Systematic Literature Review on Observable Indicators of Scrum Ceremony Adherence

Scrum has become one of the most widely adopted frameworks in agile project management, with recent surveys indicating that around 87% of agile teams employ Scrum practice. A defining feature of Scrum is its set of prescribed ceremonies such as sprint planning, daily stand-up meetings, sprint reviews, and sprint retrospectives designed to foster regular communication, stakeholder feedback, and continuous improvement. According to Scrum’s guidelines, each of these ceremonies is essential for the framework’s success, and the method is intended to be implemented in its entirety; however, in practice many teams modify or omit certain Scrum ceremonies (often termed “Scrum But”), potentially limiting the benefits realized from the Scrum framework. This variability in ceremony adherence underscores the importance of understanding how deviations from Scrum’s prescribed events affect team performance and project outcomes. Accordingly, this systematic literature review examines the existing body of research on Scrum ceremony adherence in agile environments , aiming to synthesize current knowledge on the motivations for adherence or deviation and the reported impacts of these practices on agile project success. To achieve these objectives, a rigorous SLR methodology was followed, as detailed in the following Research Methodology section. This study employed a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) approach to identify and organize observable indicators used to assess adherence to Scrum ceremonies. The objective was to move beyond theoretical assumptions by synthesizing evidence-based indicators that reflect how Scrum practices are applied in real project environments. The review was conducted following Kitchenham’s (2007) SLR guidelines and reported in accordance with the PRISMA framework , ensuring methodological transparency, reproducibility, and rigor.