Introduction to the Increment
The Increment is the latest version of the product that conforms to the Definition of Done.
Scrum Teams create products. These products can be a physical product for sale, a service or even something abstract. They can be:
- products for sale to the public, such as a mobile application or hair shaver
- products delivered to people within the Scrum Team’s organization, such as an internal software application, marketing collateral or the results of scientific research
During each Sprint, the Developers work toward the current Product Goal by implementing Product Backlog items (PBIs) and integrating their individual work together. The team and its stakeholders know that the product Increment is Done, or usable, when it conforms to their defined quality standards. These quality standards are known as the Definition of Done (DoD).
As soon as the first Product Backlog item meets the DoD, the Scrum Team has created the first product Increment.
If a developer adds something to the product that makes it no longer conform to the DoD, that version of the product is not the Increment. At that point, the Increment is the last version of the product that did conform to the DoD. There is only one Increment at a time.
The entire Scrum Team works to deliver at least one Done Increment each Sprint. During the Sprint Review, the Scrum Team and stakeholders review what was accomplished during the Sprint. The latest Increment should be one of the things that is inspected.
Producing an Increment every Sprint is important because it provides the Scrum Team an opportunity to get feedback, test hypotheses and change course, if necessary.
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