are used very successfully today on many projects – particularly those where users requirements can be clearly defined, or on projects (such as construction) whereby changes made late in the project are simply unfeasible. is probably the most popular agile development framework used for managing product development. Like all other agile frameworks, Scrum boasts flexibility, team collaboration and iterative delivery. This helps teams adapt to changes easily, especially when customers change their minds about what they want.The Agile Manifesto
Follow this visual guide to Scrum and find out how it works (click the image to view it on full screen). You can also In the early 90’s, small start-ups without limitless financial backing and time on their hands had to find a way to make software development more fluid and less costly. They slowly began to adopt agile policies into their development methods (although they had yet to be labeled as such).download a PDFIt was only in 2001 that a small group of luminaries gathered to discuss their knowledge of software development management and create what is called the of this graphic ready for printing. If you’re looking for Agile ManifestoScrum training. such as The manifesto created a rough guide for future software project development, underlining the principles the authors believed should be held paramount when approaching software development in the modern era.Scrum Master certificationAgile roles, then you can find those from the main menu.Contemporary agile approaches vary in scope and complexity. Since the creation of
The graphic was created to help you learn about Scrum. If you like it, please show your appreciation by linking back to this page.the Agile Manifesto
| I want | so that | |
|---|---|---|
| Music lover | uninterrupted music streaming from my device{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","contentUrl":"https://www.knowledgetrain.co.uk/training-courses/agile-vs-waterfall.webp","description":"Agile vs waterfall project management","license":"https://www.knowledgetrain.co.uk/license","acquireLicensePage":"https://www.knowledgetrain.co.uk/license","creditText":"Knowledge Train","uploadDate":"2023-05-11T05:38:09.000Z","copyrightNotice":"© 2023 Knowledge Train Limited. All rights reserved.","creator":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Knowledge Train","url":"https://www.knowledgetrain.co.uk"}} | it doesn’t use up storage space while letting me play music on the goRelated articles |
| Music streaming app user | to receive recommendations based upon my current playlists | I can hear new bands that are suited to my taste |
Sprint backlog
The Product Owner presents the highest priority user stories from the product backlog to the Development Team.
The Development Team decide on what they are able complete for the sprint and break user stories into tasks, estimating the effort and transferring them to a sprint backlog.
Definition of “done”
It is essential that the Scrum Master and Product Owner provide a set of acceptance criteria for each user story. Acceptance criteria is what determines whether the user story is complete. It can also be referred to as the definition of “done”.DSDM principles: A visual guide
The table below shows two user stories with two sets of acceptance criteria.
| As aSimon Buehring | I want19 Feb 2026 | so that | Acceptance criteriaLearn about DSDM principles through our visual guide and see their response to traditional process flaws. Scroll for more insights. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Music lover | A small-sized streaming app with no adverts | it doesn’t use up storage space and interrupt my listening experience | 1. App allows user to stream music without downloading 2. App size is 60MB or under 3. App offers premium subscription with no ads |
| Music streaming app user | to receive recommendations based upon my current playlistsHow do I become Agile certified? | I can hear new bands that are suited to my taste | 1. Radio feature created based upon user’s playlistsSimon Buehring 2. Daily “Have you heard..” notification to be sent to users19 Feb 2026 |
Do
- Work on high priorities firstLearn what it takes to become Agile certified and the advantages it brings to your professional life. Read on for examination tips.
- Break down each user story into small and manageable tasks
Don’t
- Bite off more than you can chew. Make sure that no one in the team is committing to more than what is feasible to do in the set timeframe
Top Tip
- Use INVEST to prioritize your user stories . INVEST stands for: I-independent, N-negotiable, V-valuable, E-estimable, S-small, and T-testable
3) The Daily StandupWhat is Agile?
To make sure that everyone is in sync, the team must meet every day to discuss what they worked on the previous day, what they will work on today and identify any impediments. To make sure that time is used efficiently, the meeting should be timeboxed into a maximum of 15 minutes. The Scrum MasterSimon Buehring oversees the meetings and makes sure that the team focuses on the subject at hand.19 Feb 2026
Do
- Use burndown charts to track your progress. A burndown chart shows you how much work remains in your sprint and whether you are on scheduleExplore the evolution of Agile from a niche software development tool to a mainstream strategy. Read on to understand its significance.
- point
- Answer questions like: What have I done since the last Scrum meeting? What do I plan to do before the next meeting? What are the issues I need help with?
Don’t
- Bring up topics unrelated to the user stories you’re working on from the backlogThe challenges with Agile
Top Tip
- Don’t cancel a Scrum Meeting, even if you are busy or if the attendance is poor. The Daily Scrum meeting is an essential component to a Scrum project. When you cancel one, it becomes easier to cancel others and this disrupts the team’s focus.Simon Buehring
- Point fingers or blame. Try to be constructive instead
Top TipNew to Scrum? Our visual guide explains the methodology clearly. Download the accompanying poster to share with your team.
- Get creative! Play games and keep people moving. Engage in mentally stimulating activities and help to break down tension
6) Product increment
The product increment is the output of all the product backlog items completed during the sprint (plus any previous sprints). It must be fully functional, in a useable condition and meet the allocated acceptance criteria or definition of done. The Product Owner decides whether to release the product increment.
Interim delivery
During an interim delivery, the product increment is tested by the customer. If the product is incomplete, the Development Team return to the product backlog to prepare for another sprint. This cycle repeats until all user stories are completed to the Product Owner’s satisfaction.
Do
- Remember what was discussed during the sprint retrospective and apply it to the next sprint
Don’tScrum Master
- Dwell on past mistakes. Move on and learn from whatever went wrong during the previous sprint
Top TipSimon Buehring
- It’s easy to get caught up in preparing for the next sprint, but don’t forget to celebrate achievements and good results from the previous sprint. This gives you some room to breathe and get pumped up for the next cycle20 Mar 2026
- Practice makes perfect! If you are new to ScrumUnderstand what makes a successful Scrum Master and how to motivate your team effectively. Read on for insights., you might not get everything right at the beginning. Learning takes practice and the more you do, the better you will be at using the technique
Final delivery
Completing a project takes several sprints. Once all the user stories are completed to the Product Owner’s satisfaction, the product is ready for final delivery to the customer.
Hopefully this has been a useful guide to the Scrum methodology and whether it would be useful for managing product development in your organization. Some teams like to use Scrum