Scrum is a lightweight framework for delivering work in short, fixed-length cycles. The Scrum Guide, the official definition maintained by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, describes it as a way for teams to “address complex problems” while “adaptively delivering products of the highest possible value.” It is the most widely adopted of the agile methods.
Work is organized around the Sprint, which the Guide calls “the heartbeat of Scrum, where ideas are turned into value.” Sprints are fixed-length events of one month or less, and they “enable predictability by ensuring inspection and adaptation of progress toward a Product Goal at least every calendar month.” A new Sprint starts immediately after the previous one ends.
Scrum defines three accountabilities: the Product Owner, who is “accountable for maximizing the value of the product” and manages the Product Backlog; the Scrum Master, who fosters understanding of Scrum and helps remove impediments; and the Developers, who build a usable increment each Sprint. It also defines events that take place within the Sprint — Sprint Planning, the Daily Scrum, the Sprint Review, and the Sprint Retrospective — and artifacts: the Product Backlog, the Sprint Backlog, and the Increment.
Schwaber and Sutherland developed Scrum in the early 1990s and first presented it together at the OOPSLA conference in 1995. The framework is grounded in empiricism and lean thinking, sharing the agile values expressed in the 2001 Agile Manifesto, which Sutherland co-signed.