Scrum Artifacts: Your Team’s Treasure Chest 🎒
Imagine you’re on a treasure hunt with your friends. To find the treasure, you need:
- A map showing all the places to explore
- A list of what to look for today
- The actual treasure you find along the way
- Rules about what counts as “real treasure”
Scrum Artifacts work exactly like this! They’re the special tools and lists that help your team build amazing things together.
🗺️ The Product Backlog: Your Master Treasure Map
Think of the Product Backlog as a giant wish list for your product. It’s like a magical list that never ends—you can always add more wishes!
What Is It?
The Product Backlog is a prioritized list of everything your product might need. The most important things go at the top, just like how you’d put “Find the dragon’s cave” before “Count the pebbles on the beach.”
Simple Example
Imagine you’re building a lemonade stand app:
| Priority | Item | Size |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Let customers order lemonade | Big |
| 2 | Show pictures of drinks | Medium |
| 3 | Add payment button | Big |
| 4 | Show fun animations | Small |
The Product Owner is the keeper of this list. They decide what’s most important.
Why It Matters
Without a Product Backlog, your team would be like explorers without a map—wandering around with no direction!
graph TD A[Big Dreams] --> B[Product Backlog] B --> C[Most Important] B --> D[Kind of Important] B --> E[Nice to Have Later] C --> F[Ready for Sprint!]
📋 The Sprint Backlog: Today’s Adventure List
Now you have your big map. But you can’t explore everything in one day! The Sprint Backlog is your “what we’ll do THIS sprint” list.
What Is It?
The Sprint Backlog contains:
- Which items from the Product Backlog you’ll work on
- How you plan to do them (broken into small tasks)
- The Sprint Goal — why this work matters
Simple Example
Your 2-week sprint might look like this:
Sprint Goal: “Customers can order lemonade online!”
| Backlog Item | Tasks |
|---|---|
| Let customers order | ✓ Build order form |
| ✓ Connect to kitchen | |
| ✓ Send confirmation | |
| Show drink pictures | ✓ Take photos |
| ✓ Upload to app |
The Magic Rule
Only the Development Team can change the Sprint Backlog during a sprint. It’s their promise, their plan!
🏆 The Increment: Your Actual Treasure
Every sprint, your team creates an Increment—something real, working, and valuable!
What Is It?
The Increment is the sum of all completed work plus everything done before. Think of it like building a LEGO castle:
- Sprint 1: You build the base ➡️ Increment = Base
- Sprint 2: You add walls ➡️ Increment = Base + Walls
- Sprint 3: You add towers ➡️ Increment = Base + Walls + Towers
The Important Part
Each Increment must be “Done” and usable. You can’t say “the tower is almost finished”—it either works or it doesn’t!
graph TD S1[Sprint 1 Work] --> I1[Increment 1] I1 --> S2[Sprint 2 Work] S2 --> I2[Increment 2] I2 --> S3[Sprint 3 Work] S3 --> I3[Increment 3] I3 --> P[Complete Product!]
✅ Definition of Done: The Finish Line Rules
How do you know when something is REALLY finished? That’s what the Definition of Done tells you!
What Is It?
The Definition of Done (DoD) is a checklist that everyone agrees on. If you check ALL the boxes, the work is Done. If not, it’s not Done—no exceptions!
Simple Example
For our lemonade app, “Done” might mean:
- [ ] Code is written
- [ ] Code is tested
- [ ] Works on phones AND tablets
- [ ] Someone else reviewed it
- [ ] Documentation is updated
Why It’s Powerful
Without a clear DoD, one person might say “I’m done!” while their work is still buggy. The DoD keeps everyone honest!
Pro Tip: The whole team creates the DoD together. It’s a shared promise.
🚦 Definition of Ready: The Starting Line Rules
Before you can work on something, it needs to be Ready. The Definition of Ready tells you when a backlog item is clear enough to start.
What Is It?
It’s a checklist that says: “Yes, we understand this well enough to build it!”
Simple Example
An item is Ready when:
- [ ] We know what the customer wants
- [ ] We know when it’s Done (acceptance criteria)
- [ ] It’s small enough for one sprint
- [ ] The team understands it
- [ ] No big questions remain
Real-World Comparison
Imagine trying to bake a cake when the recipe just says “add some stuff and bake it.” Not Ready!
But if it says “Add 2 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, mix for 3 minutes, bake at 350°F for 30 minutes”—that’s Ready!
🔧 Backlog Refinement: Polishing Your Treasure Map
Your Product Backlog needs love and attention. Backlog Refinement (also called Grooming) is when the team:
- Adds details to upcoming items
- Breaks big items into smaller ones
- Estimates how much effort things will take
- Re-orders based on new information
When Does It Happen?
Teams usually spend 5-10% of sprint time on refinement. That’s about 2-4 hours per 2-week sprint.
Simple Example
Before Refinement:
“Add payment feature”
After Refinement:
“As a customer, I want to pay with credit card so I can buy lemonade online”
- Acceptance: Visa and Mastercard work
- Size: Medium (5 story points)
- Dependencies: Need payment provider account
graph TD A[Vague Idea] --> B[Refinement Session] B --> C[Clear User Story] B --> D[Acceptance Criteria] B --> E[Size Estimate] C --> F[Ready for Sprint!] D --> F E --> F
📊 Velocity: Your Team’s Speed Meter
Velocity measures how much work your team typically finishes in a sprint.
What Is It?
It’s the average amount of work (usually in story points) completed per sprint.
Simple Example
| Sprint | Points Done |
|---|---|
| Sprint 1 | 18 points |
| Sprint 2 | 22 points |
| Sprint 3 | 20 points |
Average Velocity = (18 + 22 + 20) ÷ 3 = 20 points per sprint
Why It Matters
Velocity helps you predict the future! If you have 100 points of work left and your velocity is 20, you’ll need about 5 more sprints.
Important Warning
Never compare velocities between teams! Each team estimates differently. Team A’s “5 points” isn’t the same as Team B’s “5 points.”
🚨 Scrum Anti-Patterns: Traps to Avoid!
Sometimes teams do things that LOOK like Scrum but actually hurt them. These are called anti-patterns.
Anti-Pattern 1: The Never-Ending Backlog
What happens: The Product Backlog grows and grows. Items at the bottom are years old.
Why it’s bad: Old items become stale and confusing.
Fix: Regularly delete items that won’t happen. If it’s been there for 6+ months without moving up, remove it!
Anti-Pattern 2: Fake Definition of Done
What happens: The DoD says “tested” but people skip tests when rushing.
Why it’s bad: You accumulate hidden problems (technical debt).
Fix: The DoD must be followed 100% of the time. No exceptions!
Anti-Pattern 3: Sprint Backlog as Assignment List
What happens: A manager assigns specific tasks to specific people.
Why it’s bad: The team should self-organize. Assignment kills ownership.
Fix: The team pulls work themselves and decides who does what.
Anti-Pattern 4: Velocity as a Weapon
What happens: Managers demand “increase velocity by 20%!”
Why it’s bad: Teams start inflating estimates. Points become meaningless.
Fix: Velocity is for planning, not performance reviews. Never pressure teams about it.
Anti-Pattern 5: Zombie Backlog Items
What happens: Items are “almost done” for multiple sprints.
Why it’s bad: Incomplete work provides zero value.
Fix: If it didn’t meet DoD, it goes back to the backlog. Be honest!
Anti-Pattern 6: Skipping Refinement
What happens: “We don’t have time for refinement!”
Why it’s bad: Sprint Planning becomes chaos. Items aren’t Ready.
Fix: Refinement is NOT optional. Schedule it!
🎯 Putting It All Together
Here’s how all the artifacts work as a team:
graph TD PB[Product Backlog] -->|Refinement| R[Ready Items] R -->|Sprint Planning| SB[Sprint Backlog] SB -->|Daily Work| I[Increment] I -->|Meets DoD?| D{Definition of Done} D -->|Yes| DONE[Shippable Product!] D -->|No| SB V[Velocity] -.->|Predicts| PB
Quick Summary
| Artifact | Purpose | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Product Backlog | All work that COULD be done | Product Owner |
| Sprint Backlog | Work planned for THIS sprint | Development Team |
| Increment | Working product so far | Whole Team |
| Definition of Done | “Finished” checklist | Whole Team |
| Definition of Ready | “Can start” checklist | Whole Team |
🌟 You’ve Got This!
Now you understand Scrum Artifacts like a pro! Remember:
- Product Backlog = Your master wish list
- Sprint Backlog = This sprint’s promises
- Increment = The real, working product
- Definition of Done = The finish line
- Definition of Ready = The starting line
- Refinement = Keeping the backlog healthy
- Velocity = Your speed for planning
- Anti-patterns = Traps to avoid!
You’re ready to help your team build amazing things, one sprint at a time! 🚀