The SCRUM – Built for something complex

What is Scrum?

Scrum is neither a process or a methodology. It is a framework within which other processes and methods can be employed. It helps teams work together.

While the Scrum I’m talking about is most frequently used by software development teams, its principles and lessons can be applied to all kinds of teamwork. This is one of the reasons Scrum is so popular. Often thought of as an agile project management framework, Scrum describes a set of meetings, tools, and roles that work in concert to help teams structure and manage their work.

Benefits Received from the Scrum Methodology?

·        Higher productivity

·        Better-quality products

·        Reduced time to market

·        Improved stakeholder satisfaction

·        Better team dynamics

·        Happier employees

The Scrum team

Scrum teams are typically composed of 7 +/- 2 members and have no team leader to delegate tasks or decide how a problem is solved. The team as a unit decides how to address issues and solve problems. Each member of the Scrum team is an integral part of the solution and is expected to carry a product from inception to completion.

1) Scrum Master:

The Scrum Master is the servant leader to the Product Owner, Development Team, and Organization. With no hierarchical authority over the team but rather more of a facilitator, the ScrumMaster ensures that the team adheres to Scrum theory, practices, and rules.

2) The Product Owner:

The Product Owner is the project's key stakeholder - usually an internal or external customer, or a spokesperson for the customer. There is only one Product Owner who conveys the overall mission and vision of the product which the team is building. The Product Owner is ultimately accountable for managing the product backlog and accepting completed increments of work.

3) The Development Team

The Development Team is a self-organizing, cross-functional group armed with all of the skills to deliver shippable increments at the completion of each sprint. Scrum broadens the definition of the term "developer" beyond programmers to include anyone who participates in the creation of the delivered increment. There are no titles in the Development Team and no one, including the ScrumMaster, tells the Development Team how to turn product backlog items into potentially shippable increments

Points to remembers

1) Product Backlog

The product backlog is the single most important document that outlines every requirement for a system, project or product. The product backlog can be thought of as a to-do list consisting of work items, each of which produces a deliverable with business value. Backlog items are ordered in terms of business value by the Product Owner.

2) Sprint Backlog

A sprint backlog is the specific list of items taken from the product backlog which are to be completed in a sprint.

3)     Increment

An Increment is the sum of all product backlog items that have been completed since the last software release. While it is up to the Product Owner to decide on when an increment is released, it is the team's responsibility to make sure everything that is included in an increment is ready to be released. This is also referred to as the Potentially Shippable Increment (PSI).

4)  Daily Scrum or Stand Up

A common way to conduct a stand up is for every team member to answers three questions in the context of achieving the sprint goal:

?   What did I do yesterday?

?   What do I plan to do today?

?   Are there any obstacles?

5) Sprint review

At the end of the sprint, the team gets together for an informal session to view a demo of, or inspect, the increment. The development team showcases the backlog items that are now ‘Done’ to stakeholders and teammates for feedback. The product owner can decide whether or not to release the increment, although in most cases the increment is released.

6) Sprint retrospective

 The retrospective is where the team comes together to document and discuss what worked and what didn’t work in a sprint, a project, people or relationships, tools, or even for certain ceremonies. The idea is to create a place where the team can focus on what went well and what needs to be improved for the next time, and less about what went wrong.

7) Sprint Burndown Chart

Define the Sprint Burndown as a chart illustrating a comparison between the initial estimated amount of work at the Sprint Planning Meeting and the current estimated amount of work remaining. Describe how the Sprint Burndown chart is primarily used by the Team to manage themselves during the Sprint.

8)  Definition of Done (DoD)

 Identify that Scrum’s minimal DoD means potentially shippable. If the Team is using anything other than that minimal DoD, it should be explicitly captured.