Scrum is an agile project management framework that helps teams to structure and manage their work using a set of values, principles, and practices. It is a simple way for a team to get work done in small chunks at a time. Along the way, the team can try new things and get feedback to learn and get better.
Why is it called Scrum?
The origin of the word “scrum” can be traced back to a sport—rugby. It is common practice for rugby teams to huddle together in what is called a scrum in order to advance the ball. Even though the word originated in rugby, in today’s professional world, the word “scrum” has a new meaning and use. In this case, it is place where the team gets together to advance the product that they are working on.
It is a process framework used to manage product development and other knowledge-based work.
“Okay, but when can I use Scrum?”
You can use it when you are working with a cross-functional team to develop a product and there is a large amount of work that can be divided into multiple two- to four-week cycles.
The Scrum Framework
The framework focuses on making teams more productive while reducing waste and unnecessary work.
It is made up of roles, events, and artifacts, as well as other things that help it work.
Scrum Roles
This is also known as “Scrum accountabilities,” and these are the people in a Scrum team.
A Scrum team is made up of three roles, with each role having its own responsibility, and these roles are:
- Product Owner: The product owner comes up with an idea and tasks the team with executing it. The product owner is also in charge of managing the product backlog in order for the team to reach the goal that they want to achieve.
- Scrum Master: The Scrum Master has knowledge of Scrum and uses this knowledge to help their team and the organization as a whole be as effective as possible. They achieve this by teaching, coaching, and mentoring. Scrum Masters work as Servant Leaders for, and with their Scrum Team.
- Developers: The developers are the members of the scrum team who work together to create the product. The development team is made up of different people with different specialized skills who execute the product owner’s idea under the guidance and direction of the scrum master.
Scrum Events
Scrum events, also called Scrum ceremonies, are a set of meetings that Scrum teams do in a certain order on a regular basis. These events create a regular schedule and cut down on the need for other meetings.
Scrum events are:
- Daily Scrum: The daily scrum is a short meeting where members of the team check in and plan for the day. They report on the work that has been completed and talk about any difficulties they have had meeting sprint goals.
It is called a stand-up meeting because it aims to keep the meeting as short as possible.
- Sprint planning: This event is led by the scrum master. It is a meeting where the work that will be carried out during the sprint is planned. In this event, the team makes an estimate of the amount of work that needs to be done in the next sprint. Members set sprint goals that are clear, measurable, and possible to achieve.
- Sprint: The time that the team works together to finish an increment is called a “sprint.” The more complex the work is and the more unknowns there are, the shorter the sprint should be.
- Sprint review: After a sprint is completed, the team comes together (preferably in a casual session) to go over the work that has been completed and show it to stakeholders.
- Sprint retrospective: After the sprint review, the team comes together to talk about what worked and what didn’t work during the sprint. The ideas gotten through the retrospective, are used to make future Sprints better.
Scrum Artifacts
These are important pieces of information that the scrum team uses to define the product and the work that needs to be done to create it. The objectives and tasks produced by scrum are called “artifacts”, and they are visible, can be inspected, and allow for future change or adaptation.
Each artifact has a responsibility or commitment, which helps the team determine whether they are making progress or not.
There are three artifacts:
- Product backlog: This is a list of features, needs, improvements, and adjustments that must be completed in order for the project to succeed. It is simply the team’s to-do list, which is frequently revised and modified to take into account changing market trends. The list is updated and maintained by the product owner, who may also add new client requests or remove items that are no longer relevant.
Commitment: Product goal—the objective towards which the team is working.
- Sprint backlog: The Sprint backlog is a list of tasks that the development team needs to finish in the current Sprint cycle. Before each sprint, the team chooses which items from the product backlog to work on. A sprint backlog is flexible and can change throughout a sprint.
Commitment: Sprint goal—the singular objective of the sprint
- Increment: According to the Scrum Guide, increment is “a concrete steppingstone towards the product goal.” It is the final product from a Sprint that can be used. The increment may be released or improved upon by the product owner in future sprints.
Commitment: Definition of Done- The requirements that must be met for an increment to be considered complete.
In addition to the Scrum framework, Scrum has principles and values that serve as general guidelines. All of these parts are important, serve different purposes, and are needed for the framework to work efficiently.
Principles of Scrum
There are three principles, or pillars. They are:
- Transparency: When people work in teams, it is important that everyone is aware of the difficulties that others might be having. Frequent face-to-face interactions between cross-functional team members and project owners help avoid miscommunication and communication barriers.
- Inspection: There are built-in inspection points in the framework that give the team a chance to think about how effectively the process is working. The daily scrum meeting and the sprint review meeting are two of these checkpoints.
- Adaptation: Team members can change the order of tasks if the customer’s needs change. They decide which tasks to do first and which ones to come back to later.
These pillars guide the scrum activities, and ensure that the goal is achieved. They also keep the team organized and in sync, towards achieving the common goal.
Additionally, it has five values. These values are:
- Courage: Members of Scrum teams have the courage to take on difficult or complex problems and do the right thing.
- Focus: Every member of the team focuses on the sprint and the goal of the team.
- Commitment: People on the team take personal responsibility and commit to achieving the goals of the team.
- Respect: The team members respect and see each other as competent and independent people capable of handling assigned tasks.
- Openness: The team and the stakeholders agree to be open about all of the work and all the problems they face while doing the work.
Trust is an important part of a scrum team because it binds everything together. When there is no trust on a team, there will be tension and problems, making it difficult to get work done. They must also stick to the values, which help guide how you work and also build trust.
The Scrum Master is very vital to the success of any team. It is a key role in any team or organization.
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