Agile & Scrum

Scrum is an iterative, time-boxed framework for software development: teams work in fixed sprints (usually 1-2 weeks), hold daily standups (15 min), conduct sprint planning (2 hours) and retrospectives (1.5 hours), and maintain a prioritized backlog. Core roles: Product Owner (orders backlog, maximizes value), Scrum Master (removes blockers, guards ceremonies), Development Team (ships). Scrum is lightweight by design, no mandatory documentation, no comprehensive upfront planning, making it ideal for volatile product environments where requirements shift. The gap between "attends standup" and "effectively runs sprint ceremonies + removes blockers" is real: Scrum Masters ($95-145k in US) command salary premiums over individual contributors because ceremony design and team dynamics directly impact velocity and morale. Scrum is the default framework in 90%+ of software teams, making it table-stakes for software engineering roles. The salary difference between Scrum practitioners ($90-120k) and Scrum Masters ($120-150k) is $20-30k/year in competitive markets. Beyond salary, learning Scrum is learning how to ship faster, teams properly running Scrum ship 30-50% faster than waterfall equivalents, giving you career positioning: "I ship fast" translates to promotions and seniority. Agile coaching (scaling Scrum across 10+ teams) is a $145-250k+ specialty with acute supply shortage. SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) for enterprise teams adds another $15-25k to mid-level roles. Learning Scrum also makes you portable: it is used from startups to large enterprises, so the skill transfers.