“Because” is doing a lot of heavy lifting here:
“These events work because they implement the empirical Scrum pillars of transparency, inspection, and adaptation.” — Scrum Guide
The most underestimated word in that sentence is 'because'.
Not when.
Not if.
Because.
That single word makes this a cause–effect claim.
No philosophy.
No vibes.
No “Scrum as culture.”
Just physics.
If A is present, B happens.
If A is missing, B does not.
The Scrum events are brutally honest about this.
Scrum events don’t work by existing.
They work because they actively create transparency, enable inspection, and force adaptation.
And this is where many teams quietly break Scrum.
Let’s name the crime: keeping the events, killing the pillars
- Transparency gets filtered (“not everything is ready to show yet”).
- Inspection gets softened (no real questioning, just reporting).
- Adaptation gets postponed (“let’s see next Sprint”).
What’s left looks like Scrum on the calendar, but not in reality.
This is why events turn into theatre.
When the pillars are missing, events don’t fail.
They perform.
That’s how:
- Sprint Planning becomes commitment theatre
- Daily Scrum becomes status theatre
- Review becomes demo theatre
- Retrospective becomes talking theatre
Same actors. Same stage.
Same meetings. No impact.
Calling this “bad Scrum” is generous.
It’s Scrum cosplay.
Transparency, inspection, and adaptation are often taught as principles to believe in.
They are not.
They are mechanisms that force reality into the room.
- Transparency forces exposure.
- Inspection forces confrontation.
- Adaptation forces decision-making.
And mechanisms don’t care about intent.
If you weaken them “to be safe,” you don’t get gentler Scrum.
You get non-functional Scrum.
Let’s rewrite the original sentence without mercy:
Scrum events work *only* when they actively create transparency, enable real inspection, and force adaptation.
Without those causes, the events still happen — but the value does not.
One simple diagnostic to steal:
After an event, ask:
- What became more transparent?
- What was actually inspected?
- What decision or change followed?
If the answer is “nothing”, you didn’t run a Scrum event.
You ran a meeting.
Scrum doesn’t fail because teams skip events.
It fails because teams keep the events and remove the cause.
And because is the word that exposes that lie.
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
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Wishing you an inspiring read and a wonderful journey.
Scrum on!
