What does Scrum require from the Increment produced at the end of a Sprint?

The Increment produced at the end of a Sprint must be ready to be released, meaning it should meet the Definition of Done established by the Scrum Team. This reflects one of the essential characteristics of Scrum, which emphasizes delivering potentially shippable product increments with every Sprint.

Being "ready to be released" implies that the Increment can be delivered to users or stakeholders if the Product Owner decides to do so, without requiring any further work. It should be fully functional, integrated, and meet all acceptance criteria, ensuring the highest quality and allowing for immediate deployment. This is crucial as it reinforces the iterative and incremental delivery principles of Scrum, enabling teams to provide value to customers continuously.

This characteristic ensures that the Scrum Team maintains a workflow where elements of the product are consistently usable, allowing for feedback to be gathered promptly and effectively from users or stakeholders, thus enhancing adaptability and responsiveness in the development process.