Scrum Teams use tools called Scrum artifacts to solve problems and manage projects. Scrum artifacts provide critical planning and task information to team members and stakeholders. There are three primary artifacts:
Product Backlog
The Product Backlog is a dynamic list of features, requirements, enhancements, and fixes that must be completed for project success. It is essentially the team’s to-do list, which is constantly revisited and reprioritized to adapt to market changes. The product owner maintains and updates the list, removing irrelevant items or adding new requests from customers.
Sprint Backlog
The Sprint Backlog is the list of items to be completed by the development team in the current Sprint cycle. Before each Sprint, the team chooses which items it will work on from the Product Backlog. A Sprint Backlog is flexible and can evolve during a Sprint.
Increment
The Increment is a step towards a goal or vision. It is the usable end product from a Sprint. Teams can adopt different methods to define and demonstrate their Sprint Goals. Despite the flexibility, the fundamental Sprint Goal—what the team wants to achieve from the current Sprint—can’t be compromised.
For example, some teams choose to release something to their customers at the end of the Sprint, so their Sprint Goal would be completed once the software change is released. Other teams might work on completing a set of features that will be released together. In this case, the Sprint Goal would be completed when a feature is tested successfully.