From the Scrum Guide: “Try it as is and determine if its ... help 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀”.
From Cambridge Dictionary:
“Goal: an aim or purpose”
Scrum isn’t about doing Scrum.
It’s not about “being agile.”
It’s about achieving meaningful goals. Yours, your team’s, your organisation’s.
So—what goals are you trying to achieve that Scrum might help with?
In Professional Scrum, it’s never about hitting “velocity” targets.
It’s about making intentional progress toward meaningful outcomes.
Be careful not to confuse goals with output:
- Output: “Build these 3 features”
- Outcome: “Enable users to solve scenario ABC”
- Organisational Impact: “Reduce user churn by 20%”
Scrum is designed to pursue outcomes and impact—not just deliverables.
In your context, is your goal to:
- Solve customer requests faster?
- Test market viability of your product?
- Reduce technical legacy?
- Improve user experience?
- …
Whatever it is—remember: the goal should always be about the customer or user. Never about the framework itself.
For Scrum to be effective, goals must be:
- Clear
- Shared
- Understood by both the team and key stakeholders
When the goal is fuzzy—or worse, missing:
- Teams drift into busywork
- Collaboration weakens
- Scrum Events lose power and relevance
- Motivation fades
- …
Scrum thrives when purpose is sharp.
Don’t just inspect progress—inspect the goal itself:
- Is it still valid?
- Is it still valuable?
- Has your learning uncovered a better one?
Changing the goal doesn’t mean failure—it means you’re adapting. Just be clear about it.
If leadership hasn’t defined a clear goal Scrum Teams can still act:
- Start small with meaningful Sprint Goals
- Co-create a compelling Product Goal
- Use Sprint Reviews to surface and align on real priorities together with stakeholders
- Escalate when conflicting goals or ambiguity block progress
Scrum isn’t just a delivery method for teams—it’s a mirror for organizational clarity and focus.
So, what goals is your team working toward right now?
Are they clear, valuable, and shared?
And is Scrum actually helping you get there—or just helping you stay busy?
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
I hope you find value in these short articles and if you are looking for more clarifications, feel free to make contact.
Don't want to miss any of these blog posts? Have the “The Scrum Guide Explored” series weekly in your mailbox.
Wishing you an inspiring read and a wonderful journey.
Scrum on!
