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Professional Scrum Master I (PSM I) Study Notes

Empiricism & Lean Thinking

The foundation of Scrum

What is Empiricism?

Knowledge comes from experience: Decisions are based on what is observed, not speculation
Iterative progress: Work is done in small increments, learning and adapting along the way
Continuous inspection: Frequently examine work and processes to detect variances

Key Exam Concept

Scrum combines empiricism with lean thinking. Lean thinking reduces waste and focuses on the essentials. Together, they help teams deliver maximum value with minimum waste.

Three Pillars of Empiricism

Transparency

The emergent process and work must be visible to those performing the work and those receiving the work. Without transparency, inspection is misleading and wasteful.

Inspection

Scrum artifacts and progress toward agreed goals must be inspected frequently and diligently to detect potentially undesirable variances or problems.

Adaptation

If any aspects of a process deviate outside acceptable limits or if the resulting product is unacceptable, the process or the materials being produced must be adjusted.

Important Relationship

Inspection without adaptation is pointless. Adaptation without inspection is aimless. All three pillars work together and depend on each other.

Scrum Events Enable Empiricism

Event	Pillar Enabled	How It Enables
Sprint Planning	All three	Transparency of goals, inspection of backlog, adaptation of plan
Daily Scrum	All three	Transparent progress, inspect daily, adapt immediately
Sprint Review	Transparency & Inspection	Show work to stakeholders, gather feedback
Sprint Retrospective	Inspection & Adaptation	Reflect on process, plan improvements

The Five Scrum Values

The foundation of successful Scrum Teams

Memorize These!

The PSM I exam frequently tests the five Scrum values. Remember: C-FORCE - Commitment, Focus, Openness, Respect, Courage (or CROFF, FORCC - use whatever mnemonic works for you).

Commitment

The Scrum Team commits to achieving its goals and to supporting each other. Commitment is to the Sprint Goal, not to individual backlog items.

Focus

The primary focus is on the work of the Sprint to make the best possible progress toward the Sprint Goal.

Openness

The Scrum Team and its stakeholders are open about the work and the challenges. Team members share information freely.

Respect

Scrum Team members respect each other to be capable, independent people, and are respected as such by the people they work with.

Courage

The Scrum Team members have the courage to do the right thing and work on tough problems. This includes raising difficult issues.

Values Build Trust

When values are embodied and lived by the Scrum Team, the three pillars of empiricism come to life and build trust
The Scrum Team members learn and explore these values as they work with Scrum events and artifacts
Success with Scrum depends on people becoming more proficient in living these values

What is Scrum?

The official definition from the Scrum Guide 2020

Official Definition

Scrum is a lightweight framework that helps people, teams and organizations generate value through adaptive solutions for complex problems.

Key Characteristics

Lightweight: Simple to understand, deliberately incomplete
Framework: Not a process, technique, or definitive method
Adaptive: Designed to handle change and uncertainty
For complex problems: Best suited when requirements are uncertain or emergent

What Scrum Is NOT

Scrum Is NOT	Why This Matters
A methodology	Methodologies are prescriptive; Scrum is a framework
A process	It is a framework within which various processes can be employed
A technique	Techniques can be used within Scrum, but Scrum itself is not one
Complete	It is deliberately incomplete - only defines what is needed to implement Scrum theory

Exam Trap

The exam often presents scenarios where someone wants to add or remove parts of Scrum. Remember: Scrum is immutable. While implementing only parts of Scrum is possible, the result is not Scrum.