What are The 5 Scrum Values?

If you’ve ever worked on a Scrum team, you will already appreciate how effective it is in delivering high value and creating products that delight customers.  The true benefits of Scrum can only be experienced when teams understand and uphold the five Scrum values. As people become more grounded in these essential values and learn to follow practices that are rooted in them, they can reap the full benefits of Scrum methodology.

What are these values, and what do they embody? Read on to find out why they are so important, and how they differ from the principles of Scrum.

5 core values of Scrum

‘A team’s success with Scrum depends on five values: commitment, courage, focus, openness and respect.’- Scrum Alliance

Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, the co-creators of Scrum, added an update to the Scrum guide in 2016 – one that was simple, and yet amplified the power of Scrum manifold. They added 5 core values of Scrum that they expected would provide direction and deliberation to the dynamics of the team and help them to base every decision on a rock-solid foundation of ethics. These 5 values were Courage, Commitment, Focus, Openness, and Respect.

When the values of commitment, courage, focus, openness and respect are embodied and lived by the Scrum Team, the Scrum pillars of transparency, inspection, and adaptation come to life and build trust for everyone. – Scrum Guide.

As explained in the Scrum guide, team members imbibe and explore the 5 core Scrum values every step of the way, as they navigate through the various prescribed events, execute the roles, and implement the artifacts. Proficiency and adherence to these five values is key to achieving Scrum success, and every member must make and keep up their commitment to embodying these values. 

Here is how each of these values can guide actions in the context of Scrum: 

• Commitment

The spirit of Scrum maintains that every team member must commit to each other and to achieving the end goals that are set. They should commit to do their best, to collaborate and work in accordance with the principles of Scrum. They must apply dedicated effort in every action through the Scrum journey.

• Focus
  

Through every step of the development journey, the team should maintain their focus on what is important- the product vision, and its value to the end user. They should pay attention to what is important to roll out in each iteration, without digressing to think of what might become important some vague time in the future. They keep the focus simple and straightforward and stay mindful of the work needed to get things done in the moment.

• Openness

For it to work, Scrum requires transparency and adaptability. This can only happen if there is complete trust and openness between team members. When anyone is faced with a problem, by being open about it the team can arrive at workable solutions and move forward.  They should be open to collaboration, sharing experiences and learning from each other’s mistakes. Above all, in the spirit of Agile, they should be open to being flexible and embracing change.

• Respect

Respect for others as well as for oneself is an essential value that enables smooth progression of teamwork. The team should show respect to each other by respecting opinions, however diverse they may be, and hearing everyone out. They show respect to management and stakeholders by not wasting time and resources on building unnecessary features. Above all, they respect the Scrum framework and uphold its principles. 

• Courage 

When the going gets tough, the tough get going! Scrum team members should have the courage to tackle the hardest of challenges head on. Change is never easy, and they should be brave enough to embrace uncertainties and work in the face of imperfect requirements and evolving directions. They require courage to stand by each other through risks and complexities and emerge stronger at the end of it all.   

Are Scrum values and principles the same?

Scrum values and principles are not the same; in fact, they are quite different even though they complement each other. While the five Scrum values as mentioned above are abstract internal qualities that guide behaviour and actions and set the moral compass for work, there are six Scrum principles that are external mandates to help implement the methodology. 

These six principles include the following: 

• Iterative development: 
  

Development happens in short iterations, called sprints, which allow adaptation and flexibility to cope with change. 

• Time-boxing: 

Events and sprints are time-boxed to pre-set durations, ensuring that tasks are completed, and schedules are not overrun. 

• Empirical process control: 

Project needs, and scope are likely to keep evolving, and teams must regularly retrospect and adapt to these changes. 

• Self-organization: 

Scrum team members must be accountable and self-organized and work together in transparent ways. 

• Collaboration: 

Team members must work collaboratively and communicate well to achieve the timely delivery of high-quality releases. 

•  Value-based prioritization:

The backlog and user stories must be prioritized based on the delivery of value. 

Applying scrum values in day-to-day life

These five values, while very important to the spirit and soul of Scrum, are by no means exclusive to Scrum. In fact, we would do well to apply these values to every single aspect of our daily lives! 

We should have the courage to be ourselves and live our lives in the moment without any fear of the future or regrets about the past. We should work with a deep commitment on our goals, never digressing and losing focus on what is most important for us to achieve. While doing this, we should never lose respect for ourselves or others around us and should carry out our every action with honesty and openness.  

Great values for Scrum and truly great values to live by!  

Conclusion 

As people imbibe, nurture and live by these values, they will be more capable of achieving Scrum success. Teams that fully commit to these Scrum values will be empowered to work smoothly and collaboratively on complex projects in the face of uncertain and volatile requirements.