How does an organization know that a product built using Scrum is successful? (Choose the best answer)

Question

Options

• ABy the Product Owner and stakeholders accepting the Increment at the Sprint Review.
• BBy measuring the actual time spent on development versus the time estimated for development.
• CBy releasing frequently, and measuring the value customers/users experience.
• DBy measuring that velocity has increased since the last release.

• A
  10% (6)
• B
  5% (3)
• C
  84% (52)
• D
  2% (1)

Explanation

C is correct because Scrum is an empirical framework designed to deliver value - success is measured by whether customers and users actually benefit from what was built. Frequent releases enable rapid feedback loops so teams can inspect outcomes and adapt, which is the core purpose of Scrum's iterative approach.

Why the distractors fail:

• A - Stakeholder acceptance at the Sprint Review confirms the Increment meets the Definition of Done and expectations, but acceptance is not the same as value delivered. A stakeholder can accept something customers never use.
• B - Comparing estimated vs. actual time is a project management efficiency metric, not a value metric. Scrum explicitly de-emphasizes estimation accuracy as a measure of success.
• D - Velocity measures team throughput (story points completed), not customer value. A team could consistently increase velocity while building the wrong thing entirely.

Memory tip: Think of Scrum's purpose as "deliver value, inspect, adapt." Any answer focused on internal metrics (time, velocity, acceptance ceremonies) measures activity, not outcomes. The correct answer always points outward - toward the customer.

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