Understanding Agile-based project management with Scrum framework

Understanding Agile-based Project Management
with Scrum Framework

In the world of software development models, the name of the waterfall model is not new.  It is primarily described as the step-by-step approach where changes in requirements are difficult to cater to due to its non-iterative nature. The model or framework that challenged waterfall neck to neck is Scrum. It was due to the efficiency, flexibility, and productivity of the framework. In this digital era, most software development companies go for an iterative-based approach and they work on the scrum model to ensure enhanced production and flexibility to the requirements of projects.

What is Agile?

When the discussion is about agile project management, then it is a philosophy that gives more value to iterative development, flexibility, and improvement. It is more into emphasizing “responding to change” rather than following a rigid plan. It is more focused on a collaboration system rather than a hierarchy system. A continuous system where changes are valuable, agile is an umbrella under which multiple frameworks come. In all those frameworks, scrum is of the highest importance and is most widely practiced and accepted.

What is Scrum?

Scrum can be defined as a popular framework that is mostly used for the development of complicated products or projects. The scrum technique prioritizes the incremental and iterative project or product delivery through regular feedback and collaborative team decision-making. The whole framework revolves around a fixed cost, time, constant feedback, and prioritized product backlog.

The framework breaks down the whole project into several small manageable cycles. These small cycles are called sprints that can be as short as one week and as long as four weeks. The whole framework has certain key roles, events, and rules that make the project an executable thing.

The Scrum Details

The Roles

• Scrum Master

The Scrum master is a facilitator who promotes a collaborative work environment and makes sure that the team follows all the Scrum principles while carrying out all the tasks. The scrum master is also responsible to solve any obstacle that the team faces in between the work.

• Product Owner

The Product Owner is a representative of stakeholders and is responsible for prioritizing the product backlog. The product owners are always in collaboration with the development team in order to ensure that the fine product is what they want or need.

• Development Team

As the name says, the development team is a team of developers and professionals that are capable of producing the product backlog into a product that is ready to deliver after each sprint.

Scrum Events

• Sprint Planning

At the start of any sprint, a sprint planning session is set up. In this planning session, sprint goals are defined and the selection of product backlog is also carried out. These product backlogs are then even broken down further into actionable tasks that are to be performed by each team member.

• Daily Scrum

The daily scrum is a type of short stand-up meeting where team members synchronize their work. The members share their plans and progress of the present day and mention if they face any obstacles. This is an important part of team collaboration and in these parts, most issues are addressed.

• Sprint Review

At the end of sprints, sprint reviews take place in order to showcase the work to the stakeholders, and feedback is collected and they are adjusted into the product backlog.

• Sprint Retrospective

The sprint retrospective is a meeting where the team combined evaluate their performance and identify the areas of improvement.

Scrum Artifacts

• Product Backlog

The product backlog is defined as a list of prioritized features, bug fixes, and enhancements of the requirements from the stakeholders. It explains the functionality of the product that is being developed.

• Sprint Backlog

Sprint backlog is created through product backlog. A set of prioritized lists from the product backlog that is to be performed by the specific team members in the sprint.

• Increment

An increment is when you add all the completed product backlog items during a sprint. They are in a deliverable or done form.

Why Scrum For Modern Project

Management?

Adaptability

Scrum is a framework that is flexible with changes. It is known for its iterative nature and it enables the proper execution of projects with the help of frequent feedback and adjustments. It reduces the risk that the customer won’t like the end product as he can ask for the changes in features, functionality, and fixes any time between the work.

Collaboration

Scrum is not a one-man game. It promotes collaborative nature of work and there is a feeling of transparency among each team member as they are working together on the same project and can solve issues together. The regular communication in daily standup allows them to communicate, address challenges and make decisions together.

Continuous and Early Delivery

The iterative nature of the Scrum framework allows early and time-to-time continuous delivery of the product to the stakeholders. Whenever a sprint is complete, a new deliverable item gets ready to be presented to the stakeholders.

Improvements

The sprint retrospective allows the team members to evaluate their performances and look where they can improve themselves. This helps the teams to work efficiently as they are aware of their weak points.

Empowered Team

Scrum allowed the members of the team to be empowered and be the decision-makers. Instead of being micro-managed, the team takes ownership of the work that is assigned to the. This allows the teams to be answerable and responsible for their own work and feel motivated,

Risk Mitigation

The scrum’s iterative nature allows it to mitigate risk. When deliverables are delivered at the end of each sprint, challenges and issues are mentioned that can be rectified by the team and the problems can be minimized.

Conclusion

The scrum-based approach has a number of advantages and it allows the successful execution of complex projects. But the proper implementation of scrum requires collaboration, commitment, and continuous improvement. This agile-based project management framework has revolutionized the way software development processes work.  The sub-division of projects into smaller sprints and continuous feedback allows the scrum team to deliver high-quality software to the stakeholders and following this model allows companies to stay above the competitive bar.