What is Scrum?
What is Scrum?
The most widely used Agile framework — how it works, where BAs fit, and what the ceremonies mean for BA practice.
The 3 Scrum Roles
- Product Owner — Owns the product backlog, prioritises work by business value. The BA frequently supports this role or works alongside it — in many ANZ organisations, the BA effectively performs the Product Owner function.
- Scrum Master — Facilitates Scrum ceremonies, removes impediments, protects the team from scope creep. Not a project manager — a servant-leader.
- Development Team — Self-organising, 3–9 people who deliver the sprint work. Includes developers, testers, and often a BA.
The 5 Scrum Ceremonies
- Sprint Planning (start of sprint, 2–4 hours): Team selects sprint backlog items and plans delivery. BA presents stories that meet the Definition of Ready.
- Daily Standup (every day, 15 min): Yesterday / Today / Blockers. BA reports on requirements work and any blockers on story clarification.
- Sprint Review (end of sprint, 1–2 hours): Team demonstrates completed work. BA validates that deliverables meet acceptance criteria.
- Sprint Retrospective (end of sprint, 1 hour): Team reflects on process. BA identifies requirements process improvements.
- Backlog Refinement (mid-sprint, as needed): Review upcoming stories, clarify requirements, estimate effort. The BA's most critical recurring ceremony.
Where BAs fit in Scrum
Scrum has no official BA role — this creates real-world confusion in ANZ organisations. The most common effective pattern:
- BA writes user stories and acceptance criteria before each sprint (pre-sprint analysis work)
- BA attends all ceremonies and is the primary point of contact for developer questions during the sprint
- BA validates the sprint review deliverables against acceptance criteria alongside the Product Owner
📌 Key Points
Backlog refinement is the BA's most important Scrum ceremony — stories that enter sprint planning without clear acceptance criteria waste the entire team's planning time
In most ANZ Scrum teams, the BA and Product Owner share responsibilities. Establish role clarity on Day 1 — who writes stories? Who accepts them? Who talks to developers?
The sprint review is where BA work is validated — attend every one and bring the original acceptance criteria so you can assess delivery against what was agreed
Scrum is a framework, not a methodology. Teams adapt the ceremonies to their context — don't be surprised when your team's "Scrum" looks different from the textbook version
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