Scrum Events - The Agile Methodologies

What is Scrum?

Scrum is one of the most popular frameworks for Agile implementation. Scrum and Agile are not the same thing. Many frameworks can be used to implement Agile, such as Lean, Kanban, etc. With Scrum, the product is built in a series of fixed-length iterations called Sprints that give teams a framework for shipping software on a regular cadence. Short iterations also reinforce the importance of good estimation and fast feedback. Helps the company in saving time and money.

Time makes up your life, so wasting it is actually a slow form of suicide - Jeff Sutherland

There are several events in each Sprint, which proponents of Scrum hold sacred, that they are sometimes even called 'ceremonies'. These events have changed as Scrum has matured over time.

Sprint Planning

• Begin by setting a time-box.
• The Product Owner will refer to the product backlog where they have a sorted list of product backlog items. These items are in priority order based on the product owner’s understanding of their value to the business.
• Product Owner presents a Sprint goal(an area focus that will bring value to the customers). Will help the team stay on goal during the Sprint. 
• Product Owner reads aloud the backlog item. Team members listen and ask clarifying questions to ensure shared understanding of the item.
• Team comes to a consensus whether to bring an item into the Sprint. Easy way to show consensus is the most common 'thumb language'. Thumbs-up meaning ‘YES’. Thumbs-down meaning ‘I have a concern’ and a neutral thumb indicating that the team member is willing to accept the decision of the team. The Product Owner and the Scrum Master are not a part of this decision. 
• When the development team accepts a product backlog item into the Sprint, it is moved from the Product Backlog to the Sprint Backlog. Then the team moves on to discuss the next item. This moves on from item to item until the team reach its maximum capacity.
• When the team has reached a limit of what they can commit to, Sprint planning completes.

Daily Stand-up

• Teams often hold the meeting literally standing up as the name suggests. Standing for the meeting encourages the team to be brief and stick to the time box, which is typically 15 mins or less.
• All team members attend the standup. Scrum Master and the Product Owner also usually participate.
• The meeting starts on time with whomever is present and proceeds without waiting for a facilitator.
• The checkin involves reporting the answers to 3 questions: What did you do yesterday? What do you plan to do today? What obstacles are slowing you down?
• To keep meetings quick and efficient, team members take shared responsibility of the standup.
• Frequently something comes up that requires 2 or more team members to have a conversation. In order to keep it moving quickly and efficiently, longer conversations should be moved to the Sidebar.
• The Sidebar is a place to hold topics that require follow up conversations. People can follow up on that after the standup meeting. Many teams come up with a recognised symbol for the Sidebar. Any team member can politely interrupt and suggest to defer a conversation to the Sidebar.

Backlog Grooming

• The Product Owner drives the conversation in backlog grooming. 
• The Product Owner presents a product backlog item or User story. What is a User story? User stories are special types of product backlog items, that will describe who will use the feature and why.
• The Product Owner opens the floor to the team and answers clarifying questions about what the story means or what it entails.
• If the story is big the team discusses how it can be broken into small pieces. 
• The team discusses their understanding by sharing the 'condition of acceptance' or 'acceptance criteria'. These describe the characteristics of the solution without saying how the problem will be solved. 
• After a few items have been discussed the team estimates the effort of each item. There are many ways to estimate effort, the most popular being Planning Poker.

Sprint Review

• This is when the team gathers to present the work completed in the sprint.
• Stakeholders and clients from outside the team are usually invited and given the opportunity to see the team’s progress.
• The team demonstrates the result of each product backlog item or User Story, showing how it works in software.

Sprint Retrospective

• This is the phase where the team reflects back on its successes and failures. 
• Retrospective must be facilitated by someone outside the team. It shouldn’t be a manager or someone whose presence might be intimidating.
• Typically the facilitator starts by asking the team to construct a Sprint timeline. This grounds the team reflection on the Sprint that just concluded. 
• Each team member recalls key events in the sprint. Writes them on stickies and adds them on the timeline. I would suggest reading 'Agile Retrospectives - Making Good Teams Great by Ester Derby'.
• A typical Retrospective technique is for team members to write answers to the following 3 questions: What went well? What could have gone better? What need to be changed?