The Scrum Guide — All 19 Chapters

The Scrum Guide is the canonical definition of Scrum. It is 13 pages, written by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, last updated in November 2020, and free under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Every PSM I exam question is derived from this text. If you read it three times slowly, you will pass.

This is Pretty Scrum’s chapter-by-chapter version — the same canonical text, broken into 19 indexable pages, each with a short original wrapper covering common misreadings, exam tips, and a deep link to drill the chapter in the app.

Read the full Scrum Guide in one page in the app →  |  Start a study session →

How to read this

1. Read every chapter once for the shape of the framework.
2. Read it again, slowly, paying attention to wording. The exam hinges on specific words like “orders” vs “prioritizes,” “commitment” vs “forecast,” and “accountabilities” vs “roles” (the 2020 Guide changed this).
3. Read it a third time after you’ve done a few practice sessions. The third read catches nuances you missed the first two times.

Part 1 — The Scrum Guide framing

• Purpose of the Scrum Guide — why it exists and what it covers.
• Scrum Definition — the framework in one paragraph.
• Scrum Theory — empiricism, lean thinking, and the three pillars.
• Scrum Values — commitment, focus, openness, respect, courage.

Part 2 — The Scrum Team

• Scrum Team — structure, accountabilities, and team self-management.
• Developers — what they do, how they self-manage.
• Product Owner — ordering the Product Backlog and maximizing value.
• Scrum Master — servant leadership, accountability for Scrum effectiveness.

Part 3 — Scrum Events

• Scrum Events — the rhythm of inspection and adaptation.
• The Sprint — one month or less, Sprint Goal, cancellation.
• Sprint Planning — the why, what, and how.
• Daily Scrum — 15 minutes, by and for Developers.
• Sprint Review — inspect the Increment with stakeholders.
• Sprint Retrospective — how to improve as a team.

Part 4 — Scrum Artifacts

• Scrum Artifacts — commitments, transparency, and ownership.
• Product Backlog — ordered list of what is needed; commitment is the Product Goal.
• Sprint Backlog — the plan for the Sprint; commitment is the Sprint Goal.
• Increment — usable product; commitment is the Definition of Done.

End note

• End Note — from the authors.

What changed in the 2020 Scrum Guide

If you’ve read the 2017 version, four things to know:

1. The three Daily Scrum questions are gone. Developers decide the format.
2. “Roles” became “accountabilities.” The Development Team is now just “Developers” within the Scrum Team.
3. Three commitments were introduced: Product Goal (Product Backlog), Sprint Goal (Sprint Backlog), and Definition of Done (Increment).
4. The Scrum Team became less prescriptive — one self-managing team rather than a Product Owner plus a Development Team.

The PSM I assessment uses the 2020 Guide. If you find a study tool that contradicts the 2020 Guide, trust the Guide.

Attribution and license

The Scrum Guide is © 2020 Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. The Pretty Scrum chapter pages reuse the Scrum Guide text under the same license, with editorial commentary added (intros, common-mistake notes, exam tips, quiz CTAs). All chapter pages on this site are likewise CC BY-SA 4.0.

“Scrum” is a trademark of Scrum.org. Pretty Scrum is independent — not affiliated with or endorsed by Scrum.org.

Practice while you read

The fastest way to make this material stick is interleaving reading with practice questions. Read a chapter, take 5 questions, repeat: Start a study session →

Or jump to the PSM I hub for the full prep cluster.

Last updated: 2026-05-04.