Scrum is one of the most popular agile methodologies for software development, but it is not a one-size-fits-all solution. If you want to improve your Scrum practices and deliver better products faster, you need to constantly inspect and adapt your process. Here are some tips on how to do that.
Scrum defines three main roles: the product owner, the Scrum master, and the development team. Each role has specific responsibilities and expectations, but they also need to collaborate and communicate effectively. Make sure that everyone understands and respects their role, and that they have the skills and authority to perform it. Also, avoid role conflicts or overlaps, such as having a product owner who is also a developer, or a Scrum master who is also a manager.
Sooner the Scrum team understands their accountabilities and responsibilities, Scrum becomes fairly simple. It's a daily grind though. You just can not sit happy after few sprints' work. Learn from Retrospective and keep improving.
Scrum is not just about following a specific framework; it's about incorporating Agile values and principles, adapting swiftly to changes, and prioritising end user's needs. Effective communication and teamwork are crucial for this adaptability. It's a continuous process that requires clear interaction and resolving impediments. Without these elements, no framework can help in achieving the sprint goal or delivering a successful MVP (Minimum Viable Product)
Never forget the reason for the framework. "Scrum" is the framework. "Working agile" is the reason. Getting too attached to roles, responsibilities, and processes can lead away from the actual reason. It is key to reflect on the roles, why they are there, and how they support the team. Some teams might not need all roles are combine them. Furthermore, keeping roles like the Scrum master roles clearly separated can lead to a single point of failure. In some teams, we had great success by rotating or sharing roles, so various people felt comfortable stepping into a role if needed.
The product backlog is the list of features, user stories, and tasks that the product owner prioritizes and the development team works on. It is the main source of value and direction for the project, but it can also become messy and unclear. To avoid this, you need to regularly refine your backlog, which means reviewing, updating, splitting, and estimating the items. This will help you keep your backlog manageable, relevant, and aligned with the customer's needs and feedback.
Be mindful of how much time you invest into your backlog. Items in the backlog are ideas about what to work on in the future. The key to working agile is to be open to discoveries and change what we are working on in the future. Having a long backlog or putting lots of effort into refining it can lead in the wrong direction. When it becomes more important to work on the backlog than the logical next step based on feedback, we are sacrificing "working agile" for the sake of a framework. Always remember that there is no rule for an agile team to have a backlog, and there are highly successful teams without one. Thus, be mindful about what good your backlog does for you.
Scrum defines four main ceremonies: the sprint planning, the daily Scrum, the sprint review, and the sprint retrospective. Each ceremony has a specific purpose and duration, but they can also become boring and ineffective if not done properly. To improve your ceremonies, you need to prepare them well, follow their agenda, respect their timebox, and involve the right people. Also, you need to make them engaging, interactive, and fun, by using different formats, tools, and techniques.
Ceremonies should be adjusted based on the needs of a specific team. Every team is different, therefore what works for one may not for the other. A lot of teams have sprint review and retrospective together as one meeting, that tend to work well and we remove the need for additional meeting. The key thing to note is that every team should adjust/improve meetings in a way that benefits them. Meetings should not be there just because Scrum has this ceremonies.
The workflow is the way the development team organizes and delivers their work during the sprint. It includes the stages, activities, and tools that they use to move the items from the backlog to the done column. To optimize your workflow, you need to visualize it, measure it, and improve it. You can use a Kanban board to visualize your workflow, key metrics to measure your performance, and experiments to test new ideas and practices.
The quality is the degree to which the product meets the customer's expectations and requirements. It is not only a result, but also a process. To enhance your quality, you need to define it, ensure it, and verify it. You can use a definition of done to define your quality standards, practices such as test-driven development or code reviews to ensure your quality during the sprint, and tools such as automated testing or user feedback to verify your quality after the sprint.
Scrum is a framework, not a recipe. It provides you with some principles and guidelines, but it also gives you the freedom and flexibility to adapt it to your context and needs. To learn from others, you need to seek inspiration, feedback, and support from other Scrum practitioners. You can join online or offline communities, forums, or events, where you can share your experiences, challenges, and solutions, and learn from different perspectives and approaches.
Scrum can be a great starting point for a new team. After all, we have to start somewhere, and if the team understands Scrum, it might be easier to start here. That said, the key to being agile is experimenting with the product and the working methods. Thus, if you are still doing "Scrum by the book" after a couple of weeks, you are likely doing it wrong as it is unlikely that this approach suits your team perfectly.
Continuous improvement for each of engineering delivery aspects. Step by step and do Retro positively. The way we accept the contribution from members' comments will make scrum better everyday