Scrum Courses

What Is Scrum?

Scrum is an Agile framework created by Jeff Sutherland and Ken Schwaber and particularly suited to software development. It functions in short term iterations called "sprints" in which a small development team of three to nine people complete actions within a time frame of two weeks to a month. The team tracks progress and re-plans in 15-minute meetings called the "daily scrum." Scrum is a way for software developers to execute continuous innovation without the cumbersome management of traditional product development. It allows team members to pivot quickly, stay cross-functional and cut down the amount of work needed to build and launch a product. Scrum came out of the agile manifesto. It respects the people and self-organization of a team and trusts that they can handle any problems that arise in the course of product development. The Scrum framework is maintained on Scrum.org and through Scrumalliance.

How Does Scrum Work?

Scrum roles are defined by three main parts, the product owner, the scrum master, and the development team. The team is cross-functional and self-organizing. The team develops a series of small actions to be taken throughout a short amount of time, two weeks to a month. The events are time-boxed (cannot be lengthened or shortened) and create regularity. Excess meetings don't happen. Everything is iterative. At the end of the sprint, the team plans the next sprint. Scrum values people rather than processes, allowing those cross-functional teams to create and pivot quickly. With each sprint, Scrum artifacts are created and provide transparency throughout the whole process. It encourages continuous improvement and self-reflection.

Scrum Courses and Scrum Certifications

EdX.org offers two courses for learning Scrum, both in partnership with the University System of Maryland. If you're a total beginner to the Agile framework, you can become Agile certified with Agile Project Management. It breaks down not only Agile but manifestations of the project management style including Scrum and how to apply the principles no matter your industry. It gives you everything you need to build your scrum team, deal with product backlog, handle sprint retrospectives and sprint planning, and a range of agile software development techniques. The modules take you through the foundations to the development process to using scrum across a variety of industries. If you're familiar with Agile already, a single course outlining Agile Scrum is also available. It teaches you scrum team makeup, user story writing, sprint reviews, and the right way to do sprint planning. It shows you how to conduct the review meeting, what to do at the end of each sprint, and the overall business value of using Scrum for product development.

Ignite Your Career With Scrum

If you're going into IT, Scrum is the sole management style nearly across the board. The scrum guide builds skills you need to define your role within the scrum team and understand team needs within your organization. The scrum process is the reason Silicon Valley has built a culture of continuous innovation, and agile teams have replaced traditional waterfall management. Build your skills with edX and UMx, so you're ready to use Agile framework in your career. Get your Scrum certification today.