Where did ‘Scrum Ceremonies’ come from?
By: Paddy Corry
Tags: Scrum, Scrumhistory, Scrum Ceremonies, Scrum Guide, Serious Scrum

Is everybody in? The Ceremony is about to begin…

Ok reader, let’s try an experiment…

Before diving into this post, please take a breath…

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Inhale…

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Now exhale…

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Clear

Your

Mind

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Whoa…

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That didn’t take long :)

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Ok, now…

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Think of a ‘Scrum Ceremony’.

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Picture it in your mind’s eye…

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What kind of image did your brain conjure up for you?

Is it a picture of a Scrum Team working together to inspect and adapt?

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Or is it something else entirely?

Yes! Me too… When I hear ‘Scrum Ceremony’, I think of sinister ‘Wicker Man’ things… like chanting monks or gatherings around bonfires…

These are not things I typically associate with Scrum.

(If these are things you do typically associate with Scrum, I suggest you seek help!)

Even more irritatingly though, I can’t seem to track down where the use of the term ‘Scrum Ceremonies’ originates from…

Sweating the ‘small stuff’?

Language makes a big difference in how people experience Scrum.

Some examples:

Do we value ‘ people ’ over ‘resources’?

’ over ‘resources’? Do we have a ‘ forecast ’ or a ‘commitment’?

’ or a ‘commitment’? Are we talking ‘ refinement ’ or ‘grooming’? (yuck)

’ or ‘grooming’? (yuck) Is it a ‘Scrum Event’ or a ‘Scrum Ceremony’?

As Scrum Professionals, it might feel pedantic to point out these differences.

Except it absolutely is not pedantic.

The language we use helps to create an environment. There are critically important differences in meaning and intention between all of these words, and how they are deployed indicates a level of understanding and comprehension in those who use them.

Personally, when hiring, if someone uses the word ‘grooming’ on their CV or in conversation, it is a red flag. I will be 99% sure not to hire those who use this word for two reasons:

‘Grooming’ has seriously negative connotations. Are you serious!? This word was removed from the Scrum Guide for that same reason: are you evolving with the Scrum Guide?

Photo by Isaiah Rustad on Unsplash

Why ‘Scrum Ceremony’ creates the wrong environment

Scrum has its critics, but often critics are not necessarily thinking about successful implementations of the framework. Instead, ‘Zombie Scrum’ or ‘Dark Scrum’ is really under attack. When we say, ‘we hate the scrum meetings!’, doesn’t it indicate a problem in how they are working?

Doesn’t it also sound like calling meetings ‘Scrum Ceremonies’ could be part of the problem? People trudging towards Daily Scrums, going through the motions, and performing rituals. Why? Because the ceremonies must be performed, that’s why!

Cargo Cult Scrum also demands that the ceremonies should not change! Ceremonies are always performed a certain way.

It’s not supposed to be like this. Scrum Teams can use empiricism in how they use the Scrum Events: this means that they can take a look at the things that work for them with the Scrum Events, and experiment with changes to improve them if they want to…

“Each event in Scrum is a formal opportunity to inspect and adapt something. These events are specifically designed to enable critical transparency and inspection.” (Scrum Guide)

Where does ‘Scrum Ceremony’ come from?

The Scrum Guide has existed since 2010, and has never once mentioned the word ‘ceremony’.

At Serious Scrum, as Scrum professionals interested in the Origin Story of Scrum, I would like to use this post to ask a question:

Where does the term “Scrum Ceremony” come from?

Can you help? If you can offer any advice on the source of this, it would be great to hear from you! Feel free to respond here, connect to me on Twitter, LinkedIn or Slack below.