From the #Scrum Guide:
“… determine if its philosophy, ... help to [achieve goals].”
From Cambridge Dictionary:
Philosophy: “A particular system of beliefs, values, and principles.”
Scrum doesn’t come with tools or prescribed processes. Because Scrum isn’t a process—it’s a framework, grounded in a clear philosophical foundation that influences how and why it works.
It’s intentionally lean, value-focused, and behavior-driven. It doesn’t tell you what to do step by step. Instead, it helps you think and act in ways that support agility, learning, and outcomes.
Scrum has explicit values—Focus, Courage, Commitment, Openness, and Respect. But what about the underlying beliefs and principles that shape the whole framework?
Here are a few you might recognize:
- We believe work is complex—and pretending it’s predictable does more harm than good.
- We believe people are smart—and when given the right environment, self-managing teams deliver better than command-and-control structures.
- We believe transparency drives improvement—you can’t adapt if you hide reality.
- We believe in small, incremental delivery—frequent validation beats big-bang launches.
- We believe learning trumps predicting—empirical feedback matters more than upfront guesses.
- We believe...
Principles are embedded in the Scrum framework. Even without being explicitly labeled, Scrum is built on powerful principles:
- Empiricism – base decisions on what is known.
- Lean Thinking – remove waste, focus on outcomes.
- Self-management – organize around the work.
- Cross-functionality – all skills needed in one team.
- Accountability over authority – clear ownership beats rigid hierarchy.
- Continuous improvement – inspect and adapt is baked into the rhythm.
- Simplicity – the minimal structure is a strength, not a flaw.
Why this philosophy matters? This is where many teams miss the mark. Scrum is hard because it challenges beliefs, power structures, and comfort zones.
When teams struggle with Scrum, it’s often not the mechanics that are failing—it’s a misalignment with the mindset.
Scrum isn’t designed for certainty. It’s designed for complex, changing, adaptive work. And its philosophy reflects that.
So...
What beliefs, values, and principles do you recognize in your team’s way of working? What assumptions are helping—or holding you back?
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
I hope you find value in these short articles and if you are looking for more clarifications, feel free to make contact.
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Wishing you an inspiring read and a wonderful journey.
Scrum on!
