The Scrum Guide drops this line like it’s casual:
“These events work because they implement the empirical Scrum pillars of transparency, inspection, and adaptation.”
Now, Cambridge says a pillar is (1) a strong column that holds up a building, and (2) a crucial part of a system.
Cool metaphor.
But here’s the part people miss: pillars don’t do anything by themselves. They just stand there.
Scrum’s pillars aren’t architecture.
They’re feedback physics.
If you don’t get signal → interpret signal → act on signal, you’re not “doing Scrum wrong”… you’re doing meetings with better branding.
Still, let’s use the pillar image.
Imagine your Scrum is a cathedral. Most teams don’t have Sagrada Família pillars. They have inflatable pool noodles.
Pillar 1: Transparency (signal exists)
Transparency isn’t “we have Jira.” Transparency is: the truth is visible, shared, and hard to misinterpret.
Quick tests
- Can a stakeholder tell, in 30 seconds, what value will likely land next?
- Can the team name the current Product Goal and how this Sprint moves it?
- Can you see quality as reality (defects, tech debt, undone work), not vibes?
Stop doing: status theater (“green because we’re brave”).
Start doing: one shared, simple view: Goal → Progress → Risks/Trade-offs → Quality.
Pillar 2: Inspection (signal gets understood)
Inspection isn’t “we had a meeting.” Inspection is: we looked at evidence and changed our mind when needed.
Stop doing: Sprint Review as a demo + applause loop.
Start doing: Review as a decision point: “Given what we learned, what do we change in backlog, plan, or strategy?”
Pillar 3: Adaptation (signal changes behavior)
Adaptation is where Scrum goes to die—because it costs something: scope, ego, certainty, or a deadline fantasy.
Stop doing: retro notes that die in Confluence.
Start doing: one improvement that shows up tomorrow in how you work, plus an explicit bet: “We expect X to improve by Y.”
A blunt reality check:
If your events don’t produce new transparency, sharper inspection, and visible adaptation, they’re not implementing pillars. They’re implementing calendar compliance.
Question:
Which pillar is weakest in your team right now—and what’s the smallest, nastiest experiment you could run next Sprint to strengthen it?
Scrum on!
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!
