Critical Path
Dan Sunil monogram
Back to library
Abstract kanban board with cards arranged in columns
Flow

Backlog → In progress → Review → Done

Agile & Scrum

Scrum Mechanics Without the Dogma

Roles, events and artifacts, and what each one is actually protecting against.

8 min readPractitioner#scrum#sprint#backlog
On this page

Scrum is a container with three roles, five events and three artifacts. Every element exists to counter a specific failure mode; if you cannot name the failure mode, you are performing ritual.

Roles

  • Product Owner — owns the ordered backlog and says no on behalf of value. Counters: building everything anyone asks for.
  • Scrum Master — owns the process and removes impediments. Counters: teams silently blocked for days.
  • Developers — own the how and the estimate. Counters: commitments made by people who do not do the work.

Events

  1. 1Sprint Planning — agree a sprint goal and a plausible slice of backlog.
  2. 2Daily Scrum — 15 minutes to re-plan the day, not a status report to the manager.
  3. 3Sprint Review — inspect the increment with stakeholders and adapt the backlog.
  4. 4Retrospective — inspect the process and commit to one concrete change.
  5. 5Backlog Refinement — ongoing, roughly 10% of capacity.

Related PMI standards & templates

External resources on pmi.org — links open in a new tab. Some require PMI membership.

PMI standard templates for this topic

Editable Word and print-ready PDF downloads — no sign-up required.

  • Sprint planning template →A PMI standard sprint planning template with a capacity calculator, a Definition of Ready check, a two-hour agenda and a worked example of a commitment that fits.
  • User story template →A PMI standard user story template with Given/When/Then acceptance criteria, an INVEST check, a fully worked example and the six patterns for splitting a story that is too big.
  • Sprint retrospective template →A PMI standard sprint retrospective template with a 90-minute facilitation script, the data to bring, five session formats, and an action log that limits you to three changes.
Skip the blank page

The PM Delivery Toolkit turns everything in this guide into fill-in templates — $25, one payment.

See the toolkit
Free tips

Get five PM habits that quietly save projects

Baselines, critical path discipline, RAID logs that people read, range estimating and status packs sponsors act on — sent straight to your inbox, free.

One email, no spam, unsubscribe any time.

Share LinkedIn

Discussion

Share how you applied this in practice, ask a question, or add a tip for other readers.

Loading comments…