What does the term 'increment' refer to in Scrum?

The term 'increment' in Scrum specifically refers to the sum of all completed work at the end of a Sprint. In Scrum, an increment represents a tangible, usable product that has added functionality or improvements as a result of the work done during that Sprint. It encompasses not only the new features developed but also includes any enhancements or refinements made to existing features, ensuring that the product is always in a potentially shippable state.

The focus on having a defined increment allows teams to assess their progress transparently and understand how much value they are delivering to stakeholders. By working in time-boxed iterations (Sprints), the Scrum Team continuously adds to the product, fostering a mindset of incremental progress and continuous improvement. This is foundational in Agile methodologies, where the emphasis is on delivering small, workable portions of the product regularly rather than waiting until the end of a lengthy development cycle.