The 2015

State of
Scrum Report
How the world is successfully
applying the most popular Agile
approach to projects

RELEASED: JULY 2015

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In February 2015, Scrum Alliance surveyed almost

5,000 people about their use of Scrum. The survey
respondents make up a diverse group, representing
108 countries and more than 14 industries. They
reflect a range of functional areas, including IT
software development, product development,
operations, human resources, executives, and sales
and marketing. Most have a technology slant, with
44% working in software development and 33% in IT.
And theyre an Agile-savvy group, involved in an
average of 4 Agile projects in the last 12 months.
From the survey results,
we see that Scrum is becoming
an increasingly popular and
in-demand framework. In fact,
nearly half the respondents
report that Scrum is being used
50% or more of the time in
their organizations, and 29% of
respondents report its used
much more frequently than that.

I. WHO IS PRACTICING SCRUM?

Scrum is reaching beyond IT.

The survey uncovered some

interesting key findingsfindings
that not only reflect where Scrum
is today but what we can anticipate
it will look like tomorrow. These
include who is practicing Scrum,
how they are practicing it, success
levels associated with Scrum, and
plans for continuing to use it.

IT and software development

professionals continue to be the
primary users of Scrum, followed
by product development and
operations professionals.
However, other departments
use it as well, including research
and development, sales and
marketing, finance/accounting,
human resources, and more.

4,452
took survey

108

countries represented

14+

Industries represented

Scrum crosses industries,

functional areas, and regions
around the world.
Scrum practices are currently
in place among 82% of
respondents, and another
11% are piloting Scrum.

42%

use Scrum exclusively

Functional areas represented:

11% Product Development
33% IT
44% Software Development

THE 2015 STATE OF SCRUM REPORT

II. WHY ARE THEY

PRACTICING SCRUM?
Delight the customer, delight
the business.

III. HOW ARE THEY

PRACTICING SCRUM?
Scrums core practices are
largely followed.

In the case of Scrum, whats good

for the customer is also good for
the business.

Most respondents report that they

adhere to core Scrum and
standard recommendations for
practicing Scrum in terms of using
Scrum artifacts and activities and
following the recommended roles
and team size.

Nearly half the respondents

(49%) cite fulfilling customer
needs as the highest business
priority for Scrum projects. This
reflects Scrums focus on the
customer.
Meanwhile, the second-highest
priority is all about the business
meeting budget, time, and
scope constraints. This reflects
Scrums focus on delivering
shippable increments on time
and on budget.
Scrum improves the quality of
work life.
87% agree that Scrum is
improving the quality of
work life for their teams.
Interestingly, 71% also believe
that using Scrum causes tension
with other parts of the
organization not using Scrum.

We expect some tension

to be a perennial
challenge, just as with
any organizational
change. After all, Scrum
requires a shift in an
organizations culture.

87%

say Scrum improves

quality of work life

average Scrum team size

The average team size is 7 people.

Most Scrum teams (60%) follow
2-week sprints.
81% hold a team Scrum each day.
83% conduct sprint planning
prior to each sprint.
90% use at least some Scrum
artifacts, such as the product
backlog, sprint backlog,
and burn-down chart, with
56% reporting they use these
artifacts extensively.
81% hold retrospective meetings.

2 weeks

most common sprint length

56%

use Scrum artifacts

extensively

But distributed teams are more

prevalent than co-located teams.
33% of respondents report
their Scrum teams are
distributed, versus 26% whose
teams are co-located.
And many organizations mix and
match approaches and frameworks.
42% of respondents report using
Scrum exclusively.
Of those using a combination of
practices, 63% practice Scrum
alongside Waterfall.
43% combine Scrum with Kanban.
21% combine Scrum with Lean.

THE 2015 STATE OF SCRUM REPORT

IV. IS SCRUM WORKING?

Scrum success is increasing.
The overall success rate of projects
delivered using Scrum is 62%.
Teams of the recommended size
for Scrum 4 to 9 members
report the most frequent success,
while smaller and larger teams
both report less frequent success.
Some challenges remain.
The most common challenge
for respondents at 52% is
identifying and measuring the
success of Scrum projects.

VI. VARIABLES THAT

IMPACT SCRUM
The size of an organization impacts
implementation and success.
As organizational size
increases, some key measures
change significantly:
Sprints get longer, averaging 2.7
weeks for teams of 10+ members.
The top challenge shifts from
measuring Scrum success
to transitioning from Waterfall
to Scrum.

The second most common

challenge at 46% is
transitioning from a Waterfallbased method to Scrum practices.

This may reflect resource

constraints in smaller
companies and, meanwhile,
effort required to change the
direction of large entities.

V. ROLE OF CERTIFICATION
Its rarely required but
commonly recommended.

Geographic region matters.

81% of respondents believe

certification has helped their
Scrum practice.
Nearly half of respondents
organizations recommend
certification, though only 7%
require it.
59% of ScrumMasters are certified.

It will be interesting to see

whether certification will
become a priority for
organizations as they work
to gain an edge over their
competitors.

62%

average success rate

59%

of ScrumMasters
are certified

81%

believe certification has

helped their Scrum practice

Respondents globally report using

Scrum 40%-49% of the time.
Respondents from North
America and Asia report
practicing Scrum most often.
Europe and Australia report
the highest Scrum project
success rates.
Organizations in the Middle East
and North Africa report the lowest
Scrum project success rates.

Organizations may vary

by region in their comfort
with a flat organizational
structure, potentially
affecting the full
implementation of Scrum.

THE 2015 STATE OF SCRUM REPORT

High-level support is critical.

Respondents report that senior
management sponsorship
and support is far and away
the most important factor in
adopting Scrum.
Additionally, Scrum projects
run through a project
management office (PMO)
have a 93% success rate.
VII. THE FUTURE OF SCRUM
Scrum is expanding beyond
software.
Scrum has expanded into a
variety of departments within
organizations.

Respondents reveal the use

of Scrum in non-IT projects
run by operations, production,
research and development,
and sales and marketing.

93%

success rates for projects

run through a PMO

The forecast for Scrum is positive.

95% of respondents say they
plan to continue to use Scrum
moving forward.
Given that Scrum is expanding
beyond software, we expect to
see not only continued demand
but in fact an intense surge in
demand for skilled Scrum
practitioners and experts.

95%

plan to continue to
use Scrum

THE 2015 STATE OF SCRUM REPORT

SURVEY RESULTS

SECTION ONE: SURVEY

RESPONDENT PROFILE
1. Where are you located?
A total of 4,452 people across 108 countries responded to the survey.
Three-fourths are from North America or Europe.

The geographic
distribution of
respondents closely
mirrors Scrum
Alliances global
membership base.

REGIONS REPRESENTED

TOP 5 COUNTRIES

U.S.
44%

India

United
Kingdom

Germany

Canada

10%

6%

4%

4%

THE 2015 STATE OF SCRUM REPORT

2. What is your role in

your organization?
Respondents represent a diverse set of roles, with a preponderance
of project managers and ScrumMasters.
ROLES
29%

ScrumMaster
20%

Project Manager
9%

Product Owner
Executive

7%

Software Dev/Arch/Eng

7%
6%

Program Manager

5%

Scrum Team Member

5%

Consultant/Coach/Trainer
Business Analyst

4%

IT Manager

4%
3%

Other

3. Which area of your organization do

you work within?
Most respondents work in a software development (44%) or
IT (33%) function.
RESPONDENT BY FUNCTIONAL AREA
44%

Software Development
33%

IT
11%

Product Development
5%

Other
Operations
Sales & Marketing
C-Level

3%
2%
1%

THE 2015 STATE OF SCRUM REPORT

4. What certifications do you have?

(Multiple answers allowed)
Most respondents hold Scrum certifications, and mostat 59%have
earned Scrum certifications exclusively. Another 21% hold both Scrum
and PMI certifications.
CERTIFICATIONS EARNED BY RESPONDENTS
59%

Scrum certifications only

Scrum and PMI certifications

The CSM certification

offered by Scrum
Alliance represents
three-fourths of earned
Scrum certifications.

21%

PMI certifications only

7%

Have no certification

6%

Other certifications included: Prince2 (2%), ITIL (1%), Lean/Six Sigma (1%), Other (7%)

5. How many Agile projects have you

worked on in the last 12 months?
On average, respondents have worked on 4 Agile projects in the
last year.
NUMBER OF AGILE PROJECTS PER RESPONDENT
1%

None

10%

10 or more

17%

1 to 4

5 to 10

67%

THE 2015 STATE OF SCRUM REPORT

6. In what industry are you employed?

Information technology is the leading single industry for survey respondents,
named by nearly 3 in 10.
INDUSTRY
29%

Information Technology
12%

Other

12%

Finance
Healthcare

6%

Consulting/Training/Coaching

6%

Government

6%

Telecommunications

6%

Non-IT
70%

5%

Insurance

4%

Education
Manufacturing

3%

Retail

3%

Media & Entertainment

3%

Research & Development

3%

Transportation

2%

Automotive

2%

7. How many employees work at

your organization?
Over 60% of respondents work at companies with fewer than 5,000 employees.
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

21%

1 to 499

20,000 or more

37%

16%

26%

5,000 to 19,999

500 to 4,999

THE 2015 STATE OF SCRUM REPORT

8. What is your organizations

approximate annual revenue
(in U.S. dollars)?
62% of respondents work for companies with revenues of $50M+.
EMPLOYERS ANNUAL REVENUES
Under $1M
7%

16%
Over $1B

$1 - $10M

33%

14%

$500M - $1B

$10 - $50M

10%
19%

$50 - $500M

9. What Agile approach is your

organization using? (Multiple answers allowed)
Nearly all respondents95%report that Scrum is used as their
organizations Agile approach. The two other most common are Kanban
and Lean, respectively.
AGILE PRACTICES
95%

Scrum

54% said they use Scrum

in combination with
other practices, while
42% reported exclusive
use of Scrum.

43%

Kanban
21%

Lean
13%

Extreme Programming (XP)

Feature-Driven
Development

7%

Unified Process
(e.g., RUP, AUP, OUP)

4%

Other

4%

Team Software
Process (TSP)

1%

Waterfall

1%

DSDM

1%

Crystal/Crystal Clear

1%

THE 2015 STATE OF SCRUM REPORT

10

SECTION TWO: SCRUM ADOPTION

10. How often is Scrum used in
your organization?
Nearly half of respondents reported that Scrum is being used 50% or
more of the time. And close to a third report that Scrum is used even
more frequently75% or more of the time.
HOW OFTEN SCRUM IS USED
Scrum used 0-25%
of the time

33%

Scrum used 75% or more

of the time

29%

Scrum used 25-50%

of the time
Scrum used 50-75%
of the time

20%
18%

Respondents from North America and Asia reported the highest average
frequency of Scrum usealmost 50% of the time.
HOW OFTEN SCRUM IS USED BY REGION
49%

North America

48%

Asia

46%

Australia & Oceania

45%

Europe
Central America &
Caribbean

44%

South America

44%

Sub-Saharan Africa
Middle East/ North Africa

42%
40%

THE 2015 STATE OF SCRUM REPORT

11

11. How is Scrum applied in

your organization?
Most respondents use Scrum practices, with 25% using Scrum for all
software development.
HOW SCRUM IS APPLIED
Scrum is one of the
practices we use

47%

Scrum is used for all

software development
11%

We are piloting Scrum

Scrum is deployed across
the organization
Other
We have tried Scrum
but no decision has been
made to go further
Scrum is used for
some non-software
development projects

93% use Scrum in

some form.

25%

8%
4%
3%
2%

12. Has Scrum improved your teams

quality of work life?
The answer is a clear yes87% of respondents reported that the quality
of their teams work life improved with Scrum.
IMPROVEMENT IN QUALITY OF WORK LIFE
Yes

56%

To some extent

31%
10%

Not sure
No

Positive
87%

4%

THE 2015 STATE OF SCRUM REPORT

12

13. Is there tension between the way

Scrum teams are run and the way the
rest of your organization is managed?
The majority of respondents see some level of tension between Scrum
teams and the rest of the organization.
TENSION BETWEEN SCRUM TEAMS AND WIDER ORGANIZATION
Yes

36%

To some extent

35%
22%

No
Not sure

7%

14. If your organization and/or

department has a PMO (Project
Management Office), are Scrum
projects deployed and managed
through it?
PMOs are still popular: More than 60% of respondents reported that their
organization includes a PMO. The majority of these, 57%, deploy and
manage Scrum projects through their PMO.
PMO
61%

Have a PMO
Don't have a PMO

39%

SCRUM PROJECTS DEPLOYED AND MANAGED

57%

Through the PMO

Outside the PMO

43%

THE 2015 STATE OF SCRUM REPORT

13

15. If your Scrum projects were

deployed and managed through a
PMO, how effective and successful
were they?
Scrum projects are reported to be highly successful when managed
through a PMO.
SUCCESS OF SCRUM PROJECTS

93%

Successful

16. When your organization was

adopting Scrum, which of the
following were important?
Senior management support outweighs other factors by at least 5 times
when organizations are considering the adoption of Scrum.
KEY SUCCESS FACTORS WHEN ADOPTING SCRUM
Active senior management
sponsorship and support

72%

A clear set of business goals

to be achieved with Scrum

14%

Alignment of Scrum with the

strategic and financial goals
of the company as a whole
A smooth and conflict-free
transition from existing
practices to Scrum
Clearly identified metrics
to identify and measure
the success of adopting
and implementing

7%

5%

2%

THE 2015 STATE OF SCRUM REPORT

14

17. What is the highest business priority

for Scrum projects?
Respondents cite fulfilling customer needs as the highest business priority.
Similarly, they believe their executives consider delivering business value
to the customer to be the most important aspect of Scrum-based projects.
HIGHEST BUSINESS PRIORITY FOR SCRUM
49%

Fulfilling customer needs

Meeting budget, time, and
scope constraints

21%

Completing projects that

drive innovation and
market share

16%

Adding new features and

functionality
Other

10%
4%

18. Which area would you say is valued

most by your organizations executives
for delivery of Scrum-based projects?
(Multiple answers allowed)
VALUED MOST BY EXECUTIVES FOR SCRUM-BASED PROJECTS
Delivering business value
to the customer

79%

Meeting scheduled
deadlines

51%
45%

Quality
27%

Cost
Other

6%

THE 2015 STATE OF SCRUM REPORT

15

19. How would you describe the

culture of your organization in terms
of facilitating Scrum? (Multiple answers allowed)
More than half the respondents (52%) reported that their Scrum teams
have an open and collaborative environment. However, though senior
management support is considered critical in Scrum adoption, only 7%
of respondents reported that as visible in their organizations.
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
An open environment
of cooperation and
collaboration between
customer, Scrum teams,
and product owner exists

52%

The Scrum team is

empowered to do its work

24%

The ScrumMaster has

the authority and ability
to remove impediments

21%

The Scrum team

is self-organizing

9%

Our organization does not

endorse and/or use Scrum

9%

Senior management
actively endorses and
supports Scrum

ScrumMasters
reported higher
levels of Scrum team
empowerment,
at 27%, and higher
levels of authority to
remove impediments,
at 26%, than did
other team members.

7%

20. Does your organization

require Scrum or other project
management certification?
Almost half of organizations recommend certification, but fewer than
10% require any certifications.
OUR ORGANIZATION
48%

Recommends certification
Does not require or endorse
any certification
Requires certification

45%
7%

THE 2015 STATE OF SCRUM REPORT

16

21. Which certification(s) does your

organization require? (Multiple answers allowed)
If requirements are in place, Scrum Alliance certifications are the primary type
required (71%), specifically Scrum Alliances CSM and CSPO. One-third expect
PMI certification. Other required certifications are CMMI, ITIL, and Prince2.
CERTIFICATIONS REQUIRED
NET: Scrum

71%

Certified ScrumMaster
(CSM: Scrum Alliance)

64%

NET: PMI

33%

Project Management
Professional (PMP: PMI)

27%

Certified Scrum Product

Owner (CSPO: Scrum Alliance)

21%

NET: Other

16%

Other

7%

PMI Agile Certified

Practitioner (PMI-ACP)

6%

Certified Scrum Developer

(CSD: Scrum Alliance)

4%

Professional ScrumMaster
(PSM)

4%

Professional Engineer

3%

PMI unspecified

3%

Program Management
Professional (PgMP: PMI)

<1%

Certified Scrum Professional

(CSP: Scrum Alliance)

0%

Base: Organization requires certification, N=273

22. Has obtaining certification improved

the process and practices of Scrum?
Respondents consider certification useful: 81% strongly agree/agree
that it has enhanced their practice of Scrum.
CERTIFICATION IMPROVES SCRUM PRACTICES

14%

No Difference
Strongly Disagree
Disagree

23%

1%

Strongly Agree

4%

58%

Agree

THE 2015 STATE OF SCRUM REPORT

17

Looking globally, respondents from all regions reported that certification

improved their Scrum practices. Agreement was particularly strong, at
90%, in Asia.
AGREE OR STRONGLY AGREE
90%

Asia
80%

South America

79%

North America
Europe

78%

Sub-Saharan Africa

78%
75%

Middle East/ North Africa

71%

Australia & Oceania

Central America &
Caribbean

64%

23. Does your organization seek

training and coaching?
(Multiple answers allowed)
Almost 60% of ScrumMasters received multiple-day training and
became certified.
One-fifth of product owners are certified and one-third have
completed multiday training.
Not quite 1 in 10 team members are certified, though 3 in 10 have
received multiple days of training.
Only 14% of respondents report no available support for training or
coaching. There is more opportunity for additional training or coaching
in house (31%) than via external sources (21%).
CERTIFICATION BY SCRUM TEAM ROLE
59%

ScrumMasters are certified

21%

Product owners are certified

Scrum teams are certified

8%

THE 2015 STATE OF SCRUM REPORT

18

SCRUM TEAM TRAINING

The ScrumMaster has
received multiple-day training

55%

The product owner has

received multiple-day training

34%

An in-house Scrum
coach/trainer is available

31%

The Scrum team has

received multiple-day training

29%

An outside Scrum
coach/trainer can
be consulted

21%

Our organization has

employed a full-time
coach/trainer
No training or coaching
support is provided

19%
14%

24. Outside of IT, which departmental

areas run Scrum projects?
(Multiple answers allowed)
Operations, production, and research & development are the primary
non-IT areas using Scrum for projects.
DEPARTMENTS OTHER THAN IT USING SCRUM
48%

Operations or Production

46%

Research & Development

26%

Sales & Marketing

16%

Financial or Accounting
Other
Human Resources

13%
12%

THE 2015 STATE OF SCRUM REPORT

19

SECTION THREE:
SCRUM ROLES & PRACTICES
25. How would you describe the role
of the ScrumMaster on your projects?
ScrumMasters are more often assigned to multiple projects than to one
specific project. Rarely is a traditional project manager used in
conjunction with a ScrumMaster.
STATE OF THE SCRUMMASTER ROLE
Each project has a
ScrumMaster who may be
assigned to multiple projects

37%

Each project has a

dedicated ScrumMaster

24%

A traditional project
manager will act in the
role of ScrumMaster

23%

There is a project manager in

addition to the ScrumMaster

16%

26. How would you describe the role

of the product owner on your projects?
The product owner role is the most stable role across organizations.
For 29% of respondents, there is a dedicated product owner.
STATE OF THE PRODUCT OWNER
The product owner acts as an
intermediary to consolidate
and reconcile the priorities
of multiple stakeholders

33%

There is a dedicated product

owner who sets priorities
and works with the customer

29%

The product owner works

directly with the Scrum team

There is no product
owner role

26%

12%

THE 2015 STATE OF SCRUM REPORT

20

27. How would you describe your

Scrum teams communications
and organization?
The Scrum team is somewhat more likely to be distributed (33%)
than co-located (26%). In neither case is the Scrum team likely to
be cross functional.
STATE OF THE SCRUM TEAM
The Scrum team is
distributed across different
sites/geographic areas

33%

The Scrum team

is co-located

26%

The Scrum team

is self-directed and
self-organizing

15%

The Scrum team is included

in work effort estimates and
ordering the product backlog

12%

The ScrumMaster or PM
drives the estimates/team
communication

8%

The Scrum team

is cross functional

6%

28. How many people are typically on

the Scrum team?
Scrum teams average 7 members, within the recommended size range.
Respondents in IT/software development reported an average team size
of 6.6 members.
TEAM SIZE AVERAGE: 7 MEMBERS
Fewer than 3 team members

7%
11%

4-6 team members

In Scrum, it is a general
recommendation that
teams total 7 members,
plus or minus 2.

10+ team members

41%
41%

7-9 team members

THE 2015 STATE OF SCRUM REPORT

21

29. How long do your Sprints

typically run?
A 2-week sprint is the most common cadence, falling within
recommended sprint lengths.
SPRINT LENGTH
Average: 2.4 weeks
4%

Variable durations
1%

6 or more weeks
2%

5 to 6 weeks

3 to 4 weeks

1 week
5%

29%

60%

2 weeks

Team size seems to

have an impact on the
actual sprint duration.
Smaller teams, of 3 or
fewer, are most likely to
sprint for 2 weeks.
Larger Scrum teams,
with 49 members,
reported slightly longer
sprints, averaging 2.4
weeks. Teams with 10+
members reported an
average sprint duration
of 2.7 weeks.

30. How many sprints typically make

up a Scrum project?
More than half of respondents, 55%, run 7 or more sprints per project.
NUMBER OF SPRINTS
Average: 6.8

11%

7 or more

3 or less

55%
34%

4 to 6

Respondents in product
development tend
to have more sprints,
an average 7.2, followed
by IT/software
development with an
average of 6.9 sprints,
followed by operations
at 5.7 sprints.

THE 2015 STATE OF SCRUM REPORT

22

31. When does your team hold sprint

planning meetings?
The majority of respondents, 83%, conduct sprint planning prior to the
sprint itself.
SPRINT PLANNING MEETINGS
No sprint planning
meetings are held

5%

At the beginning
of the project

Prior to a sprint

12%

83%

Smaller teams of 3 or
fewer are less likely to
hold sprint planning
prior to a sprint and
reported doing this just
55% of the time. Thats
compared to teams of
4-9 members, which
plan prior to a sprint
85% of the time, and
teams of 10+, which
plan prior to a sprint
82% of the time.

32. Does your team hold Scrum

meetings daily?
Over 80% of respondents report holding Scrum meetings each day.
SCRUM MEETINGS
Daily

81%

Multiple times a week,

but not daily
As needed
Not done

11%
5%
3%

Respondents fulfilling
ScrumMaster roles
reported a higher
incidence of daily
Scrum meetings, at 92%,
while respondents in
operations reported a
lower incidence of daily
Scrum meetings, at 50%.

THE 2015 STATE OF SCRUM REPORT

23

33. When does your team

hold retrospectives?
Post-sprint retrospectives are the most common, according to
79% of respondents.
RETROSPECTIVES
79%

After each sprint

At the end of the project
No retrospectives are held

12%
10%

Respondents holding
ScrumMaster roles
reported a higher
overall incidence of
retrospective meetings, at
88%, while respondents
in operations reported a
lower incidence of
retrospectives, at 57%.

34. How often does your team

engage in testing and continuous
integration/build?
The vast majority of respondents, 94%, are doing some level of testing
and continuous integration/build.
TESTING AND CONTINUOUS INTEGRATION/BUILD
When needed

30%

Daily

28%

Multiple times
throughout the day

24%
11%

Weekly
Not done

Those in ScrumMaster
roles reported a higher
incidence (32%) of daily
testing and continuous
integration/build.

6%

Though Scrum does

not define software
engineering practices,
it is usually used in
conjunction with XP,
which recommends that
testing and continuous
integration/build be done
as frequently as feasible.

THE 2015 STATE OF SCRUM REPORT

24

35. How often are Scrum artifacts, such

as the product backlog, sprint backlog,
and burn-down chart, used?
Ninety percent of respondents use at least some Scrum artifacts, with
56% reporting that they use Scrum artifacts extensively.
SCRUM ARTIFACTS (Product backlog, sprint backlog, and burn-down chart)
Used extensively and in
every Scrum project

56%

Some are used

34%

We use our own internal

project documents
No formal project
documentation is used

6%
3%

Those in ScrumMaster
roles reported a higher
extensive use of
artifacts, at 64%, while
those in operations
reported a lower use of
extensive use of Scrum
artifacts, at 36%.

36. Which of the following do you use

in your Scrum projects and processes?
(Multiple answers allowed)
The majority of respondents hold retrospectives, share a common
understanding of Done, and engage in continuous integration/build and
refactoring. Fewer than half reported the use of test-driven development,
pair programing, simplicity of design driving requirements, or rigorous
measuring of technical debt.
USED IN SCRUM PROJECTS AND PROCESSES
Sprint retrospectives are
done at the end of each sprint
to identify opportunities for
process improvements

81%

A common and agreed-upon

understanding of "Done" is
maintained across the Scrum
team, product owner

64%

Continuous integration/build

63%

Refactoring is used
when appropriate

58%

36%

Test-driven development

28%

Pair programming

Simplicity of design
drives requirements
Technical debt is
rigorously measured

23%

16%

THE 2015 STATE OF SCRUM REPORT

25

37. If your organization has an existing

Waterfall method in place, what was your
experience when Scrum was introduced?
Opinions about the success rate of Scrum vary widely depending on
the respondents role, organization size, and other variables. Overall, 20% of
respondents reported that Scrum has been very successful at their
organization and that it is all they now use.

Scrum finds a foothold

in organizations
with an existing
Waterfall method in
place, according to
63% of respondents.

ORGANIZATIONS WITH EXISTING WATERFALL METHOD

Scrum was used for
some projects and Waterfall
for the rest

40%

Scrum was successfully

introduced in addition to
our Waterfall method
Scrum was very successful
and that is all that we
use now

23%

SCRUM SUCCESS!

After a thorough
evaluation of a project's
type, requirements, and
parameters, a decision
is made to use either
We were not successful
in introducing Scrum,
so we stayed with our
Waterfall method
Scrum or Waterfall Scrum was
introduced and integrated
into our Waterfall method

20%

9%

4%

4%

38. What were some of the challenges

faced by your organization in achieving
its goals with Scrum? (Multiple answers allowed)
The biggest struggles are measuring Scrum success and transitioning from
Waterfall to Scrum.
KEY CHALLENGES
We did not have clearly
identified metrics to identify
and measure the success of
Scrum projects and delivery

52%

It was difficult to transition

from a Waterfall-based
method to one driven by
Scrum practices

46%

Alignment with other

projects in the portfolio

41%

Product owners and teams

were just not willing and/or
enthusiastic about Scrum
best practices

35%

We did not get senior

management sponsorship
and support
Other

23%

7%

THE 2015 STATE OF SCRUM REPORT

26

Smaller organizations find it challenging to find metrics to

measure success.
CHALLENGES
We did not have clearly identified metrics to identify and measure the success
of Scrum projects and delivery.
60%

1 to 99
100 to 499

54%

500 to 4,999

54%

5,000 to 19,999

47%

20,000 or more

47%

Larger organizations are more concerned about how to handle the

transition from Waterfall to Scrum.

Larger organizations are

also the most concerned
about how to align
Scrum projects with
others in their portfolios.

CHALLENGES
It was difficult to transition from a Waterfall-based method to one driven by
Scrum practices.
56%

20,000 or more

53%

5,000 to 19,999
46%

500 to 4,999
39%

100 to 499
1 to 99

32%

THE 2015 STATE OF SCRUM REPORT

27

39. Considering all the projects in

your organization that were managed
using Scrum, what percent of the
time would you estimate they were
delivered successfully?
Scrum was successfully used more than half the time, according to
74% of respondents.
AMOUNT OF TIME SCRUM IS SUCCESSFUL
Average success rate: 62% of the time
42%

75%+ of time
32%

50-75% of time
25-50% of time
0-25% of time

14%
12%

About three-fourths of teams realize success with Scrum 50% or more of

the time. Teams of recommended size (49 members) reported more
frequent success, while smaller teams (13 members) and larger teams
(10 or more members) reported less frequent success.
AMOUNT OF TIME SCRUM IS SUCCESSFUL BY TEAM SIZE
77%

4-9 on Scrum team

10 or more on Scrum team
3 or fewer on Scrum team

65%
50%

THE 2015 STATE OF SCRUM REPORT

28

Respondents in Europe report the highest rate of success with Scrum;

79% of European respondents say Scrum is successful in their
organizations 50% of the time or more.
SCRUM IS SUCCESSFUL 50% OF THE TIME OR MORE, BY REGION
79%

Europe

76%

Australia & Oceania

74%

Sub-Saharan Africa

73%

North America

70%

Asia

69%

South America
Central America &
Caribbean

68%
64%

Middle East/North Africa

40. Do you think your organization

is likely to use Scrum further?
The outlook for Scrum is highly favorable. Virtually all consider it likely
that their organization will use Scrum in the future.
WILL USE SCRUM FURTHER
2%

Very unlikely
3%

Somewhat unlikely

23%

Very likely

Somewhat likely

72%

THE 2015 STATE OF SCRUM REPORT

29

ABOUT SCRUM ALLIANCE

Founded in 2001, SCRUM ALLIANCE is the largest, most established and
influential professional membership organization in the Agile community.
SCRUM ALLIANCE is a nonprofit association with more than 400,000
members worldwide. Its mission is to Transform the World of Work by guiding
organizations to become prosperous and sustainable, to inspire people, and to
create value for society. Scrum is at the foundation of all its products, services,
and solutions. For more information, please visit [Link].

Copyright 2015 Scrum Alliance

THE 2015 STATE OF SCRUM REPORT