Scrum Master Syllabus

History of Scrum

Scrum originated in the 1980s from Japanese manufacturing concepts, particularly Toyota’s lean production. Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland formalised Scrum for software development in the 1990s, drawing inspiration from rugby’s collaborative team dynamics. As one of the first Agile frameworks, Scrum introduced sprints, daily standups, and retrospectives, revolutionising project management through iterative development, transparency, and continuous improvement practices.

Hirotaka Takeuchi

Ikujiro Nonaka

Jeff Sutherland

A software developer and co-creator of the Scrum agile methodology. He’s known for revolutionising project management in software development and organisational workflows beyond.

Ken Schwaber

Co-creator of Scrum alongside Jeff Sutherland. His structured approach to empirical process control transformed project management. Through Scrum.org, he’s established professional standards for Scrum practitioners and championed empirical process control in software development.

The Scrum Guide

The New New Product Development Game

The “New New Product Development Game” by Hirotaka Takeuchi and Ikujiro Nonaka introduced the concept of a faster, flexible approach to product development. Emphasising teamwork, self-organisation, and overlapping phases, it likens the process to a rugby match, where teams pass the ball seamlessly. This method, foundational to Agile, encourages innovation and adaptability in competitive markets.