Summary: Agile Scrum artifacts are key pieces of information that a Scrum team and stakeholders use to describe the product under development, the work required to create it, and the progress made throughout the project. The primary Scrum artifacts include the product backlog agile, sprint backlog, and increments.
When we think of artifacts, we might picture ancient relics or archaeological finds. However, in the context of software development, the term "artifact" refers to crucial information that is essential during the product development process.
In Agile development, these artifacts of Scrum emerge from the iterative process of planning, developing, tracking, and refining tasks as part of the Scrum framework. They are critical for maintaining transparency, enabling regular inspection, and allowing the team to adapt as needed.
Agile Scrum artifacts are the key information sources that guide the development process. They provide a detailed account of the product being built, the steps to build it, and the work completed during each sprint. These artifacts are invaluable to Scrum teams as they support the fundamental principles of Scrum: transparency, inspection, and adaptation.
During a Scrum sprint, artifacts of scrum are generated through the following core activities:
Agile Scrum is centred on specific artifacts that guide and structure the development process. These artifacts of scrum—Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, and Product Increment—are essential for maintaining the flow of work and ensuring that teams deliver valuable results efficiently.
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The Product Backlog is a dynamic list that encompasses all the work needed to develop a product. This includes new features, enhancements, bug fixes, and other tasks necessary for building the product. The backlog is continuously updated as new information emerges from various sources, such as customer feedback, market research, and competitor analysis.
Managed by the Product Owner, the Product Backlog serves as a living document that evolves throughout the development process. It not only holds newly identified tasks but also contains items from previous sprints that were deprioritized and moved back into the backlog. The Product Backlog ensures that the team remains focused on delivering the most valuable features while staying adaptable to changing requirements.
The Sprint Backlog is a subset of the Product Backlog, consisting of tasks that the development team commits to completing during the upcoming sprint. These tasks are selected during sprint planning, where the team breaks down larger Product Backlog items into smaller, actionable tasks.
For instance, a broad task like "Build a shopping cart page" would be divided into specific sprint tasks, such as "Create shopping cart visual design mockup" and "Program shopping cart session handling." The Sprint Backlog provides a clear roadmap for the sprint, outlining the work required to achieve the sprint goals.
As the sprint progresses, the Sprint Backlog is continuously updated, ensuring that the team remains aligned with their goals. If the team cannot complete all tasks within a sprint, the remaining tasks are moved back to the Sprint Backlog, ready to be addressed in a future sprint.
A Product Increment is the sum of all deliverables produced during a sprint, combined with the work completed in previous sprints. It represents the tangible progress made toward the final product and is often referred to as a "potentially shippable product increment."
Each sprint results in a new Product Increment, whether or not it is released to customers. The Product Increment is a critical artifact in Agile Scrum, as it provides a clear measure of the team’s progress and readiness for potential product releases.
By aligning work with the Product Backlog, teams ensure that each increment is meaningful and adds value to the overall product. Integrating version control and Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) tools with Scrum tracking software can further enhance the team’s ability to monitor progress, manage releases, and maintain a comprehensive history of their work.
Beyond the standard artifacts in Scrum there are several supplementary or meta artifacts that teams often use. While not formally recognized by Scrum guidelines, these additional tools can provide significant value and deeper insights throughout the Scrum cycle.
A Burndown Chart, often used alongside Scrum, is a visual tool that tracks a sprint's progress by displaying the amount of work completed over time. Although not an official Scrum artifact, it’s widely adopted due to its ability to provide real-time insights into a team's progress toward the sprint goal.
The Burndown Chart helps teams monitor their execution velocity, enabling them to determine if they are on track to complete all planned tasks or if adjustments are needed. During sprint planning, teams can analyze previous Burndown Charts to make more accurate predictions about what can be realistically accomplished in the upcoming sprint. Throughout the sprint, the chart serves as a valuable reference for identifying potential bottlenecks, ensuring that the team can adapt as needed to meet their objectives. During the sprint review, revisiting the Burndown Chart allows teams to reflect on their performance, helping them refine their planning and execution strategies for future sprints.
Having a clear Definition of Done is crucial for any Scrum team. This definition serves as an extended artifact, establishing the criteria that a task or increment must meet to be considered complete. For example, a development team might define "done" as having code fully tested with automated tests, documented, and deployed to a production environment.
Without a well-defined and agreed-upon Definition of Done, teams may struggle with ambiguous task completion, leading to confusion during sprint reviews. A precise definition ensures that every increment delivered is a complete, usable package that builds upon previous increments. It also aids in maintaining consistency in how tasks are evaluated and closed, which is critical for accurate Burndown Chart tracking and overall sprint success.
Transparency is a foundational principle of Scrum, and it extends to the artifacts teams use to manage their work. Ensuring that all Scrum artifacts—whether core or extended—are accessible and visible to everyone involved is essential for fostering collaboration and continuous improvement.
Product Owners and Scrum Masters should make it a priority to review and discuss these artifacts with the development team regularly. By doing so, teams stay aligned with their goals, remain aware of potential inefficiencies, and are better equipped to devise creative solutions to improve their velocity and productivity.
Agile Scrum artifacts play a crucial role in enhancing a team’s workflow, but they aren't mandatory for every Agile process. While a team can adopt Agile without focusing on these artifacts in scrum, doing so means missing out on the valuable insights they provide. To effectively incorporate Scrum artifacts into your workflow, the easiest approach is to use an Agile task management tool with built-in artifact features. Tools like Jira offer seamless integration of backlogs, increments, and burndown charts, helping teams effortlessly track and manage their progress.