What is Scrum - Agile project management simply explained

Scrum is a concept that supports teams in collaborating on projects. Just like football teams train for their big games, encouraged Scrum Project teams to organize themselves and use experiences to solve problems while improving every day.

But that is not all. Scrum is also a popular approach to implementing Agile. In Scrum, teams develop products in short iterations called sprints. This allows them to create a solid software development plan with greater flexibility and transparency.

Scrum is a subset of a specific agile methodology, a project management technique used by agile teams.

What is Agile?

Agile is an approach to project management that focuses on incremental and iterative steps to complete projects. The incremental parts of a project are carried out in short-term development cycles. This approach emphasizes rapid delivery, adapting to change and collaboration rather than top-down management and following a fixed plan.

In agile processes, there is constant feedback, allowing team members to adapt to challenges as they arise and giving stakeholders the opportunity to communicate consistently. Although the agile approach was originally developed for software development, it is now widely used in executing many different projects and managing organizations.

Compare this to more traditional forms of project management. Traditional project management generally proceeds linearly through the phases of planning, design, implementation and completion. One phase must be completed before the next can begin.

Agile methods and frameworks

There are several agile methodologies and frameworks, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Some are hybrids of several methods. However, Scrum is by far the most commonly used agile methodology.

Popular Agile methods are:

• Scrum
• Kanban
• Lean
• Crystal
• Extreme Programming (XP)
• Feature-Driven Development (FDD)
• Domain-Driven Design (DDD)
• Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM)
• ScrumBan
• Agile Waterfall/Hybrid Agile
• Scrum XP Hybrid

Scrum project management

Scrum is a method for managing multi-faceted projects, the scope of which can change over the course of the project. Teams value focus, collaboration and productivity to produce high-quality results and adapt quickly to changes.

Scrum roles

There are three main roles in Scrum:

• The Product Owner
• The Scrum Master
• The development team

Product Owner

The Product Owner decides on how to proceed and represents the interests of the customer. Your goal is to ensure the team is focused on the most important tasks that create the most value.

A Product Owner must always be available to lead the development team or provide input when needed, but the goal is not to manage the group; the most effective Scrum teams are self-organizing.

Scrum-Master

The main task of the Scrum Master is to help the development team remain independent. It intercepts and removes obstacles to project progress. It acts as a buffer between external forces that affect the team's productivity.

The Product Owner is responsible for what the team develops and the Scrum Master is responsible for how by leading daily standup meetings.

Development team

Development teams are made up of members with multiple roles so that the group can have all the skills in-house. A development team focuses on a single project at a time; members do not split their work across multiple projects or multitask.

Once a product owner creates a list of necessary tasks, the development team determines how much they can accomplish in a sprint and creates the rest of the plan accordingly. The team then tracks their progress in daily Scrum meetings.

Core values

As an agile framework, Scrum's values ​​are similar to those of agile methods. However, it also has its own guidelines:

• Openness: Teamwork and transparency are essential; Collaboration is the most effective way to create a valuable product.
• Focus: There is no multitasking in Scrum. Because productivity is critical, it is important not to split the team's focus across multiple projects or redirect a member's focus in the middle of a sprint. Instead, Scrum teams focus on a single task to deliver the best quality product.
• Mut: Teams need to be able to commit to an ambitious workload per sprint. Scrum Masters must also have the ability to assert themselves with stakeholders. The Product Owner must have the confidence to lead a development team with authority.
• Binding: Every sprint is a new commitment. A team must agree on what they want to work on and be able to stick to it. This value helps teams determine whether a product is finished; It must not only be functional, but also meet certain quality standards.
• Respect: The responsibilities and roles in Scrum are transparent. Every team member is given the same respect regardless of their seniority, job description or status. The development team ultimately respects the authority of the Product Owners in relation to what the team is working on, and the Product Owner must respect the team's need to follow the process that works best for them.

How Scrum works

Scrum uses aggressive sprints to make iterative improvements in an agile approach. Scrum teams coordinate to get large amounts of work done during these sprints, and each sprint is planned so that members can get a lot of work done without compromising release integrity or product quality. Each sprint works towards the final product goal to ensure the best possible product is made.

The Scrum process

When a customer brings a need to the team, the final product is broken down into individual parts. The Scrum team then sets priorities for these parts and works on them in short periods called sprints. Sprints can last up to four weeks, although one or two weeks is the norm.

At the end of a sprint, the team delivers a product increment. Think of this increment as a product release that can be delivered on demand. Teams and stakeholders discuss the sprint results together in a retrospective meeting, as transparency is crucial in Scrum. This way, everyone involved is on the same page about results, priorities and necessary adjustments.

Teams use daily standups to promote internal transparency. In these short 15-minute daily Scrum meetings, everyone can share what they accomplished the day before, what they will be working on that day, and what obstacles are currently preventing them from working more efficiently. This open visibility allows leaders to uncover problems so the team can overcome them together.

Sprint planning, review and retrospective

Scrum is successful because it relies on self-organizing teams that follow a project management framework to deliver complete products after set periods of time called sprints or iterations. This structure includes roles, rules, meetings and artifacts.

Product Owner, Scrum Master and the Development Team are the three crucial roles in any Scrum Team. The team designs, manages and communicates information to other members and key stakeholders.

There are four types of Scrum meetings that help develop any product. These meetings are named based on when they occur in the development process:

• Sprint planning: All team members attend this meeting to present the product. All members are encouraged to voice their opinions and concerns. This session will also discuss time estimates and identify priorities to focus on.
• Daily Scrum: Daily Scrum meetings take place every day during a sprint. The goal is to create a daily plan for product development and discuss it with the team. Each Scrum Team member can address obstacles and concerns they face.
• Sprint-Review: Think of the sprint review as a review of the product a team is working on during the sprint. Groups hold sprint reviews at the end of each sprint. The aim is to provide stakeholders with transparency by showing what has been achieved in the last few weeks.
• Sprint retrospective: These retrospectives at the end of the sprint discuss how well the team performed in the last sprint. It is also the time to brainstorm how team performance can be improved in the future.

Scrum practices help teams achieve and manage fluid product goals throughout the process. They also promote accountability by keeping team members informed throughout all phases of the project.

Artifacts

Scrum artifacts represent the work involved in completing a sprint, providing even greater transparency and visibility. The three most important artifacts in Scrum are:

• Product backlogs: The backlog containing technical and user-oriented aspects that need to be completed in a project.
• Sprint Backlogs: Tasks that are determined during a sprint planning session and must be completed in one iteration.
• Burndown-Diagramme: This chart shows the remaining effort required to complete the sprint backlog tasks.

Scrum also uses other tools including:

• User Stories: Stories describe a software feature from the customer's perspective, detailing certain desirable variables such as the type of user, what they want, and why they want it. The development team uses Stories to create code that reflects customer needs.
• Timeboxen: Timeboxes are predetermined periods of time in which a team has to work towards a goal. With this approach, work stops when the team reaches the limit, not necessarily when it is finished. Timeboxes are often used to reset goals and analyze progress.

Scrum advantages and disadvantages

Advantages

Scrum is a very detailed approach with specific ceremonies and roles for each step of the process. Benefits include:

• Increased project visibility and transparency: Routine check-ins, daily meetings, and clearly defined roles allow team members to stay on top of the project and avoid misunderstandings and problems. It's easy to spot problems before they escalate and cause delays, keeping processes moving.
• Responsibility: The team decides together what work they can complete during a sprint. Members express their concerns and opinions at every step. There is no project manager to isolate tasks, resulting in greater empowerment and collaboration among group members.
• More flexibility: The feedback loops are shorter, making it easier to accommodate changes during the sprint. During sprints, there is consistent reflection and space to refine execution through Scrum meetings.
• Cost savings: Scrum brings obstacles to light before they cause delays. This helps companies spend less money on developing higher quality products. Short sprints make it possible to fix errors quickly.

Disadvantages

Scrum is not without its disadvantages. Here are some of them:

• Expansion of scope: Emphasis on change and fluid goals can lead to scope expansion. Stakeholders often want to add more features, which can suddenly and drastically change the process and goals.
• Large teams are not easy to manage: Scrum works best with small teams.
• Teams require commitment and experience: In small teams, each member must be familiar with Scrum and all of its principles in order to be successful in their role. Anyone who lacks technical knowledge or is unable to commit will pose a problem for goal achievement.
• Scrum Masters must have a lot of knowledge: The wrong Scrum Master can stifle product success. If he tries to control the team instead of trusting and supervising them, the group will not produce a quality product; the Scrum process will fail.
• Failure to define tasks can lead to inaccuracies: If the product owner does not clearly define the necessary tasks, this will be reflected in the project schedules. Planning becomes more difficult and sprints can take longer than planned.

To overcome the potential drawbacks of the Scrum method, good decision making and proper planning are essential. For example, if a company deploys a larger team, it is important that the roles, responsibilities and goals for each member are clearly defined so that there are no excuses for failure. This means the team can concentrate better and the Scrum Master can lead them more effectively.

Make sure you have a project roadmap ready so you can ensure your team delivers the product on time.

The most effective ways to use Scrum

Scrum is an uncomplicated system. The roles, rules, events and artifacts are simple enough to understand. The semi-prescriptive approach eliminates many of the ambiguities that arise during the development process. Plus, companies can still customize the process.

The best way to use Scrum is in a project that is intended to be flexible, simple, and has sufficient definition to achieve the goals desired by stakeholders or customers.

Scrum is defined by its sprints, so it is best used in agile project management, which can benefit from frequent review of goals, team roles, and required tasks.

Scrum has prescribed roles that provide structure to a given project, but there is also a lot of scope for assignments that can change depending on the goals and timelines that evolve during the process.

With the Scrum structure into manageable user stories, even more complex, demanding projects can be tackled more easily. In addition, clearly defined roles and planned events enable collective responsibility and a lot of transparency for the entire development cycle.

Finally, fast sprints keep the team motivated and users happy to see progress without having to wait too long between releases.

Conclusion

It can take some time to fully understand Scrum, especially if the software team is used to the traditional waterfall model of development. Scrum is the complete opposite of Waterfall as Scrum uses agile methods to get things done. Introducing smaller iterations, daily meetings, sprint reviews, and appointing the Scrum Master can be challenging for new teams.

Still, the long-term benefits far outweigh the initial learning curve.

Scrum is designed for agile teams that are complex Software - and develop hardware products in numerous industries have proven to be very successful. It is a compelling framework suitable for any organization.