Scrum Health Checklist

Your team is shipping. The calendar is full of Scrum events. Stakeholders are “in the loop”.

And yet delivery still feels chaotic. Priorities shift mid-sprint. Reviews don’t change decisions. Retros produce notes – not improvements.

Welcome to the classic trap: you’re doing Scrum, but you’re not getting Scrum.

The issue is rarely one ceremony. It’s usually a breakdown in the empirical foundations that make Scrum work: Transparency, Inspection, and Adaptation. This article is a diagnostic guide based on our Scrum Health Checklist – designed to help you see whether your Scrum is healthy or just good at hiding symptoms.

Pillar 1: Transparency

This is the “shared reality”. If people don’t see the same truth, they can’t make good decisions.

1) Transparency between the Scrum Team and stakeholders

A healthy Scrum setup makes plans visible, aligns on what “near future” likely means, and keeps stakeholders informed about progress and risks – without relying on hallway conversations.

Key questions:

• Is the Product Vision known to every Scrum Team member?
• Does the Product Backlog show with high probability what will be done in the near future (1–2 sprints)?
• Does each backlog item describe the business value it brings?
• Is the Sprint Backlog the complete and only source of what the team is working on during the sprint?
• Does the team communicate business risks, and track technical risks/technical debt effectively?

2) Transparency inside the Scrum Team

Internal clarity reduces “surprise work” and prevents silent blockers.

Key questions:

• Does everyone know the Scrum Master and the Definition of Done?
• Is refinement captured well enough that a developer with the right skills can implement the change?
• After Sprint Planning, does the whole team understand the plan to achieve the Sprint Goal?
• Are problems surfaced transparently so the team can solve them together?

Pillar 2: Inspection

This is the “feedback loop”. If you don’t inspect the right things, you can’t improve intentionally.

1) Inspection of value

Scrum reviews are not a demo meeting – they’re a decision point. A healthy team invites stakeholders to verify the increment and provide feedback, ideally in conditions close to production.

Key questions:

• During Sprint Review, do stakeholders verify the increment and provide feedback?
• Does the team review changes in a near-production environment?
• Does the team measure value delivered (not just output)?
• Does the team measure quality – and ensure increments don’t reduce product quality?

2) Inspection of process

Retrospectives matter only if they produce real learning and real change.

Key questions:

• Does the team verify whether previously planned improvements were implemented?…
• Does the team identify causes of mistakes made?
• Does the retro inspect cooperation, processes, tools, and the Definition of Done?
• Does the team measure the effectiveness of improvements?

Pillar 3: Adaptation

This is the “change”. Without adaptation, you’re just repeating rituals while reality shifts.

1) Adaptation of value

Healthy teams adjust backlog and roadmap based on feedback and evidence – and they handle risk to the Sprint Goal by changing the plan, not by “hoping harder.”

Key questions:

• Does the team adapt the roadmap/backlog based on feedback?
• Does the team adapt the roadmap/backlog based on metrics?
• If risk to Sprint Goal appears, does the team modify the action plan to maximize success?
• Does Daily Scrum result in an actionable plan for the next working day?
• When implementing change, does the team pay off technical debt in the area it touches?

2) Adaptation of process

Teams should change how they work when reality proves the current approach suboptimal.

Key questions:

• In Sprint Planning, does the team consider availability/capacity?
• In retro, does the team plan activities to improve quality and efficiency?
• During the sprint, does the team actually accomplish improvements planned previously?

Conclusion

Scrum Health is not about performing ceremonies correctly. It’s about whether your system reliably produces the outcomes Scrum promises – alignment, fast feedback, and continuous improvement.

If you want a fast baseline, run the Scrum Health Checklist with your team. Mark “No” only when you truly mean it, and write down why – that’s where the improvement roadmap begins.

Want an objective assessment? We’ll run a complete Scrum audit for you.
We’ll work with your team and stakeholders to diagnose the root causes behind weak scores and deliver a prioritized improvement plan – practical changes you can implement immediately. Contact us.