Agile and Scrum: Easy Understanding of Agile Scrum Methodology

Agile Scrum is a project management methodology which focuses on enhancing the collaboration and communication of the team which helps to address complex issues in a simpler way. It creates a positive impact which enables team members to work towards efficient and quicker completion of the project. The Agile Scrum is used by teams in various industries across different sectors hence having an Agile Scrum certification will not only help to get a hike in your salary but also helps you to cast a wider net while changing your job. A certified Agile and Scrum professional’s view is taken very seriously by the management and most industries prefer a certified professional to handle their project rather than a normal project manager.

Watch: Top 5 Agile certification courses

Let us go through the fundamental terms first

1. What is Agile?

Agile is a software development methodology, it is an iterative approach to the project based on the feedback from the client/stakeholder instead of delivering it all at once near the end.

2. What is Scrum?

Scrum is a popular and most accepted framework of the agile methodology used for managing complex projects.

Advent of Agile

Agile methodology was created to address the issue of deadlines which were missed, going over the budget or sometimes both these issues. Many organizations have succumbed to these issues.

One of the most prominent cases which budged the organizations to look for an alternative project management method instead of the traditional ones like the Waterfall model was probably Microsoft.

Microsoft’s release of Windows 95 was delayed, Windows 2000 suffered a similar outcome, and Windows Vista was a disaster and a latecomer too. It was hated by many customers and criticized for its incompatibility towards third party software. Naturally, Microsoft had to instantly change its approach for future releases.

The reason for the shortcomings was the usage of the traditional method known as the Waterfall method. This was a 7-stage process as shown in the image. The primary issue with this method was its inability to support 2 stages simultaneously. Sometimes the conception would take months and then the issues which were not analyzed would prompt a return to the conception stage. Finally, when the product was delivered, it would either be outdated, or it would be loaded with bugs. The reason usually being the insufficient time provided to the testing team for product testing courtesy of deadline constraints.

Today, Microsoft has completely adapted itself to agile methodologies, it releases efficient and effective products at a faster rate.

Scrum

If you are a hardcore rugby fan, the word scrum would ring a bell in your ears. Yes, the scrum is based upon the game of rugby. The ideology behind both these things are very similar: Efficient way to reach the goal with the help of all team members.

Key Roles in Scrum

A scrum team has three key roles: Product Owner, Scrum Master, Development Team

Product Owner

A product owner is a person responsible for maximizing the value of the products created by a scrum development team. Here the value stands for the business value of the product.

Scrum Master

The scrum master is the one responsible for ensuring that the team follows agile values, principles, processes and practices. He is also the one who facilitates meetings and is the medium between the product manager and the development team.

Development Team

It is the development team that takes the feedback from the scrum master and the product owner so that the product does not steer away from the business value and is delivered on the agreed time frame.

Read: CSM (Certified Scrum Master) vs CSPO (Certified Scrum Product Owner): which is better?

Scrum Artefacts

Transparency plays a key role in the scrum. The artefacts were created to ensure that the transparency is maximized, and everyone has the same understanding of the artefact at any point in time.

According to the latest scrum guide, scrum framework constitutes of three artefacts.

• Product Backlog

To understand this product backlog, let us first understand: User stories. User stories are a simple and short description of a feature or a requirement. It is mostly created by the product owner or the end customer. A product backlog contains a list of user stories provided by the product owner which serves as an update to the present product or a deliverable to be produced within the time constraint. The time constraint is usually decided by the stakeholders or upper management.

• Sprint Backlog

A sprint is set period during which specific work must be completed and should be ready for review. The goal of the sprint backlog is to discuss and prioritize the user stories which are to be pushed to the sprint. The scrum master should make sure that there is active participation by every member of the team. Neither the scrum master nor the product owner should try to intimidate or coerce team members towards the desired opinion, which destroys the whole point of using agile methodology.

• Product Increment

The product increment is a sum of all the completed product backlog items plus the value of all the previous increments. The product increment provides a transparent and accurate state of the product at each sprint.

Scrum Ceremonies

Ceremonies in a scrum are also known as meetings. The use of such a traditional word should give you an insight to the importance given to meetings

There are four ceremonies in a scrum.

• Sprint Planning Meeting

Sprint planning is a collective effort of the scrum master who facilitates the meeting, product owner who clarifies the details of the product backlog items with respect to acceptance criteria and the entire development team which develops the product. This is a timed session which may last roughly 1 hour and is conducted before every sprint backlog. In sprint planning the entire team agrees to complete a set of product backlog items. This agreement defines the sprint backlog and it is based on the team’s tempo or capacity and length of the sprint.

• Daily Scrum Meeting

This is also known as the daily stand-up meeting. This meeting is conducted every day (usually earlier in the day). Here every team member provides an update on the work assigned to him in the previous scrum. They are also supposed to inform about the impediments which may become problematic in the future and whether they require help from other team members if the task is too complex. The scrum master and the product owner must take steps to ensure that all the deadlocks are taken care of and have a contingency plan in case of any new obstructions.

• Sprint Review Meeting

As we already know that the purpose of a sprint is to deliver a potentially shippable product. The sprint review is held at the end of each sprint. The scrum team is supposed to demonstrate their accomplishments during the sprint review, hence this is also known as the sprint demo meeting. This meeting needs to be informal otherwise the team members will end up wasting precious time for creating presentations instead of just showcasing their product.

• Sprint Retrospective Meeting

The last ceremony in every scrum: The Sprint Retrospective Meeting. This is a meeting conducted after the sprint review meeting. It is done to take note of the things which went wrong and the impediments which delayed the process.

Bottom line: The sprint retrospective meeting is done to analyze the mistakes done in the just concluded sprint so that the mistakes can be avoided in the next sprint.

Benefits of Agile Scrum Methodology

The Agile Scrum methodology is one of the most popular methodologies in the world and it is because of its advantages or benefits which other methods fail to deliver.

Here are the major benefits of Agile Scrum methodology

• Better Product Quality

Due to constant feedback from the product owner, stakeholders and the scrum master the product developed in this methodology is devoid of errors or has minimalistic errors/bugs. High-quality products get a steep increase in the value of the product.

• Superior ROI

Return on Investment (ROI) is defined as the amount of money gained or lost corresponding to the amount invested by you. Therefore, ROI is an important criterion before adopting any new technique of software development. According to an article by IBM developer Roger N. Dunn, agile is 63% more advantageous than the plan-driven approach.

• Flexible

Compared to other frameworks scrum is the most flexible framework. Hence, it can not only be applied to software requirements but also to operational processes. Scrum ensures optimization of resource usage and minimisation of waste.

• Improved Customer Satisfaction

The principle of agile gives a lot of importance to customer satisfaction. The product features, functionality that offers value to the customer are delivered at a quicker rate. The deliverables are based exactly on the requirements of the customer and it is delivered not once but continuously throughout the project resulting in increased customer satisfaction.

Limitations of Agile Scrum Methodology

Every methodology is haunted by its flaws and Agile Scrum is no different. The pros of Agile Scrum methodology outweigh the cons. Hence it is the most preferred methodology by many organizations.

Here are the major limitations to Agile Scrum methodology

• Scrum needs to be exercised only by the experienced people otherwise it will end up becoming the kryptonite of the organization.
• If the tasks are defined poorly, the project often becomes a victim of inaccuracy
• As it is a new technology it will take time for any organization to get accustomed to it

Conclusion

The Agile Scrum methodology was created to ease the lives of software developers, testers and organizations. Adapting this methodology into your organization will gradually multiply your profits and increase work satisfaction among your employees as their opinions are also respected. The things to consider before adapting to this methodology is to ensure that there are an experienced certified scrum master and an equally experienced certified product owner, and your organization should be ready for rapid change as it is a paradigm shift from the traditional methods.

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