Scrum is an iterative incremental process of software development commonly used with agile software development. Despite the fact that “Scrum” is not an acronym, some companies implementing the process have been known to adhere to an all capital letter expression of the word, i.e. SCRUM. This may be due to one of Ken Schwaber’s early papers capitalizing SCRUM in the title. Scrum is a process skeleton that includes a set of practices and predefined roles. The main roles in Scrum are the “ScrumMaster” who maintains the processes and works similarly to a project manager, the “Product Owner” who represents the stakeholders, and the “Team” which includes the developers . Agile methods, including Scrum, were originally developed for use in small, collocated teams. A scenario in which a team’s size is between five and 10 members and all its members are located in a single place is the ideal work environment. With no impediments to communication, that arrangement encourages continuous collaboration and maximizes the team’s productivity.

Research has revealed that teams in this type of environment prefer highly visible communication and coordination tools that reinforce communication and collaboration. For instance, physical task boards, whiteboards, sticky notes, stacks of index cards, and other “manual” devices are amongst the most best ways to track projects for small, collocated Scrum teams.

In the Scrum method of agile software development the single most important artifact is the product backlog. The product backlog is a list of all the requirements necessary for a system, project, or product. In essence, it is a comprehensive to do list, prioritized by the business value each piece of work will generate. But from a philosophical standpoint, the scrum backlog is what drives the business-by breaking down the big-picture story into manageable increments of work called Product Backlog Items (PBIs).  Scrum is facilitated by a ScrumMaster, whose primary job is to remove impediments to the ability of the team to deliver the sprint goal. The ScrumMaster is not the leader of the team (as they are self-organizing) but acts as a buffer between the team and any distracting influences. The ScrumMaster ensures that the Scrum process is used as intended. The ScrumMaster is the enforcer of rules.

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