Why Scrum is (still) the most used Agile framework

Scrum seems to have been around since forever. (If you were born in early 90s, then you're the same age as Scrum. Feeling old yet?)

It grew alongside Kanban and today 63% of Agile teams report using Scrum, while 71% use either Scrum or some version of it (such as Scrumban or Hybrid Scrum) (Source: "State of Agile 2023" report)

But how can something that is already 30 years old be still on the rise? And why has (almost) the entire world of software and tech adopted one framework?

1. It's simple

The entire Scrum Guide is about 13 pages long. There's no unnecessary floof, just straight forward information, definitions and clear explanations. It doesn’t take long to read or understand, since it's a very digestible and intuitive concept, applicable in clearly defined and easy steps.

This makes Scrum the easiest way to get started with Agile, especially for small organizations. And, since it's been around for so long, there are a lot of resources freely available to help you along.

2. It's adaptable

Scrum is simple, lightweight and easily approachable by teams. It gives team members just enough instructions to get going, but not so much that it becomes complex or overwhelming.

Scrum provides a clear framework with defined roles, events, and artifacts, but it also allows for flexibility in how teams implement its practices. This makes it accessible not only for software development, but for other industries as well, like marketing, research, design and so on.

3. It's universal

The clearly carved roles of Scrum are a universal language for defining your activity in an agile team. Tell anyone in the Agile world you're a Scrum Master and they will know exactly what you're doing (as opposed to fancy, 5-word-long corporate titles).

But the roles defined within Scrum, like Scrum Master, Product Owner or Development Team member are not there to impose hierarchy or importance. Scrum is all about self-organizing teams, and roles are there to simply keep things flowing. The whole team is cross-functional, so they have all the skills needed to accomplish the work within their team.

 4. It's a 'small steps' approach

Scrum is based on incremental development. You plan, you work for two weeks straight, you deliver a functional piece of work, then you do it all over again, always improving on your last delivery.

This is what allows Scrum teams to be efficient and flexible. Rather than trying to plan out every aspect of a project from the beginning, they work in short, fixed-length iterations and are able to respond to change quickly and adapt to evolving requirements.

That is the recipe for staying relevant and delivering the value that the customer needs now, not the value that was planned 18 months ago.

5. It's a culture of transparency

Scrum events like daily stand-up, sprint review, and sprint retrospective give teams the opportunity to discuss how things are going, flag impediments and openly put the spotlight on any problem. It ensures that everyone on the team has a voice, but also that everyone is accountable.

It is now quite clear why Scrum is the world's most popular Agile framework. It is easy, flexible and delivers value quickly and consistently, which is every company's goal. Even the US Military and Netherland's National Art Museum got on board.

With all its benefits, Scrum is certainly here to stay, within and outside of the software development industry.