End Note
Part of the Scrum Guide chapter index. Read the canonical version inline in the app: End Note on app.prettyscrum.org.
Why this chapter matters for the PSM I exam
The End Note credits the people behind Scrum and is included for completeness. The PSM I exam does not test the contents of the End Note directly, but reading it helps with context for the broader Scrum community.
The Scrum Guide text
Scrum is free and offered in this Guide. The Scrum framework, as outlined herein, is immutable. While implementing only parts of Scrum is possible, the result is not Scrum. Scrum exists only in its entirety and functions well as a container for other techniques, methodologies, and practices.
Of the thousands of people who have contributed to Scrum, we should single out those who were instrumental at the start: Jeff Sutherland worked with Jeff McKenna and John Scumniotales, and Ken Schwaber worked with Mike Smith and Chris Martin, and all of them worked together. Many others contributed in the ensuing years and without their help Scrum would not be refined as it is today.
Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland first co-presented Scrum at the OOPSLA Conference in 1995. It essentially documented the learning that Ken and Jeff gained over the previous few years and made public the first formal definition of Scrum.
The Scrum Guide documents Scrum as developed, evolved, and sustained for 30-plus years by Jeff Sutherland and Ken Schwaber. Other sources provide patterns, processes, and insights that complement the Scrum framework. These may increase productivity, value, creativity, and satisfaction with the results.
The complete history of Scrum is described elsewhere. To honor the first places where it was tried and proven, we recognize Individual Inc., Newspage, Fidelity Investments, and IDX (now GE Medical).
© 2020 Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland
This publication is offered for license under the Attribution Share-Alike license of Creative Commons, accessible at creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode and also described in summary form at creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/.
Source: 2020 Scrum Guide by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, © CC BY-SA 4.0.
Key points to remember
- Authored by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland.
- Acknowledges contributors to Scrum’s development.
- Scrum is immutable as outlined in the Guide — partial implementations are not Scrum.
- Not directly tested on the PSM I.
Common exam trap
You will not be tested on the names in this section. Read it once for cultural context, then move on. The one exam-relevant idea: “While implementing only parts of Scrum is possible, the result is not Scrum.”
Practice the rest of the Scrum Guide
Related
Author: Maurice Heinze (PSM I, certified by Scrum.org). Last updated: 2026-05-04. Scrum Guide content licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.