This cheat sheet maps to the Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) learning objectives published by Scrum Alliance, grounded in the current Scrum Guide (2020), the Agile Manifesto, and the five Scrum values. The CSM exam is a 50-question multiple-choice test (passing score around 74%) that checks whether you genuinely understand the Scrum framework rather than memorized trivia, so most questions are best answered by asking what the Scrum Guide actually says, not how teams happen to run Scrum at work. The single biggest trap is answering from mechanical or customized Scrum instead of Scrum as defined, because the two often diverge. Use the tables to lock in the accountabilities, events, artifacts, and their commitments, then pressure-test yourself on the Scrum Master as a true leader who serves the team, the Product Owner, and the organization. Master the definitions and the why behind empiricism, and the scenario questions mostly answer themselves.
What This Cheat Sheet Covers
This topic spans 24 focused tables and 173 indexed concepts. Below is a complete table-by-table outline of this topic, spanning foundational concepts through advanced details.
Table 1: Agile Manifesto: The Four Values
Scrum Foundations, Agile values: the four value statements of the Manifesto for Agile Software Development (2001), the "items on the right still have value" balance, and how each value shows up in Scrum. Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, the co-creators of Scrum, were among the seventeen signatories.
| Value | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|
Daily Scrum is a conversation among Developers, not a status report read off a Jira board | • Trust people and direct conversation more than rigid process or tooling • In Scrum, the Sprint Retrospective and Daily Scrum exist to serve the people, not the reverse • Does not mean abandon process or tools, they still have value | |
A done, potentially releasable Increment each Sprint beats a 30-page requirements document | • Progress is measured by working product, not by documents produced • Definition of Done ensures "done" means tested, integrated, working software • Not "no documentation", just enough useful documentation, never quality skipped | |
Sprint Review where stakeholders try the Increment and shape what comes next, not sign off a spec | • Keep the customer engaged throughout rather than locking scope in a contract up front • In Scrum the Product Owner carries the customer's perspective into daily work • The Product Backlog is a living document, not a fixed contract |