Complementary Practices
Scrum is a lightweight framework that has existed for over 25 years. Many practices and techniques have emerged to support and complement Scrum during this time. Scrum is designed to be simple, so to keep it this way, it is essential to distinguish between the Scrum framework and practices that are complementary to it but not part of it.
Scrum is incomplete by design, and additional practices will be essential to develop a product. The Scrum Guide includes the following critical related statements:
“Scrum is a lightweight framework that helps people, teams and organizations generate value through adaptive solutions for complex problems.”
“The Scrum framework is purposefully incomplete, only defining the parts required to implement Scrum theory.”
“Various processes, techniques and methods can be employed within the framework. Scrum wraps around existing practices or renders them unnecessary. Scrum makes visible the relative efficacy of current management, environment, and work techniques, so that improvements can be made.”
Scrum prescribes what needs to be done but not how to do it. Practices such as user stories, velocity, or story points can be helpful, but they can also get in the way. When doing complex work, no automatically correct solutions can be used in every context. Being self-managing, Scrum Teams should be free to discover what practices work best for them. The Scrum Master can assist the team by reminding them of the importance and need to do this and can help them find and select appropriate practices.