Are Scrum and agile the same?

Introduction

Some people often wonder: are agile and scrum the same? There’s a lot of confusion out there. We saw a thread on Stack Overflow on this topic that was full of complete nonsense. So we thought we would clear things up. Short version: agile and Scrum are NOT the same. Now I’ll get into what each one is and why that is the case. The advantage of this is the flexibility of being able to react quickly to changes in requirements and the priorities of the business. Agile solves the problem of waiting long periods of time before development can begin. It also solves the problem of adjusting large development schedules and budgets when inevitable changes come.

So, with that introduction, what distinguishes Scrum from other Agile methodologies? Scrum is a particularly simple and flexible Agile methodology. Actually, Scrum may be used as a methodology for producing any product and has been used in the manufacturing process as well as software development.

Agile

The agile software development methodology is more adaptable to changes as there is no in-depth planning at the beginning of a project rather there are?changing requirements?throughout the course of the project. Constant feedback from the end users is encouraged. In Agile, there is an incremental and iterative development approach. The work is prioritized on the basis of business or customer value. There are cross-functional teams that work on the iterations of the product over a period of time. Each iteration is focused on producing a working product.

Agile refers to a process that is aligned with the concepts listed in the Agile Manifesto.

Benefits the Customers

In the traditional waterfall model, the high-value features?are developed?and delivered?in longer cycles compared?with the agile methodology, which enables?delivery?inside short cycles. This enables?the vendors?to be more responsive?to the development requests?of the customers.

Benefits the Vendors

Adopting Agile benefits?the vendors?by having improved?consumer satisfaction?and customer retention, leading?to more customer?contacts through positive references. The Agile allows?the vendor’s focus?to be on the development?exertion of high-value features, decreasing?the overheads, and developing efficiency.

Quality

With Agile development, there is a general inspection?of the working product, with testing integrated?at every?iteration, as it develops all through the life cycle. This turn retains?the quality?of the product and furthermore allows?the product owner?to make necessary adjustments?at whatever point a quality issue arises.

Visibility

An agile methodology?is a collaborative approach?that encourages active?customer participation?all through product development. This gives exceptional?and clear visibility?of the project’s progress and product development to the stakeholders.

Cost Control

The agile development?process has fixed?timescale where the requirements emerge?and evolve?as the project progresses?and the product is developed. This enables?a fixed budget.

Risk Management

In Agile methodology, small?incremental releases?are made visible?to the product owner?all through the development cycle, which recognizes issues at an early stage, and it makes easier to respond?to change if?any. agile development ensures?clear visibility, which allows necessary decisions?to be taken at the earliest?possible?opportunity.

Scrum

Scrum, then again, is a subset of Agile. A Scrum is a simple?and flexible?agile methodology?for software development. Scrum isn’t a technique?or a process but?a lightweight and simple framework?to address complex problems?of a project?and deliver?a high-value?product creatively. The major distinguishing attributes?of Scrum are as follows:

Simplicity

The development?in Scrum is done in sprints, which are 1, 2, and 3 weeks in length. The Scrum Team consists?of:

#1- Product Owner:?The major responsibility?of the product owner?is to maximize?the value?of the product?and the work of the development?team. Additional duties include managing the?product catalogue.

#2- Scrum Master:?The development?team consists?of self-organizing professionals who turn?the product catalogue into product increment at?the finish of each sprint.

#3- Development Team:?The Scrum Masters make?sure?that the Scrum team is abiding?by the Scrum theory?and its rules.

Flexibility

In the traditional?waterfall model, when the business and technical requirements?are documented?and detailed, it results in endless?documentation. The Scrum makes use?of user stories to describe?the functions needed to be developed. A tool?called Pivotal Tracker is used?to store these user stories in a backlog. On the off chance that a change needs to be made or a need arises?to add to the user stories, all things considered, the team can adjust?as early as the next?sprint. This allows?the business to change?its minds?and the development?team to be flexible?enough to adjust to those changes. The ability?to accommodate?change is a powerful?-attribute of the Scrum methodology.

Communication and Collaboration

In the Scrum methodology, the communication?between business users takes?place?on a??daily/weekly basis?according?to?the sprint schedule. This close communication?and collaboration?effort is a crucial?factor, in promoting?the success?of the Scrum methodology. The Scrum team accomplishes achieves collaboration?in the following ways:

#1-?The Product Owner, the Scrum Master, and the development team work?closely?on a daily?basis.

#2-?Sprint planning meetings?are conducted, which allows?the development team to organise its work based?on the knowledge gathered?from the business priorities.

#3– Conducting?daily scrum meetings?where the development team?can account?for the work finished, its future prospects, and deal?with?issues if?any.

#4-?Conducting sprint reviews allows?the team members?to evaluate?their former?work by recommending?better practices with each sprint.

Conclusion

Agile is the software development methodology that focuses on customer satisfaction by delivery shippable software frequently. Scrum is one of the many approaches to implementing Agile. Scrum is suitable for a certain type of project where there are rapidly changing requirements.