Scrum: The Complete Guide to the Agile Project Management ...

Scrum:

thecompleteguidetotheagileprojectmanagementframeworkthathelpsthesoftwaredevelopmentleanteamtoefficientlystructureandsimplifythework&solve

problemsinhalfthetime

JOSHWRIGHT

TableofContentsCopyrightPageIntroductionChapter1What isScrum,AGeneralOverviewandALittleBit ofHistory

aboutitChapter2ScrumBasicsChapter3ScrumMethodChapter4ToolsChapter5CoreRolesofScrumChapter6PhasesofScrumProcessChapter7ScrumArtifactsChapter8ScalingScrumChapter9BenefitsChapter10ScrumMistakestoAvoidChapter11ScrumCertificationChapter12ApplyingScrumChapter13TheScrumFrameworkConclusion

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Introduction

Scrum is decisively a development of AgileManagement. Scrum strategydependsonalotofcharacterizedpracticesandjobsthatmustbeincludedduringtheproduct advancementprocess. It is an adaptable approach that rewards theuseof the12sprystandards inasettingconcurredbyall thecolleaguesof theitem.

Scrum is executed in brief hinders that are short and intermittent, calledSprints, which generally run from 2 to about a month, which is the term forcriticismandreflection.EachSprintisanelementinitself,thatis,itgivesatotalresult,avarietyofthelastitemthatmusthavetheoptiontobeconveyedtothecustomerwiththeleastconceivableexertionwhenmentioned.

Theprocedurehasasabeginningstage,arundownoftargets/necessitiesthatmakeup the taskplan. It is thecustomerof the task thatorganizes thesegoalsconsidering an equalization of the worth and the expense thereof that is themannerbywhichtheemphasesandresultingconveyancesareresolved.

Fromoneperspectivethemarketrequestsquality,quickconveyanceatlowercosts, for which an organizationmust be extremely deft and adaptable in theadvancementof items, to accomplish short improvement cycles that can fulfillthe need of clients without undermining the nature of the outcome. It is anextremely simple technique to actualize and well known for the snappyoutcomesitgets.

Scrumtechniqueisutilizedforthemostpartforprogrammingadvancement,however different divisions are additionally exploiting its advantages byactualizing this procedure in their hierarchical models, for example, deals,showcasing,andHRgroupsandsoon.

ScrumDevelopmentIn Scrum, the group centers around building quality programming. The

proprietor of a Scrum venture center around characterizing what are theattributesthattheitemshouldneedtomanufacture(whattofabricate,whatnot,andinwhatrequest)andtodefeatanydeterrentthatcouldruintheundertakingoftheimprovementgroup.

TheScrumgroupcomprisesoftheaccompanyingjobs:Scrumace:Theindividualwhodrivesthegroupmanagingthemtoagreeto

thestandardsandproceduresofthesystem.Scrumacedealswiththedecreaseof

obstructionsoftheundertakingandworkswiththeProductOwnertoexpandtheROI. The Scrum Master is responsible for staying up with the latest, givinginstructing,tutoringandpreparingtothegroupsontheoffchancethatitneedsit.

Itemproprietor(PO):Is thedelegateof thepartnersandclientswhoutilizetheproduct.TheycenteraroundthebusinesspartandisliablefortheROIofthetask. They Translate the vision of the venture to the group, approve theadvantagesinstoriestobefusedintotheProductBacklogandorganizethemallthetime.

Group:Agatheringofexpertswiththefundamentalspecializedinformationwho build up the task together doing the narratives they focus on toward thebeginningofeachdash.

ApplicationsofScrumScrumhasbeenusedworldwideextensivelyandappliedacrossvarioususe

cases includingbutnot limited to: researchand identifymarkets, technologies,and product capabilities; develop and release products and enhancements asfrequentlyasmany timesperday;maintainandsustainproducts, systems,andother operational environments. Further, Scrum has been used to developsoftware (embedded and otherwise), hardware, networks of interactingfunctions,autonomousvehicles, schools,government,non-profitorganizations,marketing,operations,andalmosteverythingweuseinourdailylives.

FundamentalScrumTrade-offsThere are four fundamental trade-offs defined by theAgileManifesto that

ScrumFrameworkimplements:

1. IndividualsandinteractionsOVERprocessesandtools2. WorkingsoftwareOVERcomprehensivedocumentation3. CustomercollaborationOVERcontractnegotiation4. RespondingtochangeOVERfollowingaplan

Furthermore, there are three main focus areas that the Scrum Frameworkimplements:

1. Focus on value: Everything that is donewith theAgileMindsetfocusesonthevalueitcreates.Ifthereisvalue,thendoit.Ifthereisnovalue,thendon’tdoit.

2. Focusoncollaboration:ScrumFrameworkfocusesonteamingthe people with the right skills and the right mindset for creative

collaborationbyprovidingtherightculturalenvironmenttoenableandamplifystrongcollaboration.

3. Focusonadaptability:ScrumFrameworkdealswiththefactthatrequirementsdochangequicklyandfrequently.Therefore,teamsre/de-prioritizeexistingworkwhenitisrealizedthatitisnotvaluable.For that reason, the Agile Mindset gives special emphasis onadaptability.

TheBackgroundofScrumYoucanapplytheseprinciplestoyourlife tocreateanimmediatesenseof

accomplishment.Althoughyoumayaccomplishsomeofthegoalsyouset,thesegoals may not be aligned with your values. Plus, if you don't recognizeaccomplishmentsregularly,you'lllikelyloseenthusiasmorgetdistractedeasily.

Using this method, your definition of success will shift from “what can Iaccomplish this year?” to “what can I do tomove closer tomygoals today?”Everydaybecomesasuccessfulday,andattheendoffourweeks,just28days,youhavesomething tangible tocallsuccess. It’s inspiringandself-reinforcing.Youbecomeunstoppable.

Youalsobecomemore flexible. If life throwsyouacurveball, it’s easy toadjust because you are nimble and focused on your values rather than someobscure,immovableobjectinthefuture.

Chapter1WhatisScrum,AGeneralOverviewandALittleBitofHistoryaboutit

WhatisScrumScrum is a deft improvement technique utilized in the advancement of

softwaredependent on an iterative andgradual procedures.Scrum is versatile,quick, adaptable and powerful spry structure that is intended to convey anincentivetotheclientallthroughtheimprovementoftheventure.Theessentialgoal of Scrum is to fulfill the client's need through a situation ofstraightforwardness in correspondence, aggregate duty and ceaselessadvancement.The improvementbegins fromageneral thoughtofwhat shouldbefabricated,explainingarundownofqualitiesrequestedbyneed(itembuild-up)thattheproprietoroftheitemneedstoget.

In1993,JeffSutherlandandhisgroupatEaselCorporationmadetheScrumprocedure to be utilized in programming advancement forms by consolidatingtheideasofthe1986articlewiththeideasofitemarrangedimprovement,exactprocedurecontrol, iterativeadvancementandgradual,programmingproceduresand profitability improvement, just as the advancement ofmind-boggling anddynamicframeworks.

"Doinghalfofsomethingis,basically,sittingidle."–JeffSutherlandCLICKTOTWEET

ScrumMethodologyandProcess

WhatDoesScrumMeanandHowDoesItFitIn?NowthatwehavespentsometimeinthisguidebooktalkingabouttheLean

methodologyand theAgileFramework, it is time to takea lookatScrumandhowitcanfitintoallofthis.TherearegoingtobesomedifferentapproachestousingtheAgileFramework,differentmethods,andtypesthattheusercanworkwithbasedonwhatworksthebestforthem.Eachapproachoreachtypeofagileframeworkisgoingtobeconsideredlightweight.Whatthismeansisthatallthepractices and the rules for each approach aregoing tobekept down to abareminimum.

Inaddition,eachapproachwillalsoneedtoensurethatthemainfocushereis on empowering your developers to make good decisions together and tocollaboratewitheachother.Youwillnoticethateachdeveloperwhoworksonthis framework is going to come into the project with a different background

which canbegreat news for allowing thegroup toworkmore effectively andquickly.Youneverwanttoendupwithagroupofpeoplewhoallknowhowtodoexactlythesamething.

Having a group of people with different backgrounds and knowledge canhelpyoucreateateamthatismorecohesiveandmorereadytogetthingsdone.

As we go through here, it is important to remember that the big idea ofworkingwith theAgile system is tocreateallyourproducts,applications,andmore in small increments.Eachof these individual increments is testedbeforeyou can consider them complete. This assures that the product is built withqualityatthattime,insteadoftryingtowastetimefindingqualitylaterondowntheroad.

Remember that the Agile Framework is going to be a process that yourdevelopmentalteamisabletofollowtoensurethatonlypositivethingsoccur.Ithasbeendesignedtomakeitsoallparties,bothyourbusinessandthecustomer,canprovidefeedbackwhiletheprojectisbeingdeveloped,ratherthanaftertheproduct is done and has gone to the market. Doing this can cut out a lot ofproblemsthatmaycreepupandactuallymakesyourbusinessandyourprocessmoreefficientinthelongrun.

Andwhiletherearequiteafewdifferentchoicesthatyoucanmakewhenitcomestosoftwaredevelopmentapproachesinthisframework,themostpopularonesthatmanypeoplechooseisScrum.Scrumisaframeworkthathasabroadapplication that allows users to manage and control incremental and iterativeprojectsofalldifferenttypes.

Scrumcanbereallyusefuliftherearemanydifferenttypesofprojectsthatyouneedtocompleteatthesametimeanditwillensurethatyourteamisabletocomplete each of these projects in a timelymanner.At the same time, Scrumwillworktomakesurethatthevalueofyourproductdoesn’tendupchangingatthe same time. The philosophy behind Scrum depends on connections andcollaborationwhichcanensurethatyourteamcompleteseachoftheseprojectsinthebestwaypossible.

Tomakesurethatallofthiscanbedone,thereareseveraldifferentrolesthatcomewiththeScrumprocessandeachpersonontheteamneedstobewillingtotaketheirroleseriously.Ifevenonepersonontheteamdoesn’tdothejobtherightway, then thewholeprocess isgoing tofail.Remember thatScrumisallaboutstayingconnectedandaboutteamwork.

Tobreakitdown-evenmore,therearethreebasicprinciplesthatcomewiththeScrumideologyincluding:

AdaptationInspectionTransparency

TheScrumideologyisallaboutseeinghowthingsareandmakingsurethateveryoneontheteamknowswhatisgoingonaswell.It’simportantthatyoubeconciseandclearasmuchaspossibleandthateveryoneisalwaysinformed.Itmaybetemptingattimestohidemistakes,butthisjustleadstoatonofissuesdown the road when other team members don’t know what is going on.Transparency is so important during every step of this process to ensure thateveryoneisheldaccountable.

Scrumisalsogoing to require inspections tohelpeveryoneandeverythingstays on track.Without this, it is hard for the team to know if they are evenworkingonaprojectthatwillholdvalueforthecustomerandtheymaygettotheendandfindthattheproductdoesn’tevenwork.

And of course, we can’t forget all about adaptation. Things are going tochange—thatisjustapartoflife.It’simportantforyourScrumteamtobeabletoadapttoallthedifferentchangesthatthisprocessisgoingtogothrough.Thecustomermaychangetheirmind,theteammaydecidethattheywanttochangeup theway theywill complete a task, and theProductOwner canmake somechangestotheProductBacklog.

Each productwill go through a ton of changes throughout its process andbeing adaptable can make these changes easier to handle. If there is noadaptabilitywhenitcomestothisprocess,theproductisnotgoingtobecreatedandtheentireprocessmustbereworked.

MoreaboutScrum

Scrum is basically a framework where people are able to address manycomplexadaptiveproblems,whilestillbeingabletocreativelyandproductivelydeliverproductsthathaveahighamountofvaluefortheircustomers.Scrumbyitself is just a simple framework that can be used to ensure that teamcollaboration occurs effectively, even on a complex product. Scrum is a greatframework to use because it is simple to understand, can take some time tomasterbutisworththetime,andlightweight.

ItisnotamethodologylikesomeoftheotherLeanideologiesthatwetalkedabout before. Instead, this framework is going to implement the scientific

method of empiricism. It is going to replace a programmed approach with aheuristicone,withrespecttoself-organizationandpeopletohelpdealwithanyunpredictabilityandwhenitcomestosolvingcomplexproblems.

IfyouarelookingtoimplementAgileintoyourbusinessandyourprograms,thenScrumisprobablytheframeworkthatyouaregoingtoworkwith.ThisissuchapopularframeworkthatmanypeoplethinkthatAgileandScrumarethesame things. You can easily use other frameworks to help implement Agile,includingKanban,butmanytimesScrumispreferredbecauseitiseasytoworkwithandithasanicecommitmenttodoingsmalleriterationsofwork.

WhatisSoSpecialaboutScrum

WithScrum, therearea lotof things thatyouaregoing toenjoyabout theframeworkandhowitcanmakeyourproductworkbetter.Theproductisgoingtobebuiltinaseriesoffixed-lengthiterationswhichareknownassprintsthatcan give teams a framework for dealing with software on a regular cadence.Milestones,which are also the end of a sprint, are going to come often. Thishelpsyoutofeellikethereisatangibleamountofprogresswitheachcycle.Thisquickmovementcanmake teammembers feel like theyaremeetinggoalsandcanprovideaformofenergytothework.

Short iterations in the Scrum framework are going to help reinforce theimportanceofgoodestimationandsomefastfeedbackfromtestswillhelpyouknow ifyouare taking the rightdirectionon theproductor ifyouneed to trysomethingnew.

When you areworkingwithScrum, you are going to need to call up fourceremonies.Thesefourceremoniesaregoingtoinclude:

Sprintplanning:Thisisgoingtobeaplanningmeetingthatthewholeteam needs to attend.During this time, you need to determinewhatyouandtheteamwanttobeabletocompleteinthecomingsprint.

Dailystand-up:ThisisknownasthedailyScrum.Thisisgoingtobeashort meeting, about 15 minutes, where the software team can gettogetherandsyncuptoknowwhattoaccomplishthatday.

Sprintdemo:Thisisasharingmeetingwheretheteamcangettogetherandshowwhattheywereabletoshipthatsprint.

Sprint retrospective: This is a review of what went well with theprocess andwhat didn’t go sowell.You canuse this information toensurethatthenextsprintgoesabitbetter.

Duringyour sprint, somevisualartifacts suchasburndownchartsand taskboards will be visible to everyone on the team and can be some powerfulmotivators.Theycanshoweachpersonoftheteamhowfareveryonehascomeandcanevenbeusedtoshowoffnewworkduringthesprintdemotomotivatepeopleevenmore.

ThreeImportantRolesforScrumSuccess

A Scrum team can often have a different composition than a traditionalprojectandyouwillseethattherearethreemainrolesthatneedtobecovered.Thesethreerolesincludeproductowner,developmentteam,andscrummaster.Andbecause theseScrum teamsare cross-functional, thedevelopment team isgoing to include engineers, designers, and testers in addition to all of yourdevelopersonthatproject.

Firstaretheproductowners.Thesearethechampionsoftheproduct.Theseindividuals need to focus on understanding all the market and businessrequirements and then will take this information and prioritize the work thatneeds to be done by the other groups. Products owners who are the mosteffectiveareableto:

Manageandbuildupthebacklogoftheproduct.Work closely with the team and the business to make sure thateveryoneunderstandstheitemsthatareinthebacklogandwhatneedstobedone.Provides the teamwith clear guidance onwhich features need to bedeliverednext.Decidewhentoshiptheproductwithaslanttowardsdeliveringmorequickly.

Keep inmind that the projectmanager and the product owner are not thesamepeople.Productownersarenotgoingtobeinchargeofmanaginghowtheprogramproceeds.Instead,theproductownerisgoingtofocusonmakingsurethattheteamisabletodeliverthemostvaluetothebusiness.Also,theproductownerneedstobejustoneperson.Evenif thereare technicallyseveralpeople

whocanholdthisrole,itisbesttojustpickoutoneindividualwhocandothework.Youdonotwantyourdevelopmenttogetguidancefromseveralproductowners at once. This slows down productivity and can justmake thingsmoredifficulttohandle.

Next on the list is the Scrum master. These are the champion for Scrumwithin the team.Theyaregoingtobe inchargeofcoachingnotonly the teambutalso thebusinessand theproductowneronhowtheScrumprocessworks.Theyshouldalsospendsometimelearninghowtofine-tunetheirownpracticeofit.AneffectiveScrummasterreallyunderstandswhatworktheteamisdoingandcanensurethattheteamoptimizesitsdeliverflow.Asafacilitatorinchief,they are going to be there to schedule the logistical and human resources,planningoutsprints,stand-up,sprintreview,andeventhespringretrospective.

Part of the Scrummaster’s job is tomake sure that there aren’t any anti-patternsthatstarttoshowup.OnethatisprettycommonwithteamsthatarenewtoScrumiswhentheteamtriestochangethescopeofthesprintafterthesprinthasbegun.

Keepingyourscopeairtightwillhelpyoutokeepontrackandcanbegreatforproductplanning.Plus,itisgoingtofendoffsomeofthedisruptionsourcesthatoccurwiththedevelopmentteam.

Scrummastersaresometimesthoughtofastheprojectmanagers,but thesetypesofmanagersdon’thavemuchofaplaceintheScrummethodology.TheScrum team can often handle itself andwill organize around their ownwork.Agile teams are going to use a pullmodel where the team is going to pull acertainamountofworkfromtheirbacklogandthenwillcommittocompletingthatworkduringthesprint.Thiscanbeagreatwaytomaintainqualityandcanensurethatthebestperformanceisgoingtocomeoutofitsteamoverthelong-term.

In this process, neither the product owners, project managers, nor scrummasters are there to push work on the team. They will list out the work thatneedstobedone,helptodirectsomeofthethingsthatshouldhappenduringthesprint,andmore.Theteamgetstodoalittlebitofself-regulatinginthisprocessthatcanincreasemoraleandprovideshigherqualityworkforthebusiness.

Andtofinishtheteamout,thereisalsotheScrumteam.Thesearetheoneswhowillworkonsustainabledevelopmentpractices.TheScrumteamthatwillbe the most effective is co-located, tight-knit, and between five to sevenindividuals.Theteammembersneedtohaveadifferentsetofskillssothattheycan cross-train each other. This ensures that there aremore effectiveness andproductivity in the team and ensures that one person doesn’t becomebottlenecked with the process. They will often learn how to use the Scrum

methodologyinordertogetthingsdoneforthebusiness.Allthreeofthesepartsneedtoworktogetherinordertomakeaproductas

successfulaspossible.Youneedsomeonewhocanlistouttheworkthatneedstobedoneby the team,youneedsomeonewhocanavoid thedistractionsandkeepstheteamontask,andthenyouneedtheactualteamwhoisabletodothework.Whenallof thesedifferentpartsareable toworkthroughthiswell,youwill see that a business can become more effective and productive than everbefore.

ABriefHistoryofScrum

Projectmanagementishardlynew.As a matter of fact, traditional project management was born out of the

experiences that project professionals had as a result of their work in variousfields. Since project management was largely experienced-based, it wasn’talwayseasyforprojectmanagerstodealwiththemyriadofaspectsthatgointocompletingaprojectsuccessfully.

Overtime,projectmanagementbecamemoresystematicinsuchawaythatexperienceswere collected andbuilt into a framework that couldbeusedas areferenceforfutureworkdoneinsimilarfields.

This collection of knowledge, experience, and lessons learned led to thecreation of the traditional project management approaches known today. Inparticular,themethodologyespousedbytheProjectManagementInstitute.

While there isnothingwrongwith thismethodology, the software industryrealized that traditional projectmanagement approaches justweren’t cutting itforthem.Therehadtobesomethingmoresuitedtotheneedsandcharacteristicsofthesoftwareindustrythatcouldprovideamoredynamicframework.

Andso, theninetiesbroughtaboutinnovationsinthefieldofprogrammingandsoftwaredevelopment.Oneof thenewmethods thatemerged isknownas“extremeprogramming”orXP.ThisledtooneofthemostpopularversionsoftheWindowsoperatingsystemknownas“WindowsXP.”

Extreme programming became one of the precursors to what wouldeventuallybecomeknownasAgile.ConsideringthatAgilewasbornoutofthesoftware industry, Agile project management methodologies becamesynonymouswiththesoftwareindustry.

In the late nineties, some of the most successful software developers andprogrammers began putting their heads together in order to come up with abrand-newapproach that could encompass theneeds and characteristics of thesoftwareindustry.

ThisledtotheemergenceoftheAgileManifestoin2001.

Chapter2ScrumBasics

BasicsofScrumWehaveestablishedthatScrumisaprojectmanagementmethodologythat

embraces change rather than avoiding it. In addition,we have established thatScrumisidealforthoseprojectswithahighdegreeofuncertaintyandvolatility.

So,whatexactlyisScrum?ThenameScrumcomesfromRugby-thesport.Rugby is a team sport that promotes a high degree of teamwork and

collaboration.Incaseyouarenotfamiliarwiththissport,Iwouldencourageyoutocheckoutsomehighlights.Youwillseethatallplayersneedtosupporteachotherinorderfortheteamtobesuccessful.

InRugby, allplayersmust contribute. It isnot likeother sportswhereoneplayer can dominate while the others play a supporting cast around them. InRugby, one player that tries to take over will end up being pounded by theopposition.ThatiswhyRugbyisahighlycollaborativesport.

Consequently, the name “Scrum” is derived from the interaction andgameplaythattakesplaceinaRugbymatch.

As far as Scrum in terms of project management, it is an Agile-basedmethodology. This means that Scrum is intended to serve as a means oforganizingandcoordinatingtheactionsamongallparticipantsinaproject.

Wewill look at the three basic personas in aScrum-basedproject and thevariousstagesofaScrumproject.Moreover,weexpectthatyouwillgetafirmgraspontheunderpinningsthatsupportScrumasamethodology.

Scrum can be defined as follows: Scrum is a project managementmethodologythatvaluessimplicityandisbasedonempiricism.Itfollowsasetofguidelinesandpromotestheself-organizationofteams.

This lastpoint is importantasself-organizing teamsareakeyfactor in theproductionofoutputs.Whenateamisabletoorganizeitselfefficiently,thentheoutputs that result from this approach are the result of the collective effort asopposed to having a long and drawn-out process as seen in traditionalapproaches.

Scrumhasthreeimportantcharacteristicswhichdifferentiateitfromitscore,Agile:

ItislightweightItisalsosimpletounderstand

Itistoughtomaster

ThesethreepointsplaceemphasisonthefactthatrunningaprojectbasedonScrum requires minimal amounts of paperwork and stresses developing acollaborativenatureamongteammembersandthecustomer.

ConsideringthatwehavedefinedwhatScrumis,itisworthdiscussingwhatScrumisnot.

Scrumisnotamagicformulathatwillsolvealloftheproblemsassociatedwithrunningaprojectorgettingstuffdone.

Also, Scrum is not a type of predictive methodology that is based on analgorithmthatcandeterminewhatyouneedtodoatanystepoftheprocess.

TheProcessofScrumSinceScrumactslikeamethodology,thereisaseriesofstepswhichmustbe

followed in order to maximize its effectiveness. As we have stressed earlier,Scrumisnotrigidanditisnotpredictive,thatis,Scrumisopenanditfeedsoffthecreativityofeach individualpractitionerasopposed toexpectingacookie-cutterapproach.

ThecoreoftheScrumprocessiscalleda“sprint”.AsprintistheindividualiterationoftheScrumprocess.Thus,theentireprojectdevelopmentisbrokenupinto successive parts inwhich each of these partsmust produce some type ofoutputthatcanthenbeusedasameasureof“workingsoftware”.

Thislastpointisimportantastheconceptof“workingsoftware”impliesthatat theendofeachsprint, theproject teammustbeable todelivervalue to thecustomer.Now,whether thatmeans an actual functioning piece of equipmentdependsonthenatureoftheproject.Nevertheless,attheendofeachsprint,thecustomerwillbeabletoseetheadvancementintheprojectitself.

Thenumberofsprintsandthedurationofeachsprintdependontheprojectitself.So, it couldbe thatoneprojectmay last one sprint,while theremaybeprojects that last multiple sprints. It should also be noted that testing can beconductedaspartofasinglesprint,ormultiplesprints,dependingonthenatureoftheworkbeingdone.

Typically, each sprint lasts for fourweeks.Although, this isonlya ruleofthumb.Thelengthofanindividualsprintdependsonanumberoffactors.But,in general, four weeks is a good number. It should be noted that one-weeksprintsmaynot provideyouwith enough time to complete taskswhile sprintslongerthanfourweeksmaydragtheprojectonneedlessly.

Eachsprintbeginswithwhatisknownasa“SprintPlanningMeeting”.TheSprintPlanningMeetingconsistsofdeterminingtheobjectivesforthesprintthat

isabouttostart.GiventhecollaborativenatureofScrum,theobjectives,oruserstories tobecoveredwillbedecidedbythe teamitself.Since the teamisself-organizing, thedecisionofwhatworktobedoneisnotdictatedbytheprojectleadership, rather, the team will decide what they want to do based on anynumberof factorssuchas timeconstraints, the logicalprogressionof theworkbegincarriedout,ortheteam’sunderstandingoftheproject’srequirements.

OncetheworktobedonehasbeendecidedattheSprintPlanningMeeting,theteamwillbeginworking.Everyday,theteamwillengageinwhatisknownastheDailyStandupMeeting.Thismeetingconsistsofhavingashortmeeting,about15minutesinlength,inwhichtheissuesaffectingtheDevelopmentTeamarebroughtup.Thiscouldbeanythingrelated to theworkbeingdonesuchasissuesdealingwithequipment,perhapsalackofclarityonthetasksbeingdone,orateammemberaskingforhelp.

TheDailyStandupMeetingisintendedtofostercommunicationandensurethattheDevelopmentTeamcancommunicatewiththeScrumMasterinordertokeep theprojectmoving along.Thismeeting is verymuch informal innature.However,thisdoesnotmeanthatitisnotserious.

Uponthecompletionofthesprint,theSprintReviewMeetingtakesplace.AttheSprintReviewMeeting,theDevelopmentTeampresentstheoutputsofthatsprint to the customer. The customer is then able to see where the project isheaded and how the team has been able to meet the acceptance criteriaestablishedasthemeasureofsuccessfortheproject.

Once the customer has given their blessing on the outputs, and potentialfeedback, then the Development Team moves into what is called the SprintRetrospectMeeting.TheSprintRetrospectMeetingconsistsofadebriefthattheDevelopmentTeamengagesin,inordertodiscusswhatwentright,whatneedstobeimproved,andwhatissuestheyencounteredthroughoutthesprint.

The Sprint Retrospect Meeting can also segue into the Sprint PlanningMeeting. In this transition, the Development Team can discuss any changerequests from thecustomer.Aswewilldiscuss lateron, it’s important tonotethatchangerequestsfromcustomersshouldbeaddressedat thebeginningofanew sprint so as to avoid altering the planning for the sprint currently inprogress.

TheprocessofSprintPlanningMeeting,sprint,SprintReviewMeeting,andSprintRetrospectMeeting iscalled“iteration”.Thiscycle is repeatedasmanytimes as needed in order to complete user stories. Once all user stories arecompletedandtheproductisfullyfunctional,thentheprojectcanbeconsideredtobeover.

UserstoriesIn short, user stories are a characterization of the end-users of the product

being developed. Now, user stories do not refer to the customer per se. Thecustomeristhepersonwhoiscommissioningtheprojectthoughtheymaynotbethe one who is paying for the project. The customer is the person who ismotivatedtohavetheprojecthappen.

In thecaseofuser stories, theseare the folkswhowillbeusing theactualproduct.Forinstance,thecustomerisanelectronicscompanythathasaskedtheproject team to develop a new set of earphones. The user stories will be thecustomer’s customers, the folks who will visit a shop and purchase theearphones.

Assuch,theuserstoriesmustbeinlinewithwhotheend-usersareandwhytheywouldbemotivatedtopurchasetheproduct.

Sinceaprojectmayhavemultipleuserstories,theprojectcannotbedeemedascompleteduntilalluserstorieshavebeencovered.Itshouldbesaidthatthereisnoneedtodevelopindividualproductstoaddresseachuserstory,butrather,certainfeaturesofasingleproductmayaddressindividualuserstories.

TheRolesinScrumAlso,therearerolestobeplayedinScrum.TherearethreemajorrolesinScrum:theProductOwner,theScrum,andthe

DevelopmentTeam.Eachoneplaysaspecificrolewithintheteamandnonehasauthorityovertheother(s).Scrumrequiresaflatstructure.Therefore,oneteammembercannotexpecttohavecontrolovertheothers.

In the case of the Product Owner, this is the “voice of the customer,”meaning that the Product Owner will be in constant communication with thecustomer and to relay this information to the ScrumMaster andDevelopmentTeam.Generally, theProductOwnerwillcommunicatewiththeScrumMasterand then the ScrumMaster will incorporate any additional information to theDevelopmentTeam.TheProductOwnerisgenerallythefirstplayerontheteamand will most likely be in charge of selecting the Scrum Master and theDevelopmentTeam.

TheScrumMasterisknownasa“subservientleader”.TheScrumMasterisintended to act as coordinator in order to ensure that all activities are runningsmoothlyandthattheDevelopmentTeamhasallthetoolstheyneedinordertodo their job.This implies that theScrumMasterwill beworkingvery closelywith the Development Team in order to address issues as they come up. Inaddition, theScrumMastermustdevelopagood sense fordealingwith issuesproactively before they become any type of serious hindrance to the project’s

development.AsfortheDevelopmentTeam,thesearetheindividualswhoareactuallyin

chargeofcreatingtheproductthattheprojectaimstodevelop.Theyareskilledin theircraftandaremore than likelyspecialists in their field.Theymayhavesome limitedknowledgeandexperience inScrum,whereas, theScrumMasterandtheProductOwnermustbeverywell-versedinScrummethodology.

TheDevelopmentTeamisinchargeofdecidingwhatworkwillbedoneandwhenitwillbedone.ThisiswhathappensattheSprintPlanningMeeting.TheultimatedecisionofwhattoincludeandwhatnottoincludeistheresultofthediscussionamongtheScrumMasterandtheDevelopmentTeam.

Finally, theDevelopmentTeamgenerallyconsistsof4 to8members.Anyteam larger than10members shouldbebrokenup into twosmallergroups,orperhapssubgroups,inordertofacilitatecommunicationandcoordinationamongthem.This iswhy transparentcommunicationandcollaborationare twoof thefoundationalpillarsofasuccessfulScrumteam.

ScrumFlowScrum Projects can be a lot to dealwith. There aremany different things

goingon and a lot to keep trackof.Even the terms themselves canbe a littleoverwhelming!TheimportantthingtorememberisthatScrumProjectshave5essential activities to ensureoptimalproductdevelopment.Usingeachprocesswillhelpperformanceandmakethingsmoreefficientfromthebeginningtotheveryendoftheproject.ThisisalsoreferredtoastheScrumProcessFlow.

1. Sprint - Used by the ScrumTeam, a Sprint is a short developmentperiod of timewhere the team creates product functionality. Sprintstypicallylastbetween1and4weeksandcaneventakeaslittleasoneday. They’re considered to have a short development cycle, soshouldn’t take longer than 4 weeks. The planned economic value isdetermined by how long the Sprint is, so if it takes longer thanoriginallythought,thenthatmeansmoremoneyspent.

2. SprintPlanning - TheScrumTeammeets at the beginning of eachSprint,anditisherewheretheydecideandcommittoaSprintGoal.TheProductOwnerpresents theProductBacklog,explains the tasks,and asks the team to choose the tasks they want to work on. TheScrum Team also figures out the requirements that will be used tosupportsaidgoalandwillbeusedwithin theSprint.Plus, theScrumTeamwill identify the individual tasks it will take for each specificrequirement.

3. DailyScrum-Ashort15minutemeetingthatisheldeverydayinaSprintandincludestheScrumMaster.Duringthismeeting,theScrumTeammemberscoordinateontheirpriorities.Theytalkaboutwhatismost important to get doneduring the day,what they completed thedaybefore,andif thereareanyroadblockstheymightrunintowhendoingthecurrentday’swork.Doingthishelpsstreamlineeverything,andpreventsanyissuespoppingupunexpectedly.

4. SprintReview -Ameeting that is introducedby theProductOwnerand takes place at the end of each Sprint. During this meeting, theScrumTeamshowsoff theworkingproduct’s functionality that theycompleted during the previous Sprint to the Product Owner. TheProductOwner thendetermineswhether thewholeSprintBacklog iscoveredornot.It’spossiblethatsomethingmightbeputbackintothebacklogifnotdonecorrectly.

5. SprintRetrospective -Similar toaSprintReview, this isameetingthattakesplaceaftereachSprintorproject.However,itisnotledbytheProductOwner,but ratherby theScrumTeam themselves,alongwiththeProductMaster.Theydiscusswhatwentwell,whatpossiblechangestheycouldmake,andhowtomakethosechanges.Theyalsodiscusshow tomake the teamworkmoreefficient if therewereanyissuesgoingon. It’s important to speakupabout issues,otherwise itcould causeproblems later ondown the road thatwouldprevent theprojectfromcontinuing.

BasicsofScrumTheoryThe basics of Scrum can be found in the empirical process control theory

which itself is part of the philosophy of empiricism. The basic idea behindempiricism is that knowledge is gained most effectively via experience andmaking the best possible decision at themoment with the information that isavailable. To take advantage of this idea, Scrum uses an incremental anditerativeapproachasameansofcontrolriskandincreasingthepredictabilityofthedesiredoutcome.Therearethreepillarsatplaywhentheempiricalprocessisused,adaptation,inspection,andtransparency.

Transparency:Transparency is vital as it is important that those who areresponsible for the outcome of a given process have a clear understanding ofhowit isproceedingateverystepalongtheway.Additionally, transparencyisalsoimportanttoensurethatanyoneelsewhoneedstoseewhatisgoingoncanfollowalongaswell.Theendgoalisthatanyobserverswillallhavethesamegeneralunderstandingofwhateveritistheyareseeing.

Onesuchareainwhichthisisthecaseiswhenitcomestohavingacommonlanguagethroughouttheprocessthatcanbesharedbyeveryonewhohasahandinit.Forexample,thosecreatingtheproductandthoselookingattheresultswillboth need to have the same understanding of when the project is actuallycompleted.

Inspection: Scrum users are frequently required to use Scrum artifacts astheyprogresstowardsagoalinordertodeterminepotentialvariancesthatmaybeundesirabletothatgoal.Theseinspectionsshouldnotbesofrequentthatthegetinthewayoftheworkthatisbeingcompletedandareinsteadmosteffectivewhen theyareperformeddiligentlyby thosewhoare skilledat inspecting thispointofwork.

Adaptation:When an inspector finds that some aspect or aspects of theprocessaredeviatingmorethanisacceptable,orthattheresultingproductwillultimatelybeunacceptablethentheprocessmustbechangedasquicklyascanbemanagedtoavoidadditionaldeviationasmuchaspossible.Whenadaptationisrequired,thereareseveralspecificeventsthattakeplaceaspartoftheScrumprocess,andtheyincludetheSprintRetrospective,DailyScrum,SprintReviewandSprintPlanning.

ToensurethepillarsofScrumallworkatmaximumefficiencywhileatthesame time building trust among the group as awhole, the entire Scrum teamneeds to live by the values of respect, openness, focus, courage, andcommitment.Scrumteammembersexploreandlearntoembodythesevaluesasthey work with various Scrum artifacts, roles, and events. Using Scrumsuccessfullyultimately requires teammembers tobecomemoreadaptat livingthesespecificvaluesover time.Likewise, it is important that the teamfeel theneedtopersonallycommittoachievingthegoalsoftheScrumteamaswell.

It is important that the Scrum team feels supported enough to have thecouragetoalwaysdotheright thingonaproject,regardlessofhowdifficult itmightseematthetime.IftheScrumTeamanditsvarioustypesofstakeholderscan all ultimately agree to be open about thework that is being done and thechallengesbeingfaced,thenmutualrespectwillflourishandeveryonecanfocusontheworkofeachSprintandtheultimategoalsoftheteam.

Chapter3ScrumMethod

SCRUMSOFTWAREDEVELOPMENTMETHODOLOGYImplementationofAgile(Scrum)SoftwareDevelopmentMethodologyThe implementation process of Scrum’s methodology can easily be

explainedwiththehelpoftheScrumFamework.Theframeworkisdividedintothreeparts,i.e.Roles,Ceremonies,andArtifacts.

ROLESThreedefinedrolesareapartoftheScrummethodology.TheseareProduct

Owner,TheScrumMaster,andTheTeamCeremonies,whicharetheprocessesinvolvedintheimplementationoftheAgile(Scrum)softwaredevelopmentandincludethefollowing:

SPRINTPLANNING

Thesprintplanningmeetingconsistsoftheteam,theScrumMaster,andtheproductowner. In themeeting, theproductbacklogitemsarediscussedso thattheycanbeprioritizedand then the teamselectswhichones todo.The sprintplanningmeetingdetermineswhatwillbeworkedonanditalsohelpstodevelopaconsiderableunderstandingofwhatneeds todo inorder tocarry itout.Onenotablethingdoneinsprintplanningisthattasksaremeasuredintime(whereasbeforeitwasdoneinstorypoints).

Aruleofthumb,asprintplanningtakesapproximatelythenumberofweeksinsprint*2hours(4hoursinourcase).

DAILYSCRUMThedailyScrummeeting is held daily for about 15minutes.This is not a

problem-solvingmeeting.ThedailyScrumhelpsavoidunnecessarymeetings.InthedailyScrumeveryoneanswersthreequestions,whichare:

·Whatdidyoudoyesterday?·Whatwillyoudotoday?·Isanythinginyourway?

THESPRINTREVIEWIn theSprintReview(canalsobe referred toaReview&Demo) the team

presentswhathasbeenaccomplishedduringthesprint.Itisademonstrationofnewfeaturesor theexistingarchitecture. It isan informalpresentationand theentireteamparticipatesinit.

SPRINTRETROSPECTIVEItinvolveslookingatwhatisworkingandwhatisnot.Thetimeperiodfor

thesprintretrospectiveisaroundthirtyminutesandisdoneaftereverysprint.Itinvolves the participation of the product owner, Scrummaster, team and evencustomers. In the retrospective, the whole team gathers to discuss what theywanttostart,continue,orstopdoing.

ARTIFACTSTheartifactscanbecalledthetoolsoftheScrummethodologyandinclude

thefollowing:

PRODUCTBACKLOGTheproductbacklogcaptures the requirements listedas itemsorworkson

the project. Each item is expressed in a way which provides value to thecustomer,prioritizedbytheproductownerandreprioritizedatthestartofeachsprint.

SPRINTBACKLOGThesprintgoal isashort statementabout the focusof theworkduring the

sprint.Inthesprint,backlogworkisneverassignedandindividualschoosetheirown work; the remaining work is estimated daily, and any member can add,changes, ordeletes the sprint backlog.Sprint backlogdetermines thework forthesprint,isupdatedeverydayandeachitemhasitsownstatus.

SPRINTBURNDOWNCHARTTheSprintburndownchart shows the total sprintBackloghours remaining

eachdayandalsotheestimatedamountoftimetorelease.Thesprintburndownchartshould ideallycomedowntozeroat theendof thesprint.TheX-axisofthe chart shows the time left in this sprint and the Y-axis show the hour’sestimatedremaining.

BENEFITSOFSCRUM

Scrum methodology eliminates the need for comprehensivedocumentationMistakescanbeeasilyrectifiedClearvisibilityoftheprojectdevelopmentIterativeinnatureandrequirescustomerfeedbackShortsprintsandconstantfeedbackmakecopingwithchangeseasierIndividualproductivityimprovesasaresultofdailymeetingsIssuesareidentifiedinadvanceandhencecanberesolvedrapidlyAqualityproductcanbeeasilydeliveredinthescheduledtimeMinimaloverheadcostintermsofprocessandmanagementIthelpswiththedeliveryoftop-valuefeaturesfirstShortertimetomarket,whichincreasesmarketfeedbackandROISystem is better prepared for adaption to business and externalchanges

PITFALLS

TaskscanbespreadoverseveralsprintsifitisnotwelldefinedSuccessandfailureoftheprojectsdependsonthecommitmentoftheteammembersHeavilyreliesonadedicatedProductOwner.Thelackofitcascadesdownandhindersthequalityofthebacklog,whichhasanimpactonessentiallytheentireprocess

WorkswellonlywithasmallteamNeedsrelativelyexperiencedmembersWorkswellforprojectmanagementonlywhentheScrumMastertrusttheteam

IMPLEMENTATIONEXAMPLE

AfixedtimemeetingisheldatafixedplaceeachdayTheTeamLead (ScrumMaster) asks the teammembers aboutwhattheydidthepreviousday,whattheyplantodoandifanyissueswereobservedbythemEveryday the team lead sends the report showing thedailyprogressandissuescalledaburndownchartAmeeting is held at the beginningof the sprint by the team lead todiscuss the product backlog in order to prioritize thework, resourceallocationandtheissuesknownasthesprintbacklog;theymeetonceeveryweekfor2to4weeksTheProductOwnerdefines thescopeof thesprintbasedonthe timeestimatessetatthesprintplanningandtheteam’scapacityforthenextsprint.ThisscopeneedstobeclearlycommunicatedtotheteamsincecompletingtheseticketswillbeacommitmentforthesprintA daily Scrummeeting is held in order to synchronize the activitieswhiletheteamsworkthroughthespringbacklogtasksOnemoretimeduringthesprint,backloggroomingsessionsareheldto present and discuss upcoming user stories for next sprints. Theoutputmaybeanestimationofastory instorypoints,or if the teamneedsmore clarifications, questions that the product owner needs toresearchonasprintreviewisconductedattheendofthesprintcycleandthefinalizedproductisreleasedPerformances and improvements based on previous sprint cycle isdiscussed before starting with a new sprint; this is called sprintretrospectiveThesprintcyclecontinues

VIRTUALSCRUMWHATISVIRTUALSCRUM?A virtual scrum is an education tool used to help teach the scrum

methodology to undergraduate students in the field of software engineering.Because this has become such a widely-used agile practice in the software

industry,it’simportantthatstudentsgetafeelforthisexperienceinahands-onmanner.The ISISTAN-CONICETResearch Institute, located inBuenosAires,Argentina,hasdevelopedavirtualscrumprogramandconductedacasestudytoevaluateitseffectiveness.

This study provided an educational and hands-on approach to scrummethodology. This virtual training tool allowed students to familiarizethemselves with programs and elements of Scrum like blackboards, webblackboards,webbrowsers,documentviewers,charts,andcalendars.

This study followed 45 students using this program to complete theircapstoneproject,aswellasthosenotfollowingthevirtualscrummethodology.The results of the study confirmed that the virtual tool is an excellent andefficientway to teach students the fundamentals and navigation of the Scrummethodology.

AGILE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT AND THE SCRUMMETHODOLOGY

Annual surveys have found that agile methods like Scrum have beenincreasingeveryyear.The2007StateofAgileDevelopmentSurveyfoundthat37 percent of respondents use Scrum. And today, more than 50 percent ofsurveyedcompanieshaveadoptedScrumastheirmainagilemethodology.Thismethodologyisadependable,collectiveapproachtosoftwaredevelopmentthatcanbeimplementedinanyoffice.Thisalsoleveragescommunicationandteamworktosuccesfullymanageproductdevelopment.

Sowhile this studyhasestablished the importanceofavirtualScrum, it isimportanttounderstandhowthevirtualScrumcanbeappliedinyourindividualor workplace life. This study was established to help users understand theframework and capabilities involved in the scrum methodology. The virtualScrum allows users to get a 3D experience inside the world of scrumdevelopment.

This programhelps users become involved in the scrumprocess by takingmembersthroughanincrementallifecycleorsprints.Theseusersarealsoabletobecomeavatarswithspecificroles,includingProductOwner,ScrumMaster,andScrumteam.It’s important tofamiliarizeoneselfwiththebasicsof thismethodologybeforeexperiencingthevirtualscrumworld.

Thissecondarytool,usedtohelppeopleunderstandtheprocessandactionsinvolvedduring the scrummethodology,helps illustrate first-hand thebenefitsofthismethodology.Whilereadingandwritingaboutthescrummethodologyisa goodway to learn, it’s especially helpful to get real exposure to the scrum

process.ThevirtualScrumnotonlyallowsuserstotakeonimportantrolesinsidethe

Scrum process, but it also helps people experience other aspects of scrumdevelopment includingorganizingandcreatinguserstories,planningthesprintbacklog,monitoringsprintworkandfinishingthesprint.

Allof thesekeysteps to theprocesscanbeunderstood through thevirtualScrum. This teaching tool is extremely valuable to the software engineeringworldandmanygreatcompaniesaresearchingforengineerswell-versedinthisarea.

For those looking togetabetterunderstandingofScrumanditsprocesses,using the virtual Scrum program is an excellent option. The simulated scrumenvironmentmaybethenextmajortrendinscrumeducation.

Chapter4Tools

ScrumToolsScrum tools are responsible for facilitating planning and tracking in the

Scrumprojects.Theyprovidesomesingleplacewhere themanagementof thesprint backlog, product backlog, tracking and planning sprints, conducting thedaily Scrum meetings, showing Burndown charts, and holding of ScrumRetrospectivescanbedone.

TherearevarioustypesofScrumtools.Someofthesetoolsareopensource,whileothersarepaid.Youcanalsogetdistilledversionsforsomeofthesetools.However,foryoutobeabletoenjoyallthefeaturesofthetool,youwillhavetopurchasethefullversionofthesame.

These toolswillmake it easy foryou tocompleteeach iteration.Theycanalso help you deliver high-quality Increments.The following are the availableScrumtools:

1. Acunote

Thisisafasttool,andit’seasytouse.Thetoolcanprovidetheteamwiththeactualprogress insteadofwishful thinking.For thosewhoare inneedofdata-drivenmanagement,thistoolwillprovideyouwithpowerfulanalytics.Thistoolcanalsohelp infacilitatingcollaborationacross thewholeScrumTeam.Smallteamscanuse the tool tokeep the items tobeaccomplished.LargecompaniescanuseAcutenotetotracktheworkdonebymanyemployees.Thetoolcanalsobeintegratedwithothertools,suchassourcecontrolsystems,GoogleApps,bugtrackers,etc.Thegoodthingaboutthisisit’sanopensourcetool.

2. RedmineBacklogs

This tool comeswith anumberof features that canhelpyoumanageyourteameffectively.Itcanhelpyousortstories in thebacklogs.Thetoolcanalsogive you a mechanism to display burndown charts. It provides a task boardthroughwhichyoucan track the tasks.With this tool,onecan trackdownanyimpedimentsforeachsprint.

3. Scrumwise

This is theeasiestScrumtoolforyoutouse.With this tool,youcanmaketheteamshappyandproductive.Youwillbeabletomanagethetasksdonebydifferentmembersandtrackthewaythingsarebeingdone.Thetoolfacilitatesthe creation and management of backlogs. You can also plan for sprints andreleasesandknowwhetheryouwilldeliveranIncrementatthesprint’send.Youcancreateataskboardthatyoucanuseeasily,andyouwillbeabletotracktheeventsinrealtime.Thetoolcanhelpyouknowwhetheryourprogressisontherighttrackornot.

4. Axosoft

This is a good tool, especially if you are developing a complex and largeproject.Ithelpsyouassignworkeffectivelytothemembers.Thistoolwillhelpplan foryourproject early enough.Theprogressof theproject canbe trackedvisuallybytheuseofburndowncharts.Finally,youwillbeabletoreleasetherightproductintime,whichwillincreaseyourconfidence.Anydeviationfromtherightpathof theprojectwillbedetectedearlyenoughforcorrectionstobemade.

ScrumToolsofCommunication1.BurndownchartWe’veglancedupon theconceptofburndownchartsbefore,butnow that

wehaveadeeperunderstandingon the important conceptsofScrum.So, let’shaveamorerigorousdiscussiononthisvitaltoolofcommunication.

Sprint backlogs get updated everyday to reflect the amount of workremaining in designated tasks.By adding the remaining amount ofwork fromeachtask,wegetthetotalamountofworkremainingforthewholesprint.Thetotalamountofworkremainingforthewholesprintisthenshownvisuallyusingtheburndownchart.

Burndownchartstypicallytrendtowardszero,aseachtaskgetstackledevenjustalittlebiteveryday.Sometimes,however,theamountofworkremainingonthe previous daymay actually be less than that of thework remaining for thenextday.Thisusuallyhappenswhenthereisanerrorinestimatingtheamountofworkthatneedstobedonetocompleteafeature.Somepeoplemaygetabitconfusedbecausetheteamworkedonalotoffeaturesonthepreviousday,onlytofindoutthattheamountofworkremainingonthenextdayisstillthesame.Thisisstillaresultinunderestimatingthetimeittakestofinishcertainfeatures.This errormay not always be avoidable, especially if the team is not all thatfamiliarwithsomeoftheproductfeaturestobecreated.

While the product owner typically cannot just add new tasks to the sprintbackloginthemiddleofthesprintcycle,teammembersmaychoosetoaddtasksthat they find are actually connected to the features they’reworkingon in thecurrent sprint.While typically changes in the sprint cycle is discouraged, if itturns out that the team accidentally left out a feature in the product backlogthat’s actually needed for a certain feature towork in the current sprint cycle,thenbyallmeanstheteamshouldaddthattaskandadjusttheremainingamountofworkremainingforthewholesprint.

Apotentialproblemthatarisesiswhenteamsfallintothepitfallofgrabbingtoomany tasks from the product backlog thatmay not actually be necessary,thereforeincreasingthechancesofreleasingapotentiallyshippableproductlate.Likehavingaunifiedideaofcompleteness,theteamshouldalsohaveaunifiedideaofwhat’snecessary.What’sgreataboutbeingabletoaddtaskstothesprintbacklog as necessary is that work becomes much more realistic than othermethodologiesthatonlyallowchangestohappeninbeforeproductdevelopmentstarts.Allowing necessary changes to happen even in themiddle of a productcyclewillresultinbetter-builtprograms.

Thereareactuallytwotypesofburndowncharts:releaseburndownchartsand sprint burn down charts. As youmight have guessed, release burn downchartsshowtheamountofworkremainingforthewholeprojectwhereassprintburn down charts show the amount of work remaining for the current sprintcycle.Onecan thinkof releaseburndownchartsas“zoomed-out”versionsofsprint burn down charts. Sprint burn down charts are the ones updated dailywhereas release burn down charts are usually updated only when sprints arecompleted.

Releaseburndownchartsallow the team toseewhether theproductbeingdevelopedwillbe releasedon timeornot. If theproduct is indangerofbeingreleased late, the team will have to make necessary adjustments, whether itmeansworkingfasterorremovingcertaintasksfromthesprintbacklog.Sprintburndownchartsallowtheteamtoseewhetherapotentiallyshippableproductis ready at the end of the sprint cycle or not. Like release burn down charts,shouldtheynoticeapotentialdelayinrelease,they’llhavetoeitherworkfaster;butunlike releaseburndowncharts, theymost likelycannot just remove tasksfromthesprintbacklog.

In either case, burn down charts are very useful in predicting the possiblereleaseoftheproductbeingdeveloped.Themoreworkdaysthathaveelapsed,the more accurate predictions can be made. Using the same charts, the teamcouldalsocreateatargetnumberofhoursineachdaytomakesuretheproductis releasedon time.Saying“we’llneed tofinishxamountofwork in thenext

sprints to release the product on time” is a lot better than saying the non-constructive“we’regoingtobelate!”statement.

Ifyou’venoticed,thechartsandlogsusedalwaysshowthetimeremainingratherthanjusttimeelapsedworkingontheproduct.Inmostcases,timeelapsedisuselessdatabecausetimespentworkingonsomethingdoesnotexactlyreflectthe amount of concentrated work done. It could also lead to a false sense ofaccomplishment (teams could mistakenly correlate elapsed work hours withcompletedwork).Byinsteadshowingtheamountofworkthat’sstillunfinished,theteamcanhaveamoreaccurategaugeontheremainingworktheystillhavetodoandspreadthemoutevenly.

2.BurnUpChartTheproblemwithburndowncharts is that theydon’t showscopechanges

very clearly. Scope change is when tasks are either added or removed in theproduct backlog or sprint backlog. This usually happens when the teamdiscovers tasks that actually need to be done prior to other already planned.Clients, customers, and product owners may also think of additional featuresalongtheway.Burndownchartsmayoversimplifydataandleadtoestimationandpredictionproblemsinthefuture.

Aburnupchartshowstheworkthatisalreadycompletedandthetotalworkwithseparatedatapoints,ascomparedtotheburndownchart,whichcombinesthetwo.Thetotalworkdatawillshowtheamountofworkavailable,whichmaychangeas tasksareaddedorremoved.Thework that’salreadycompletedwillshow theamountofwork that’sbeendone.As I’vementionedbefore, inburndown charts you may see past days that contain less work to be done thansucceedingdays,andthat’softenbecauseofaddedtasks.Burnupchartsshowtheseaddedtasksclearly,aswellasanyremovedtasks.Theyalsomakeiteasiertoseewhyproductstaketoolongtofinishoriftoomanytasksareadded.

Just as burn down charts could be represented in hours spent or in storypoints,burnupchartscouldalsoberepresentedinthesetwomodes.Youcanuseeither,dependingonwhetheryou’reparticularaboutthehoursspentintasksornot.

Burnupchartsandburndownchartsbothhave theirprosandcons–burndownchartsaremuchsimplertocreatebutwon’treallytellyouasmanythingsasburnupchartswill.Burnupchartswill,forexample,showyouthattheteamhadtoremovetasksinordertofinishasprint,whileburndownchartswillonlyshowasuddendownwardfallinworkremaining.

3.TaskboardThe task board is a visual representation of the progress of the sprint

backlog.Ataglance,you’dbeabletotelltheprogressofthetasksquiteeasily.

Team members will update the task board all throughout the sprint. This iswhere tasks are either added or removed as necessary. The amount of workremainingisthenupdatedinthedailyScrumandwillbereflectedintheburnuporburndowncharts.

Intaskboards,productbacklogfeaturestobetackledinthesprintisupdatedto have more details, with mini-tasks necessary to accomplish the tasks. Thecolumnsusuallyusedinthetaskboardare:

ToDo:All uncompletedwork generally starts here. Teammemberschoosetaskstoworkoninthiscolumnandmovethemtothe“Workinprogress”column.Work In Process: All uncompleted work that people are alreadyworkingongenerallygoeshere.To Verify: If there are no separate tasks in testing the completedwork,thetheoretically-completedworkisgenerallyplacedheretobeverified-usuallybytheScrumMasterorotherteammembers.Completed:Tasksthathavebeenverifiedaremovedtothiscolumn.

Chapter5CoreRolesofScrum

CoreRolesInScrumTherearevariousrolestobefilledintheScrumteam,eachcarryingspecific

dutiesandresponsibilities.Theyinclude:

1. TheScrumProductOwner

The role of the product owner is at the heart of the Scrum framework.Aproductownerisadoerandavisionarywhopavesthewayfortheproductthatmeets the needs of themarket. The product owner is fully aware of both thedevelopmentprocessand thecustomer.Theycollaboratewithbothpartiesandhelpthemmakeprecisedecisionsthatbringtheproducttolife.Specificqualitiesofaproductownerare:

VisionaryThe product owner has the ability to envision the final product and

communicatethisvisiontotheteamandthecustomer.Heorshealsocarriestheresponsibility of seeing through the completion of the project. Theseresponsibilitiescallforthecapturingofrequirements,ideas,andworkingcloselywith the team.Thisdemandsspendingaconsiderableamountof timewith thecustomers and understanding their needs and expectationswell.After this, theproduct owner envisions an elegant and simple solution to resolve all theseneeds.He or she also receives and analyzes feedback received from the usersandthestakeholders.Therefore,theproductownermustkeepacloseeyeontheproject, tracking the progress made so far, and calculating the progressexpected.

One thing that theproductownerneeds tomaster is theability toembracechangeandtodealwithitgracefully.Scrum’sframeworkisbuiltasitistohelpusers embrace change more easily. Since he or she is in contact with thecustomer,theygettospeakorcalltheclientabouttheirneeds.Sometimes,theserequestswillbeincessantandannoying,butitisthedutyoftheproductownertoexplainthechangetotheclient inafriendlymanner.Theymust thencomeupwithasimplebutelegantsolutionthatwillresolveallcustomerneeds.Changesdo not only come from the customers, but the market and other forces alsogeneratechangeandtheproductownermustcomeupwithwaystodealwithit.

NegotiatorandCommunicatorThejobdescriptionofaproductownerrequires that theydevelopeffective

communication and negotiation skills. They must communicate with differententities such as the users, marketers, management, engineering, development,sales, andoperations, andalign them towards thecommongoal.Theybecomethe voice of the customer. This role calls for an occasional ‘no’ and acompromisewhenthesuggestedchangecouldjeopardizetheflowoftheprojectinanirreparableway.

QualifiedandAvailableAproductownermustbequalified and available to carryout the job.The

workofaproductownerisfull-timeandtherefore,theyrequireadequatetimetocarry out their roles without distractions. If the person is overworked fromcarrying out other roles besides the project, the progress and quality of theproject at hand will suffer. Qualification for this role simply means that thepersonhasfullknowledgeandisabletounderstandthemarket, thecustomers,and the team.He or she also has to be passionate about delivering the properuserexperience,abletomanageabudgeteffectively,comfortableworkingwitha self-organizing cross-sectional team, and has the ability to guide the teamthroughstepsofdevelopmentfortheproject.

DecisiveThe product owner is looked upon and trusted to make decisions during

times of uncertainty, ambiguity, andwhen dealingwith unknowns.He or sheshouldbecomfortablewithtryingoutnewthingsandtakingeducatedrisks.Itisalsoimportantthattheyberightmostofthetimetosecuretheconfidenceoftheteamandthecustomer.Thebestproductownershaveremarkableinstinctsthataddress the sensitivities of their target customers andwhen facedwith criticaldecisions, theyareable topick the rightones,especially those thathave todowithpricing,designing,andpositioning.

A product owner will only do these things effectively if he or she isempowered,withtheauthorityofmakingdecisionssingle-handedly.Inturn,theindividual has to prove that they are qualified and committed to earning thattrust.

DoerBesidesgeneratinggoodideas,theproductownershouldbeabletoseeideas

andtheirvisionsthroughtotheend.

EducatedAproductownermustbeeducatedinthewaysofthebusinessandpossess

the necessary skills to do the job properly. It would prove impossible for aproduct owner to generate ideas and alternatives to help address the client’sinterestwithouthavingaclueabouthowthesystemworks.Thisunderstandingisalsoessentialforinterpretingandanalyzingfeedback.Inaddition,asapersonwhoworksdirectlywiththedevelopmentteam,itisnecessaryfortheownertohavea clearunderstandingof thedevelopmentprocess andhaveapassion forworkingtocreatethemostfriendlyexperiencefortheusers.

2. TheScrumMaster

AScrumMaster’s primary duty is to ensure that allmembers of the teamstay focused on their tasks and are unhindered. The ScrumMaster’s role liesbetweenbeingateamleaderandamanagementrole,whichmakesdefiningtheirtraits or qualities somewhat difficult.Added to this is the fact that the ScrumMaster is chosen from the employees and it may take a while for them todevelopthequalitiesneededtofillthatrole.

Inthatregard,herearesomecharacteristicstherightScrumMasteroughttohave:

A servant leader: The ScrumMaster is not given charge of the team tocommand themwith regards towhat todo. Instead, theyaremeant toprovidesupporttotheteammembersbyhelpingthemrecognizeandsolveimpediments.ItisnoteasyforanemployeetotransitiontoaScrumMaster,butabornleaderwillhavethenaturaldrivetohelp,enable,andencourageothers,whichisoneofthecriticalnecessitiesforateam.

Knowledgeoftheproducts, themarket,andthedomain:Themore thattheScrumMastersareacquaintedwiththeirproductionprocesses,markets,andproducts, the easier it is for them to takenoteof even the smallest issues thatcropupintheteamandtoresolvethemearlyon.Forexample,theScrumMasterwillbeabletoofferanalternativedevelopmentplanifthecurrentoneisfailing.

Relateswellwiththeteamandcaninfluencethem:TheScrumMasterisdrawndirectlyfromtheteamandmaytakeontheteamleaderroleveryeasilybutfacechallengestakingonmanagementresponsibilities.However,theScrum

Master must have the natural ability to command the respect of fellow teammemberstoinfluencethemtotakeonspecifiedactions.

Relentlessly pursues excellence: Success on the Scrum Master role ismainlyaboutcausingtheteamtoimprovethemannerinwhichitcarriesonwithitsactivities.Thebestapproachisthroughareflectiveanalysisoftheproceduresandprocessesoftheteambeforeoptimizingandstreamlining.Manyemployeesfocusonthecurrenttask,anditistheScrumMaster’sroletoaskthemtotakeastepbackandhelpwiththereview,bytakingnoteandcallingoutanythingtheymighthaveencounteredthroughouttheyear.

Takesnoteofandactsonteamconflict:AgoodScrumMasterisabletorecognizeteamconflictinitsearlystages,isequippedwithproperstrategiestoaddresstheconflict,andemploysstrategiestopreventfutureconflict.

Occasionallyallowstheteamtofail:AnableScrumMasterknowsbetterthantoallowhisteamtofail.However,therearetimeswhentheScrumMastercannotpreventitandallowstheteamtofailandlearn.Thelessonstheteamwilllearnfrommistakes,sometimes,isbetterthanthemotivationtheteamgetsfromsuccessesandgoodadvice.

Doesnotmindbeingdisruptive:AScrumMasterknowsthatsomechangesrequiredisruption.Theyunderstandwhenitisnecessarytobedisruptivetotheextentthattheycausechangewithoutcausingdamage.

Knowshowtodevelopateam:AScrumMasterunderstandsthephasesateam goes through, which are storming, forming, performing, norming andadjourning. If the ScrumMaster is able tomonitor the progression of a team,theywillbeabletomaintainthestabilityoftheteam.

Principles over practices: Scrum practices are only viable if they aresupported by agile principles. Otherwise, the plans and practices become anemptyshell.AScrumMastershouldunderstand thatagileprinciplesareat therootofsuccessfulpracticesandthattheirteammustadheretothemreligiously.

Encouragesself-ownership:AnableScrumMasterencouragestheteamtoacceptself-ownershipofprojects,theenvironment,andthetaskwall.

Observant:AScrumMasterkeepsakeeneyeontheteam’sdailyactivities.

Althoughhe/shedoesnotplayanactiverole ineveryactivity that takesplace,theyobserveallthesessionsandtakenoteofwhatisbeingdiscussedinthedailyScrums.Theyalsomonitortherolethateveryoneplaysinthestand-up.

Leadbyexample:A teamwillbequick to learn ifunderaScrumMasterwhoinspiresthemandallowsthemtounleashtheirabilitiesandpotential,whilestillmodelingdesirablebehavior.Inadifficultsituation,theScrumMasterwilllead them through, showing them how to act on it, calmly and withoutpanicking.Themainfocusistofindasolutiontotheproblemandnottolookforsomeonetoblame.

AnEnabler:EnablingissecondnaturetoanygoodScrumMaster.ThedailyScrumandothermeetingsbecomefuntoattendbecausetheteamisassuredofprogressivethinkingandideasthatwillbewellpreparedanduseful.Intheend,themeetingsbecomeasourceofthoughtstimulationandencouragement.

Avertsimpediments:AgoodScrumMasterwillnotonlyworkonresolvingcurrentproblems,butalsoworksonpreventing theriseofothers in thefuture.With the experience garnered over the years, they should able to read thesituationandpredicttheoutcome,whichgivesthemtheopportunitytowardoffissuesevenbeforetheyappear.

Able to relatewith the ProductOwnerwell: A ScrumMasterworks inpartnershipwiththeProductOwner,whichmakesitnecessaryforthemtohaveanoutstandingrelationship.AlthoughtheyhavedifferentresponsibilitieswheretheProductOwner incites and provokes the team into aggressive and creativeproduction, the Scrum Master plays the role of protecting the team fromexhaustionandfatigue.Wheneachplayshisrole,theteamwillbechallengedtoexcel in its activities, and at the same time is protected from exhaustion andburnout.

Is open about their experiences: Scrum Masters are quick to share theexperience they have hadwith other people in the organization and in talkingforums in conferences and seminars. These events present an excellentopportunity to educate and mentor others, while still learning from them.Writingdownideasalsohelps.

3. TheTeam

TheteamismadeupofprofessionaldeveloperswhosesoleresponsibilityistoconverttheactionitemslistedontheProductBacklogintofunctionalpiecesofthefinalproduct.The5to9peoplesizeoftheteamistomakeitmanageableandtoensurethatitbringstogetheralltheskillsneededperproject.

TheresponsibilitiesoftheScrumteaminclude:

TheScrumTeambears responsibility for all activities taken towardstheachievementofthesprintgoals.TheScrumTeamhas thedutyofkeepingitselforganized; this isnottheworkoftheScrumMaster.Once the Team is committed to delivering certain results, it has theresponsibilityof fulfilling itspromise,making sure todeliverqualityresultsintheagreedtime.The Team liaises with the Scrum Master in deciding the order ofpriority of the items listed in the product backlog when coming upwithasprintbacklog.MembersoftheTeamhavetheobligationofattendingeveryproject-relatedmeetingofwhichevernature,andtoensurethattheagendasofthemeetingsareaddressedproperly.TheTeamhastoremainagileintheirworkstationsandhavetoattendstandupsandanyothereventswhencalledupontodoso.

4. TheStakeholders

Traditionalmethodologiesusedinprojectmanagement takestakeholders tobeallpartiesthatareaffectedbytheproject.InScrum,however,onlythreerolesare recognized; that of the Scrum Master, the product owner, and thedevelopmentteam.Otherinterestedparties,suchastheprojectsponsorsandtheend-users,havetheirvoiceintheprojectthroughtheproductowner.

Amongthestakeholders,Scrumspecificallyputsemphasisontheroleoftheend-user.Thisisbecause,foragileprojects,theteamhastoensurethateachstepthey conduct has benefits and value for the end-user. This causes the productownertoinvolvetheend-userinalmosteverystepsothattheusercanvalidatetheclaimsmadebythedevelopmentteam.Theforemostgoalofanagileprojectistomaximizethecustomer’ssatisfaction.

Therefore,inScrum,therolesofthestakeholdersinclude:

Maintainingahealthyrelationshipwiththeproductownertolearnallthedetailsregardingtheon-goingproject.

Communicating their concerns and wishes to the product owner,particularlyinregardtotheprojectdurationandquality.Be a source of regular input by answering the questions the productownerasks.Help theproductowner toeffectivelyprioritize some tasks toensurethattheprojectgoesonsmoothly.Continuously take and provide updates regarding any necessarychangestotheplans.Provideinsight,inspiration,andmotivationintheprojectdevelopmentprocess.

Other roles the stakeholders take up differ from one project or oneorganizationtothenext.

Non-CoreRolesInScrumJustasthereareessentialcorerolesinScrum,therearealsonon-coreroles.

WhiletheserolesarenotmandatoryforaScrumprojectandmightnotevenbeasinvolvedastheotherroles,theyarestillveryimportantbecausetheycanplaya significant part in the projects. These roles include the Stakeholder(s), theVendors,andtheScrumGuidanceBody.

StakeholderStakeholder is a term that collectively includes customers, sponsors, and

userswho frequently collaboratewith the ProductOwner, ScrumMaster, andScrumTeam.It’stheirjobtocomeupwithideasandhelpstartthecreationoftheproject’s serviceor product andprovide influence throughout theproject’sdevelopment.Thecustomeristhespecificpersonwhobuystheproject’sproductorservice.It’sentirelypossibleforanorganization’sprojecttohavecustomerswithinthatsameorganization(internalcustomers),orcustomersoutsideofthatorganization (external customers).A user is an individual or organization thatuses the project’s service or product. Just like customers, there can be bothinternalandexternalusers.It’sevenpossibleforcustomersanduserstobethesameperson.Thesponsoristhepersonororganizationthatprovidessupportandresourcesfortheproject.Theyarealsothepersonthateveryoneisaccountabletointheend.

VendorVendors are outside persons or organizations. They provide services and

products that are not usually foundwithin the project organization. They help

bringthingsinthatmightnothavebeenthereotherwise.

ScrumGuidanceBodyTheScrumGuidanceBody isoptionaland ismadeupofeitheragroupof

documentsoragroupofexpert individuals.It’stheir jobtodefinegovernmentregulations,security,objectivesrelatedtoquality,andotherparametersseeninthe organization. It’s these guidelines that help the Product Owner, ScrumMaster, and ScrumTeam to carry out theirwork in a consistentmanner. TheScrumGuidanceBodyisalsoagoodwayfortheorganizationtoknowwhatthebest practices are, and which ones should be used in all Scrum projects. It’simportant to note that the Scrum Guidance Body doesn’t actually make anydecisions related to theproject. It’s insteadused asguidelines anda structuralwayforeveryoneintheprojectorganizationtoconsulttheportfolio,project,andprogram.It’sespeciallyusefulfortheScrumTeams,whocanlookatorasktheScrumGuidanceBodyforadvicewhenevertheymightneedit.

Chapter6PhasesofScrumProcess

TheProcessUnlike the more conventional waterfall version that concentrates on a

stringentstep-by-stepprocessofdevelopmentstages,theiterativedesignisbestviewedasacyclicalprocess.Afterapreliminaryplanningstage,atinyhandfulof stages are repeated over and over, with each conclusion of the cycleincrementally improving just iterating on the program. Enhancements canrapidly be recognized and carried out throughout each iteration, making itpossible for the next iteration being aminimum ofmarginally better than theprevious.

PlanningandRequirements:Likemostanyimprovementproject,steponeisenduring a preliminary preparation phase to map out the specificationdocuments,createsoftwareormaybehardwarerequirements,moreovertypicallygetreadyfortheupcomingphasesofthecycle.

Designandanalysis:Oncepreparationisdone,anexaminationisconductedtonaildown the correct internetbusiness logic,databasemodels, and thewaywillbeneededatthistimeintheventure.Thedesignphaseinadditionhappenshere,startingany technical requirements (languages,services,data layers,etc),whichwillprobablybeusedinanefforttomeetupwiththerequirementsoftheevaluationphase.

Implementation:With thepreparationalongwithanalysis intoposition, thereal implementation and coding process could now start. All preparation,specification, along with design docs up to this point are coded and alsoimplementedintothisoriginaliterationoftheventure.

Testing:Oncethispowerbuilditerationiscodedandimplemented,thenextthing is going through many testing procedures to determine and find somepotentialissuesorbugswhichhavecroppedup.

Evaluation:Onceallpriorstageswerefinished,it'stimeforacomprehensiveanalysisofadvancementuptothisparticularpoint.Thisenablesthewholeteam,andalsocustomersandanyotherexternalpeople,tocheckoutwheretaskisat,whereitmustbe,whatcanorevenshouldchange,soon.

Todaytherealfunstarts!Thisisthecruxofentireiterativedesign,bywhichmost recently constructed iteration of the software program, in addition to allresponses from the evaluation procedure, is brought to the planning;development stageat theupperpartof the list, so theprocess repeats itself allonceagain.

TheActualProcess

TheScrumProcess

The Scrum procedure is rehearsed in different gatherings and accordinglygivesafewancientraritieswhicharedepictedunderneath.

TheProductBacklogThe Product Owner makes a rundown of prerequisites dependent on the

portrayalofadvantages–theProductBacklog.TheentiretyoftheStakeholdersadds to its substance.This not just occurs toward the start of an improvementand at specific occasions, however as an on-going procedure. When changedemandsornewprerequisitesrise,theyareembeddedintotheProductBacklog.Thisprincipalreceptivenesstoacknowledgesteadychangesandviewthemnotas deterrents; however as circumstances, prompts high adaptability in theadvancement.Theprioritizationisfrequentlyfoundedonthealtruismestimationof the business or on a hazard associated with the necessity. This takes intoconsideration snappy response to changing conditions without risking theventure.

AProductBacklogcan,forinstance,havetheaccompanyingstructure:ModelScrumProductBacklogTable1:ExampleProductBacklog

TheSprintPlanningMeetingandtheSprintBacklog

The Sprint PlanningMeeting happens toward the start of a Sprint and allundertaking individuals take part. This is the place the Team and the ProductOwnersettleonthesubstanceofthefollowingSprint.

TheProductOwnercharacterizes themostelevatedneedsections("Items")of theProductBacklogandclarifies theirpracticaluse.TheTeamassesses theexertionofthe"Things".

TheTeamchoosesthe"Things"foraSprintfromtheProductBacklogaspertheprioritizationandafterwardplacesthemintotheSprintBacklog.

WhentheTeamandProductOwnerconcurwiththeexecutionoftheSprintBackloginthefollowingSprint,theSprintGoalischaracterized.

Fromthatpointforward,theTeamincludestheSprintBacklog"Things"toausageplan.Theseareforthemostpartexplicitadvancementexercises.

The Sprint at that point begins. For dependability, the necessities of theSprintBacklogoughtnotchangeduringaSprint.

TheImpedimentListWhen the main Sprint has begun, each Team Member can include the

supposedhindrances(Blockers)toarundown.EachTeamMemberreportstheirBlocker for theexecutionofanassignmentwhen it emergesandputs it in therundown of Blockers. It is the assignment of the ScrumMaster to dispose oftheseBlockers.ABlockermightbeasystemcondition,yetcouldlikewisebethesit tight for an incomplete assignment. The Blocker is passed on to the nextTeamMembers in the Daily ScrumMeeting and recorded in the Impediment

List.

CaseofanImpedimentList:Table2:ExampleofanImpedimentList

Table 2 speaks to a case of an Impediment List. Further sections canobviously be included. Where appropriate, a status for every line could bebeneficialiftherundownoughtnotjusttoincorporateremarkableBlockers.

TheDailyScrumMeetingWhenaSprinthasbegun,theteammeetsattheDailyScrumMeeting.The

DailyScrumMeetingisacasualgatheringenduringgreatest15minutes.Inthisgathering,eachcolleagueneedstorespondtotheaccompanyingthreeinquiries:

WhatdidIdoyesterdaythathelpedtheDevelopmentTeammeettheSprintGoal?

Whatwill I do today to enable theDevelopment to groupmeet the SprintGoal?

DoIseeanyhindrance thatanticipates theDevelopmentTeamormefrommeetingtheSprintGoal?

Thisgathering isn't abroadexchange,however thegroups short everydayarranging a meeting to facilitate the vital undertakings to arrive at the runobjective.ItistheScrumMaster'sassignmenttoguaranteethisoccurs.

The Scrum Master's primary assignment is to determine developingBlockers. His undertaking isn't to control the Team. The Team is self-sortingout.

Theaccompanyingrulesapplytothe"DaybydayScrum":

Thegatheringconsistentlybeginsonschedule.The gathering ought to consistently happen in a similar area and

simultaneously.Thegatheringwillbeheldtransparently,everybodycantakeaninterest,yet

therealjobshaveselecttalkingrights.Thegathering isconstantly restricted toa limitof15minutes,paying little

heedtothesizeoftheTeam.Themembersshouldremainduringthegathering.Thisshouldhelpkeepthe

gatheringbrief.

TheSprintReviewMeeting/RetrospectiveToward thefinishofeachSprint there isa"SurveyMeeting", inwhich the

Team shows the outcomes to the Product Owner and different Stakeholders.Everybody can take an interest in this gathering and give criticism on theoutcomes and their improvement.An audit of theSprint (the review) likewisehappenstowardthefinishofaSprint.TheentireScrumTeamiswelcometothis.Whatoughttobeimprovedlateronistalkedaboutatthisgathering.

TheGoaloftheSprintAchiefestimationofScrumisthecapacitytoincorporatenewprerequisites

intotheframeworkaftereveryemphasisandSprint.Witheachprogression,theclientgetsanexecutableframeworkwhich,overthespanoftime,turnsouttobeprogressively similar to the final result. Not at all like other iterativeadvancement models, Scrum centers around executable frameworks, yetadditionallyonreallyusableframeworks.Inthisway,theimprovementofatotalframeworkoughtnotbeisolatedintosingularmodulesthatcan'treasonablybeutilizedwithoutthetotalframework.Thisdodgestheclientnotgettinganitemthat can really be utilized by the clients until the finish of the advancementprocedure andafterwardhavingchangedemands emerge.Theprioritizationofthe necessities, as indicated by the altruism estimation of the business,additionallyguaranteesthattheclientcanutilizehismostsignificantcapacitiesatabeginningperiod.

WhatisScrumProjectManagement?

Scrumisacoordinatedundertakingtheboardphilosophyorstructureutilizedfundamentally for programming improvement ventures with the objective ofconveying new programming ability each 2 a month. It is one of themethodologies that impacted the Agile Manifesto, which expresses a lot ofqualities and standards to manage choices on the most proficient method to

createbetterprogrammingquicker.

WhatisScruminRelationtoAgileProjectManagement?Scrumisasub-gatheringoflithe:Lithe is a lot of qualities and rules that depict a gathering's everyday

collaborationsandexercises.Light-footeditselfisn'tprescriptiveorexplicit.The Scrum philosophy pursues the qualities and standards of spry, yet

incorporates furtherdefinitions anddeterminations,particularlywith respect tocertainproductimprovementrehearses.

Albeit produced for lithe programming improvement, coordinated Scrumturnedintothefavoredsystemfornimbleventuretheexecutivesasaruleandisnow and again basically alluded to as Scrum venture the board or Scrumadvancement.

ScrumStructure(Paths,Phases,andActivities)PlanningPlanningisthefirstphaseinScrum.Itspurposeistodeterminethevisionof

theproject,projectexpectationsandwaystofundtheproject.Thevisionneedsto describe in what ways the product will change and influence the businessenvironmentandwhatarethebenefitstothecustomer.Italsoneedstoexplainhowtheproductwillbeintroducedtothemarket.Sometimesplanningneedstohavephasestoo. WecantakeanexampleofhealthcaresoftwarethatneedstoaddequipmentfordigitalimagingsuchasX-RaysandMRI.Thevisionfortheproject was an adaptation of radiology operations in which radiologists candiscussandreviewtheconditionoftheirpatientshavingthesamedigitalimage.Additionally,theycouldmarkthoseimagesandaccessthemwhenevertheyneedit.

Vision has a purpose of determining the common context for the product,thusinwhichenvironmentdecisionswillbemade.Thevisionof theproject isalso a resort used to get thenecessary funding.Aproject proposalmust showwhat thebenefitsareandhow the fundswillbe implementedmostefficiently.Vision can be demonstrated through models, words, spreadsheets, and mostoftenitisnottoolong.Oncethevisionispresentedtothepossiblefundsources,theydecide if theywant to financially support the project.After planning, thehighestprioritizedworkisgettingthefunds,creatinganinitialproductbacklogalongwith the release plan.After that, in this phase team needs to determine

technicalities, architecture in business environments and expectations from theproject.

StagingtheprojectEveryprojecthasitsowncharacteristics,someprojectsarelargeorrequire

big and numerous teams, and others are small but complex,withmany teamsthatworktogethertobuildsoftware.Someoftheseprojectsneedabigamountof work to determine the environment that is satisfactory for productdevelopment, while others are immediately ready to go. In the phase calledstaging,ateamassessesdifferentaspectsoftheproject.Inthisphase,theteamalsocreatesadditionalproductbacklogneededforfurtherdevelopment.

Staginghasmanysub-phases.Everysub-phaserepresentsoneaspectoftheprojectanditisassessedassuch.Duringthestagingphase,manydifferentpathscanbeusedineachsub-phase.Activitiesneededforeachofthesepathsarenotanactualprojectionofwork.Infact,activities,inthiscase,areusedtoprioritizeoraddrequirementsfortheproductbacklog.Theactualworkisaresultoftheserequirements,andthatworkisperformedduringthedevelopmentphaseandbytheprojectteam.StagingisimportantbecauseithelpswithbuildingmechanismsforcoordinationandcommunicationbetweenallScrumunits,orbetweenself-organizedteams.

Final sub-phasesaresignificant forproject initiation instaging.Thesesub-phasesgettheprojectstarted.ThismeansthatthereareenoughstaffmembersineachteamandthattheteamalreadygottogetherwiththeProductownertogetproject details. In these sub-phases products, the owner gives as muchinformationabouttheprojectaspossibleshearingthevisionandeverythingelsethatisacquiredduringtheplanningphase.Sometimes,thismeansthattheteamneedstogetoutandbecomefamiliarwiththetargetedenvironment.Itisapartoftheexperienceneededfortheteamiftheywanttounderstandthepurposeofthe desired system and its implementation. If, by any chance, teammembersnever worked in Scrum before, it is highly recommended that the Scrummethodologyisintroducedtotheteamthroughconcretetraining.

DevelopmentAllactivitiesconnectedtothecompleteprocessofproductdevelopmentare

doneinthedevelopmentphase.Thisphaseisdividedintosprintsthathavethepurpose of developing increments of working functionalities for each sprintindividually. Sprints consist of sprint planning, daily meetings, and daily

reviews. If the projects are complex, then the architecture of the software issignificantly complex too,whichmeans that there can bemore than one teamworkingtogetheronsoftwaredevelopment.

In this case, sprints are used to build a product backlog that will becoordinated bymodels and designs that were implemented in the first sprintsdonebyone team.This teamdistributes furthercontextand informationabouttheproducttoeveryotherteam.

If the development environment is upgraded and that upgrades are neededbefore all teams can deliver potentially shippable increments, the work isscheduledforthenextsprintashighlyprioritizedworkbythecommonproductbacklog.

This kind of work functions in parallel with the actual development ofrequired functionality. Although the architecture of the work environment isrequestedinsomeofthefirstsprints,everyothersprintinthisphasealsohastodeliverworkingfunctionalitywithasuitableincrement.

ReleaseWhenitcomestothereleasevisionoftheproject,itsfunctionalityisbased

onacombinationofbenefits thatareexpected from theprojectalongwith theoverallcosts,timeframe,andavailability.

After every sprint in the development phase, product owner reviews if thedesiredfunctionalityisachievedandwhatistherighttimetoreleasetheproduct.

Afteralltheseinspectionsandreviews,theProductOwnerestablishesiftheconditionsforreleasearemetandtheprojectenterstheReleasephase.

Thisphase ismadeof twodifferentkindsofactivities.The firstone is theactivity that sets additional requirements for the product backlog. Theserequirementsshouldpolishtheproductandconvertitfrompotentiallyshippabletoanactual releasableproduct. If thedevelopmentphasefailed tomeetanyoftherequestedassignments,theproductowneraddressesmoresprintstofixthispoint.

Anotheractivityinthereleasephasereferstooneormoresprintsthatneedto be added as a consequence of inadequate increments created during thedevelopmentsprints.

Thereleasephasecanbeestablishedonlyafterthedevelopmentteamcreatesworkingfunctionalitiesthatsufficefinalproductbacklogrequirements.

Chapter7ScrumArtifacts

ProductBacklog,SprintBacklog&IncrementYouwillmost likely think of archeologywhen you read or hear theword

‘artifact.'Asthetraditionaldefinitionreferstoanobjectortoolmadebymanora‘workofart,'soScrumalsousesthistermtorefertothemaintoolsusedwithintheframework.ThethreemainartifactsforScrumaretheproductbacklog,thesprintbacklog, and theproduct increment.Theseartifacts,or tools, all operatewith thesameobjective inmind,which is to increase transparencyandalwaysensureasharedunderstandingofthework.Scrumartifactsprovideinsightstoateam, which facilitate understanding of a particular project and the tasks oractivities to be completed. Let's beginwith the threemain artifacts aswell asadditionalartifactsusedinmanyScrumprojects.

ProductBacklogThe product backlog is a prioritized list of requirements, functions, and

features,whichafinalproductneedstoinclude.Thislistisversatileinthesensethatitisconstantlyupdatedbytheproductowner,andthesechangesarealwayscommunicatedtotheScrumteam.Asaproductmakesprogressandisdeliveredtoaclientinincrements,thebacklogcontinuestogrowasfeedbackisreceived.The product backlog is the single source of agreed requirements for a finalproduct, and the content and validity of this list is controlled by the productowner. Items listed on a product backlog usually comprise a description,estimate,andvalueandoftendescribedas‘userstories.'

Backloggrooming,alsoknownasproductbacklogrefinement,isthepracticeofaScrumteammeetingaftereverysprintiscompletedandrunningthroughallthe content of the backlog to ensure it is both relevant and useful. ThesemeetingsincludeeverymemberoftheScrumteam,includingtheScrumMasterand ProductOwner. The objective of these reviews is to ensure the project isaligned with the product roadmap constantly. Backlog groomingmay includesomeofthefollowingactions:

Review of themost important elements at the top of the prioritizedbackloglistRemoval of elements which are discovered through the most recentsprint,tonolongerberelevantAddingadditionalfeatures,requirementsornecessaryfunctionswhich

thefinalproductneedstoincludeRe-orderingitemsonthelistasprioritiesoftheoverallprojectchangeFormulateanswersforquestionsposedbytheclientbasedonthemostrecentincrementsdeliveredEnsure that all teammembers are up to date on the overall productroadmapandanynecessarychanges,whichhavebeenmadeorarestillrequiredtobemade.

The Product Owner will make use of the product backlog during sprintplanningtooutlinewhatitemswithintheprojectareapriority.Fromthispoint,theteamwilldefinewhichprioritiestheycantackleinthenextsprint.Ifyou'rewonderingwhat a product backlog looks like, it ismore than just a to-do list.Itemsonthebacklogshouldalwayshavethesamecharacteristics.

Allentriesshouldalwaysaddvalue to theoverallproductand to theclient.Alltheentriesmustbeprioritizedintermsofimportancetomeettheoverallobjectivesoftheproject.Items that appear first on the listwill have greater detail than thosetowardstheendofthelist.EntriesintothebacklogareallestimationsThe backlog is a living document in the sense that it is constantlychangingastheneedsoftheprojectorclientchange.Thebacklogdoesnotincludeactionitemsorroutinetasks.

Let'sdelveintowhateachoftheabovecharacteristicsinvolves:

EntriesshouldaddvalueEvery entry in the backlogmust relate or refer to some kind of customer

benefit or consideration in relation to the final product.Any entrieswithout aclear client value should be removed. Instead, entries could include theexplorationof client needs, various technical possibilities, any tasksneeded tolaunchtheproductoranyotherfunctionalornon-functionalneedsoftheclientor project. This could also include tasks relating to creating the environment,whichtheproductneedstooperatewithin.

LivingdocumentThe Scrum product backlog is continuously updated throughout a project.

Whennecessary,newitemsareaddedtothelist;additionaldetailmaybeadded

to existing items, items may be re-prioritized or even deleted. Although thisdiffers from traditionalmethodologies of software development, this approachallowsformaximumvaluefortheclient.

DetaildifferencesDependingonwhereanitemfeaturesontheproductbacklog,soit'slevelof

detailwill differ. Items towards the bottomof the list have fewer details thanthoseatthetopofthelist,whichisofahigherpriority.Theitems,whicharetobetackledinthenextsprint,aretheitemsthatwillappearwiththemostdetailontheproductbacklog.Thereasonforthisisduetotheever-changingnatureofaScrumproject.Itmakeslittlesensetoupdaterequirementsthatarenotpartofthe next sprint as their requirements will change before they become morerelevant.

NoactionitemsorroutinetasksThebacklog shouldnot include items that are routineor considered action

items.Itonlyincludesitemsrelatedtocreatingproductvaluetotheclient.

ItemsarePrioritizedAll entries in thebacklogareprioritized.Thisprioritization is doneby the

product owner and Scrum team collectively, although it is the product ownerwhoownsthisprocess.Whenitcomestothistask,value-added,costsinvolvedas well as risks are the most common factors taken into consideration. TheScrummasterusesthisbacklogandthewayitisorderedtodeterminewhatitemshouldbedealtwithnext.

AllentriesareestimatedItemsinthebacklogareestimationsbyvirtueofthefactthattheyare‘user

stories'and,bydefinition,needtobeestimations.Inmanycases,Scrumteamsdo not have the information readily available to provide specifics for userstories,andsoestimationsareconsideredefficient.ThistiesintoempiricismonwhichScrumrevolvesaround.

The collaboration needed to maintain the Scrum Product Backlog createsbuy-in fromall teammembersandensuresclarityofexactlywhatneeds tobeachieved.

SprintBacklogDefinition:Whiletheproductbacklogreferstotheproductandenddesiredresultofthe

project,thesprintbacklogreferstothelistofobjectivesforaspecificsprint.Thesprintbacklogistheoutline,completedbytheteam,ofwhatspecificincrementorfunctionisgoingtocreatedordevelopedintheupcomingsprint.Thebacklogincludesexactlywhattasksneedtobecompletedforaprojecttobeconsideredsuccessful.

Thesprintbacklogisusefultoteammembersonadailybasisasitprovidesaclearrepresentationoftheprogresstheteamismaking,andareal-timepictureofwhatwork is still remaining.Every sprint backlog should include at least onehighpriorityitem,auserstory,whichhasbeenidentifiedinaprevioussprint'sretrospective.

UpdatingtheSprintBacklog:Thesprintbacklogshouldbeupdatedonadailybasiswithoutfail.Allitems

foraprojectwillbecontainedintheproductbacklog.Ateamwillselectahighpriorityitemandbreakitdownintotasksthatcanbecompletedinoneday,andthetaskselectedshouldbeachievableinoneday.Asateammember,withataskyouknow,isachievableinoneday,youwillhaveanindicationofyourprogressand whether you are ahead or behind rather quickly. This progress is thenreportedonineachdailyScrum.

Shouldthesprintbacklognotbeupdateddaily,itwillbecomeevidentratherquicklythatyouarenotabletoseemovementonthebacklogandthatworkisbeingcompleted.Youmayalsolosetrackofwhetherornotyourteamisfallingbehind.Withtheconstantupdatesonprogress,aScrumteamisabletoreacttoslower progress and course correct rather quickly. Scrum teams who do notexercisedisciplineinupdatingthesprintbacklogmaynotpayasmuchattentiontothebacklogandwillbemorelikelytofailorveeroffcourse.

WhatisinaSprintBacklog?Insimpleterms,asprintbacklogisaplanorguidelineforthesprint.Itwill

usually containuser stories from theproduct backlog,which the teamaims tocomplete.Eachitemwillbebrokendownintoaprioritizedtasklistfortheteamtoexecute.TheScrumteamwillusuallyusetheircurrentrateofproduction,orhowmuchwork they know they can completewithin a given time, to predictwhat they can accomplish during a sprint. Once this has been estimated, thedevelopment team can compare the total hours for every task against thecapacityoftheteamtodoafinalauditonexpectationsforthesprint.

Whenisthesprintbacklogfinalized?Once the items on the sprint backlog have been selected from the product

backlogandfinalized, thesprintbacklogis lockedin,meaningnochangescanbemade.Oncesprintplanningiscomplete,ateamcanaddbutnotremoveitemsfrom the backlog. The product owner is the only Scrum member who canremoveitemsfromasprintbacklogiftheydecidethatitnolongeraddsbusinessvalue.Duringaproject,itemsthatareremovedcannotbereplacedbyadditionaltasks.

WhatIstheDifferencebetweenProductBacklogandSprintBacklog?Aproductbacklog is the list ofuser storiesor tasks tobe completed for a

projectasawhole.Thesprintbacklogisasubsectionoftheproductbacklogasitcontainsselecteduserstories,whicharefurtherbrokendownintotasksfor theteamtoaddressinanindividualsprint.Duringsprintplanning,aproductownerwill select an item on the product backlog and clarify its specific detail. Theteamwill thenevaluateanddetermine if that itemcanbeexecuted in thenextsprint. What the team deems to be achievable is then added to the sprintbacklog.

WhoManagestheSprintBacklog?Thesprintbacklogismanagedpredominantlybythedevelopmentteam.Itis

considered thebestpractice toupdate thisbacklogonadailybasis so that theteamconstantlyhasa live reminderofprogress,which isvisualandkeeps theteam motivated. Should any obstacles or impediments to work occur, thedevelopment team should discuss thiswith the product owner as soon as thisbecomes apparent. Should any obstacles become apparent, the communicationbetween the teamwill includemanaging expectations of internal and externalstakeholdersaswellaspossiblesolutions.

ProductIncrementWhatisit?Increment refers to gradual steps taken towards the completion of a goal.

Productincrement,inrelationtotheScrumframework,referstothesumofalltheproductbacklogcomponentscompletedduringasprint.Thesearecombinedwiththeincrementsofallotherpreviouscompletedsprints.Asprintrequirementisthattheincrementproducedshouldbeinworkingorderandprovidetangiblevaluetotheendproduct.

Thespecificdefinitionof increment foraScrum teamneeds tobecreated,andaconsensus reachedbetween teammembersofexactlywhatamounts toacompleted incrementofproduct.Thiswillusuallyvary fromproject toprojectand team to team. As team members start a new project with the previously

conceived ideaofwhatan ‘increment' shouldbedefinedas, it is important forthewholeteamtoagreeonwhattheybelievethisamountsto.Oncethedefiningparameters have been agreed upon, this definition is used as the yardstick todetermine whether or not the work completed during a sprint is classified as‘increment.'ThepracticeofdeterminingacollectivedefinitionorstandardthatthewholeteamascribestoisacommonthemeintheScrummethodologyandisalsousedtoguidetheteamwhendetermininghowmanyproductbacklogitemsitcouldreasonablycompleteduringasprint.

Attheendofeachsprint,asweknow,theobjectiveistoproduceorreleasefunctionality in the form of an increment, which contributes to the overallproduct.Oncetheproductownerhasassessedthequalityoftheincrement,theycandecidetoreleasetheincrementimmediatelyornot.Thisdecisionwilloftenbe determined by whether the whole Scrum team believes it amounts to anincrementof the requiredstandardas requiredby theproject.AsScrumteamswork together over multiple sprints and mature as a team, coming to theseconclusions is usually a much quicker process. In addition, the collectivedefinitionof incrementmaybecomemorestringent, resulting inhigherqualityoutputsbytheteam.

WhodeliversaProductIncrement?Itisthedevelopmentteamthatwilldeliverproductincrementsonaregular

basis.Thisproductincrementshouldreflecttheproductowner'soverallprojectroadmapaswellassupporttheScrumteam'sdefinitionof"Done."Althoughitisthedevelopmentteamthatdeliversproductincrementandholdthemajorityofthisresponsibility,itisstillasharedobjectivecarriedbythewholeScrumteam.

DeliveringProductIncrements:ChallengesIn some cases, Scrum may be implemented across companies with team

membersacrossdepartments.Breakingdownsilos thatmayexist,byvirtueofdifferentiating departmental work practices, is often a big challenge and maytake considered effort to address. It is important to get buy-in from the keystakeholderswithineachdepartmentsothatthesesilosmaybebrokendown.Inadditiontothesesilos,manycompanieswillhavetheirownworkpracticesandvalues,whichmayovershadowaScrumteam,regardlessoftheScrum'sspecificwork parameters or values. Should any of these work practices be counter toScrummethodologyandhowtheframeworkneeds tooperate tobesuccessful,theproductownerwillneedtodeterminehowtoovercomethese.

HowisProductIncrementcreated?

The product increment is created during a sprint as a result of all relateddevelopment tasks, including design, analysis, testing, integration, and build.These actions result in creating a partial addition towhat is envisioned as thefinal product. When using Scrum, teams will work on one feature of a finalproduct at a time. It isplanned in suchaway that at theendof each sprint, aworkableandvalueadd feature isproduced.This incrementofproduct is thentestedandintegratedwithpreviouslydeliveredfeatures.Priortothistestingandintegration, a product is not usually considered to be "Done."Once testing iscomplete,theproductincrementisdeliveredtotheclientforfeedback,whichistakenonboardbeforethenextsprintcommences.

ThisfeedbackallowstheScrumteamtoadaptandcoursecorrect.Itprovidesusefulinputforasprintretrospectiveandallowstheteamtodecide,basedontheclient'sneeds,whatthenextsprintshouldinvolve.Thefeedbackalsoallowsforquality control checks and for iterative improvements, a key element of theScrumandagileapproach.Thekeyprincipleistousethiscontinuousfeedbacktocarryouteffectiveiterations

WhatistheoutcomeoftheProductIncrement?TheproductincrementisusefultoallteammembersforaScrum,aswellas

externalstakeholders. Itallowsaproductowner toassess thecurrent returnoninvestment(ROI)fromthefinalfunctionalitythatwillbedeliveredtotheclientat the end of each sprint.Deliver increment at regular intervals also creates asense of unity between team members as they receive regular feedback andrecognition.Thefeelingofmakingprogressandachievingsuccessisalotmore‘real'thantraditionalprojectmanagementmethodologieswherefeedbackisonlyreceivedattheendofaproject.

Definitionof"Done"Whenaproductbacklogpointorincrementisdescribedas"Done,"theentire

Scrum teammust reach a consensus onwhat "Done"means in the context oftheirspecificproject.Thisdefinitionandwhatitmeanstotheteam,mayneedtobe discussed at considerable length to ensure all teammembers,with varyingdegrees of experience and expertise, agree. This definition of "Done" for theScrumteamisthenusedtoassesswhenworkisactuallycompleteontheproductincrement.

Just as consensus on the definition of increment will influence sprintplanning,sothesameconsensusisneededamongsttheteamtodeterminewhatthey collectively deem as "Done." Each sprint's purpose is to produce anddeliver increments of functionality that adhere to the specific Scrum team's

definition of "Done." As with product increment, as teams mature theirdefinitions of "Done" are usually expand to includemore stringent criteria forhigherquality.Thelongerateamworkstogetherinasolidteam,thehigherthequalitythatcanbeachieved.

UserStoriesTheword "Done" is usedmost often by the delivery teamof a project. In

generalterms,thismeansthataproductownerhasreceivedanincrementofthefinalproduct,orthefinalproductasawhole,reviewedandacceptedit.Onceithasbeenaccepted,thisuserstoryismarkedas"Done"andisaddedtotheteam'sprogress. Examples of milestones or increments of product that could bedeclared "Done" are the acceptance of criteria which are met, the passing offunctionaltestsorhavingcodereviewedandapproved.

Chapter8ScalingScrum

The term scalability refers to the process of taking a defined process orframeworkandexpandingupontheprocesssoastocreatealargerimpact.Someprocessesorpractices are easier to scale thanothers, andoften thequestion israisedas towhetherornotScrumisscalable,and ifso,howis thisbestdone.ScalingScrum,forexample,couldinvolvetakingmechanismsfromoneScrumteamandimplementingtheminmultipleteamsforlargerprojects.

So,thequestionis,‘IsScrumscalable?'Initially,Scrumwasthoughtonlytobeapplicabletoteamswhoworkonsmallerprojects,andthatiswasnotsuitableforapplicationacrossmultipleteamsforlargerprojects.However,thiswasonlybasedonthefactthatScrumhadnotyetbeenusedonlargerscaleprojects,andsinceitsinceptionScrumhasbeenappliedandsuccessfullyscaled.

So,whenandhowshouldateammakeamovetoscaleaScrumproject?Theanswertothisquestionusuallydependsonthenatureoftheprojectandatwhatlevelateamwouldliketoscale.Scalingusuallyoccursatoneofthreedifferentlevels as scaling can take place across projects, programs, or portfolios.Depending onwhat level a teamwould like to scale at determines howmuchcoordinationisrequired.Whenitcomestoscalability,additionalresourcesandprojectmanagersmaybenecessarytoensurethatdevelopmentstaysontrack.

When it comes toScrum teams, it isusually recommended that teamsstayundertenmembers.IntheeventthatanorganizationwishestoscaletheirScrumprojects, it is recommended that a bigger team is divided into smaller groupswhomeetregularlytodiscusstheirprogressandreportanyissuesorconcerns.Keeping cadence with these meetings and ensuring they happen at regularintervalsiscrucialandcouldbemanagedbyaprojectmanager.

We previously discussed the Scrum of Scrums, which is where multipleteams synchronize their projects. Each Scrum team would select a teamrepresentativewhojointheScrummeetingsandupdateontheteam'sprogress,challenges theymay be facing, breakthroughs theymay have had, as well ascoordinate any future activities with other teams.When it comes to decidinghowoftenaScrumofScrumsshouldmeet,itisthesizeoftheproject,levelofinterdependency, complexity, and recommendations from upper management,whichshouldbetakenintoconsideration.

Asweknow,Scrumrecommendsthatmeetingsandcollaborationtakeplaceface to face. Although not impossible to implement Scrum over differentgeographicallocations,itdoestakealotmorecoordinationandeffort.Whenit

comes toscalingaprojectwith teams indifferentoffices, theScrumofScrummeeting scan takesplaceusingvideoconferencing tools.When largerprojectsaredeployed,achiefofScrumswillneedtohire,andthispersonisresponsiblefor facilitating all the sessions between the Scrum of Scrums. The chief ofScrumswilldetermineexactlywhenmeetingsshouldtakeplaceandoutlinetheiragendas. These meetings, like other check-ins, will involve the sharing ofupdates on progress, challenges, and recognized dependencies across projects.OnceteamsreceiveanagendafromthechiefScrummaster,theyshouldpreparetheirupdatesaheadofthemeeting.Shouldanyparticularmembersofateambefacingchallenges, theseshouldberaisedinthesemeetings,as it isoftenlikelythatotherteamsmayexperiencethesamechallenges.Thisallowsteamstoshareinproblemsolvingandovercomeobstaclesataquickerrate.

When these meetings take place, each team representative will usuallyprovide an update that answers four main questions. These include what theteamhasbeenworkingonsincethelastmeetings,whattheteamplanstoworkonbetweennowandthenextmeeting,askingotherrepresentatives if thereareanyotherelementsofdevelopmenttheotherteamsdependentonthemfor,andfinally,whatcouldtheteambeworkingonthatwoulddirectlyimpacttheotherteams.

The outcome of these Scrum of Scrum meetings is usually bettercoordinationofwork,whichiscarriedoutacrossteams.Thisisspecificallytruewhentherearetasksthatrunacrossdifferentteams,andtherearehighlevelsofdependency.Thisensuresthatifthereareanyobstacles,discrepanciesbetweenexpectations,orchangeindeliverables,theyareexposedandaddressedassoonaspossible.Thesemeetingsalsooperateasanopenforumwhenrepresentativescanprovidehonest feedbackandreceive recommendationsor input fromotherrepresentatives.

In the event that a project is scaled above the capabilities of a Scrum ofScrums framework, an additional meeting framework is created where arepresentativefromeachScrumofScrumsissenttoalargermeetingknownasthe‘ScrumofScrumofScrums’.Thisallowsallprojectsthatarerelatedtoeachother to be coordinated in such a way that allows for maximum quality andtimeous output. What is important to note is that this type of coordination,especiallyshould the larger teamsbedistributedacrossgeographical locations,willrequiremuchlargercoordinationandmanagementeffort.

ScrumofScrumsWhen dealing with larger Scrum teams, a technique called a “Scrum of

Scrums”canbeused inorder tomanage thedaily tasksofsucha largegroup.

Unlikethepreviousexample,aScrumofScrumsdoesnothavemultipleteamswith multiple Scrum Masters. This concept considers having one large teamwhichisdividedintosubgroups.Thisplaysofftheinitialconsiderationwehadaboutmaintainingever-numberedgroups.

Let’sconsiderthefollowingcase.AScrumteamconsistsof16members,giventhesizeandthescopeof the

project tobecompleted.Thebudgetary restrictionsdonotallowfor individualScrumteams,say,twoteamsofeight,oreventhreeteamsofsix.So,thereisoneScrumMasterandoneProductOwnerlookingafterall16members.

In order tomake the division of labormuch easier, the ScrumMaster hasdividedthe16membersintofoursubgroupsoffour.Eachsubgroupisintendedtocoveraspecificamountofworkduringeachsprint.

SincetheScrumteamhasaDailyStandupMeeting,theScrumMasterhastomakeachoice:does theDailyStandupMeetingincludeall16membersof theteam,orcouldthemeetingincludelessmembers?

Thereisoneproblemwitheachapproach.In thisfirstapproach,havingall16membersmaydragout themeetingfar

longer than necessary. Eachmembermay have something to say and that, initself,may lead to somedisorganization in themeeting.So, themeetingcouldultimatelybecomecounterproductive.

Thesecondapproach,workingwithfewerindividualsposesaproblemsinceit would be difficult to choose who is in the meeting and who isn’t. Oneworkaroundcouldbetodesignatea“grouplead”andhavethispersonattendthedailymeetings.Thatwouldreducethenumberofparticipantsfrom16to4.Butthatposesanotherissue:Scrumdoesnotadvocate“leaders”orfolks“incharge”within each group. Bear inmind that Scrum has a flat structuremeaning thateveryonehasequalparticipation.

So,what’sthesolution?AScrumofScrums.

InaScrumofScrums,eachofthemembersofthesubgroupgetsachancetorepresenttheteamatthedailymeeting.Sinceeveryoneisequallyinvolvedintheprocess, everyone would be equally qualified to represent the group at themeeting.Agoodruleofthumbis torotaterepseveryday.Unlesssprintswereunusuallylong,rotatingrepseverydaymakesthemostsense.

Now,itcouldbethatasprintwouldtake8weeks.Insuchacase,theteammightdecidetorotaterepsonaweeklybasis.Thatmightworkinsofarasgivingeach member the opportunity to handle the responsibility of attending themeetingonamorepermanentbasis.

Now, the one consideration under this approach is to avoid having one“permanent”rep.ThewholepointofavoidingapermanentpersonrepresentingthegroupboilsdowntoavoidinghavinganysemblanceofhierarchywithintheScrumteam.Assuch,havingarotatingrepresentationisthebestwaytogo.

Ultimately, thepointofhavingsucha setup is to reduce the likelihoodofoneteammembertakingovertherestofthegroup.Whiletherearepeoplewhoaremorenaturallyinclinedtoaleadershiprole,thefactofthematteristhatbyhaving rotating roles, you are able to make sure that everyone gets equalparticipation,therebyfosteringacollaborativeapproachwithintheteam.

ScaledAgileframeworkSo, when Agile is scaled up to a larger framework, keeping track of the

workflow andmaking sure that the collaborative nature sticks get harder andharder. So, it then becomes a challenge for Scrum practitioners to enforce adisciplinewherebyteammembershaveequalparticipation,workisconductedinas per the user stories outlined at the beginning of the sprint, and the overallnature of the project is completed within the aspects pertaining to the Agilemindset.

As such, large projects can be perfectly accommodated within an Agileframeworkwiththebasicdifferencethattheultimateworkbreakdownstructure,as seen in the Product Backlog and the individual Sprint Backlogs may bedividedamongindividualteamsratherthanonecollectiveworkdividedamongindividualteammembers.

In order to make this concept resonate on a deeper level, consider thefollowingsituation:

A foodmanufacturerwants to produce a new low-calorie drink. Since themarket is demanding low-calorie drink options, the management team at thiscorporation is looking to produce a low-calorie drink that can compete withotherbrandsinsimilarcategories.

Consequently, a team has been assembled in order to determine the rightformulaforthisnewdrink.Thecompanyhasdecidedtoinvestinresearchanddevelopment intoproducinganewdrink rather than just rebadginganexistingone.

So,theCEOofthecompanyhascalledinoneofthecompany’sproductionengineers and named them “project engineer.” This engineer is aware of thevalue in theadoptionofaScrumapproach to thisproject.Assuch, theprojectengineerhasassumedtheroleofScrumMaster.TheclientistheCEOwhohasbeendesignatedbythecompany’sboardasthepersoninchargeofmakingsuretheprojectcomestofruition.

Thus,theprojectengineercomesinadecidestobuildmultipleScrumteamsthat can work at once, especially since the company has determined that aproposal for a new drink needs to be ready before the holiday season. In thiscase, the projectwouldhave about threemonths to be completed.Thismeansthatthereisnotimetobewasted.

TheScrumMaster,orprojectengineer,decidesthatthebestcourseofactionistoassemblearesearchteamwhichcanlookintotheactualproductionofthedrink, a production team which can look into the logistics of bottling anddistribution and a marketing team which can come up with a brand name,graphicsandartforthesolepurposeofproducingthenewdrink.

All three teams will work in tandem in such a way that they are all in aconcertedefforttowardproducinganew,low-caloriedrink.

TheScrumMasterhasdecidedtocoordinateeachteamthroughaScrumofScrumsapproach.Underthisapproach,themainideaistoensurethatalloftheteams are working in tandem, thus moving the project along with multiplegroupsworkinginsync.

Ineverysprint,eachofthegroupsworksonthesameuserstory,exceptfromtheirownangle.So,theuserstoryisbasedonaconsumerwhoisyoungandis

looking for a low-calorie option that can help them cut down on their sugarconsumptionwhilemaintainingtheflavorofotherdrinksonthemarket.

Ultimately, the entire team arrives at the same destinationwith a finisheddrink,distributionandproductionconsiderationsincheck,andasolidmarketingcampaign in place. The final presentation of the product is presented to thecompany’s board. The project is approved by the board and is ready for anofficialproductrelease,thatis,aformallaunchintothemarketplace.

This example underscores the fact that in order to tackle a rather largeproject, theprojectengineer,orScrumMaster,decided to find thebestway tocomeupwithanewdrinkandsetitupinthemarket.Whetherornottheproductisasuccessonceinthemarketremainstobeseen.Themostimportantthingtokeepinmindistheneedfortheprojectteamtofindthebestwaytoworkontheproject in a collaborativemannerwhichunderscores theneedsand requestsofthecustomer,thusdeliveringvalueatalltimes.

CoordinatingmultipleScrumteamsInthepreviousexample,wewereabletoseehowmultipleScrumteamscan

be coordinated through the use of a Scrum of Scrums. While using multipleScrumMastersmightbeagoodsolution,itmightnotbethemostpracticalwhentaking budgetary restrictions. The previous example highlighted how thecompany wanted a new low-calorie drink and just tapped one of their bestengineerstotakeontheproject.

Sure,thisapproachwouldprovideamore“predictable”outcome,thefactofthe matter is that traditional project management methodologies are used toproduce predictable results. When something such as the creation of a newproductrequirestheinterventionofaprojectteam,thenthereisaclearneedfortheeachofthememberstofindthebestwaytomaketheirworkcount.ThatiswhyScrumcanbeusedacrossanumberofdifferentindustriesandfields.

ThefactthatScrumhasacross-cuttingappeal,itallowsprojectmanagerstofindaneffectivewayofrunninganumberofteamssimultaneously.Thisimpliesthat theproject teamisable tomakesenseof thevarious tasks thatneedtobedoneinsuchawaythattheprojectteamisabletogetafirmgrasponthevariousobjectivesthatneedtobecompletedthroughoutthelifecycleoftheproject.

Forinstance,atraditionalprojectmanagementmethodologywouldnotallowallthreeteamstorunsimultaneously.Theprojectteamwouldhavetowaituntilthere was a successful formula developed for the drink, while the remainingteamsmightbeabletocomeupwithideasbutwouldn’tbeabletoworkuntilthepreviousstephadbeendeveloped.

DistributedScrumteamsOneofthemostimportantfactorsinaScrumprojectisfindingtherightway

tomanagemultipleteamsworkingatthesametime.Ideally,theseteamswouldbe distributed evenly at the samephysical location.This is the concept of co-location,andaccordingtoScrumdoctrine, it is thebestwayinordertoensurethatteamsareworkingcollaboratively.

But what happens if there are teams distributed in different geographicallocations?

Isitpossibletorunasprintwhenteammembersarenotphysicallylocatedinthesameplace?

Theanswerisyes.Moderntechnologyhasfacilitatedcommunicationinsuchawaythatteams

canwork in different geographical locations and still achieve positive results.ThefactthatScrumteamscancommunicateviatheinternetallowsforteamstowork remotely without having to bridge the distance by moving and therebyincreasingthecostoftheproject.

However,suchanapproachisnotforeveryone.Some folks can work perfectly fine on their own. They are capable of

producing results without having someone looking over their shoulder to seewhattheyaredoing.Then,thereareotherswhoarenotsoadeptatworkingontheirown.Theymayfindthemselvesinasituationinwhichtheyneedtohavesomeonetellingthemwhattodoinordertogetthingsdone.

WhileScrumdoesnotadvocatetellingpeoplewhattodo,thepsychologicalpressureofhavingateamworkingaroundthemhelpsthemtofocusongettingworkdone.Nevertheless,usingScrum toworkwith teams located indifferentgeographicallocationsispossible.

Yet, there is one limitation. Such projects need to be those which can beassembledovertheinternet,orwhichdonotrequiretheproductionofaphysicalgood.Insuchcases,therewouldbeapointwhereteammemberswouldhavetocometogethertoproducetheactual,physicalgood.

How andwhen this approach is used depends largely on the nature of theproject.So,it’suptotheprojectmanagertofindtherightwaytomakesurethatthe project team canwork despite distance and other considerations thatmaynegativelyaffecttheteam’soverallperformance.

TheuseofScruminmaintenanceprojectsAtthispointofthebook,wehaveknownhowScrumisusedtocreatevalue,

especiallywhentherearenewproductsbeingproduced.Yet,wehavenotknownwhat happens in the case of such projects where there is nothing new being

created,butmaintenanceistheprimaryfocus.One such example could be an update to an existing product. This update

could be commissioned by the customer or stakeholder in order to fix bugsfoundinaproject.

Considerthissituation:Anautomobilemanufacturerhasrealizedthatoneoftheirrecentmodelshas

beenshowntohavetransmissionproblems.So,theautomobilemanufacturerhasdecidedtocommissionaScrumteamtofindagoodsolutiontothetransmissionissuesforthisvehicle.

The Scrum team has come together, run several sprints, detected theproblem,andproposedacorrectivesolution.Thelattersprintswereintendedtoprovidemorethoroughtestingtothenewtransmissionsoastoavoidthesameproblems the previous transmission had. In the end, the resultswere positive,andthenewtransmissionhasbeenclearedfornewmodels.

Chapter9Benefits

BenefitsofScrumFollowing are ten significant benefits that Scrum gives to associations,

groups, items, and people. To exploit scrum benefits, you have to trust inobservation,discoverprogressivelyabouttheScrumstructurebyutilizingit,andpersistentlyreviewandadjustyourexecutionofscrum.

BetterqualityTasks exist to achieve a dream or objective. Scrum gives the system to

nonstop criticism and presentation to ensure that quality is as high as couldreasonably be expected. Scrum guarantees quality by the accompanyingpractices:

Characterizingandexplainingonnecessitieswithoutamomenttospare,soinformation on item includes is as significant as could be expected under thecircumstances.

Joining day by day testing and item proprietor criticism into theadvancement procedure, permitting the improvement group to address issueswhilethey'renew

Normal and ceaseless improvement of scrum group yield (item oradministration)throughrunauditswithpartners

Directingdashreviews,permittingthescrumgrouptoconsistentlyimprovesuchgroupexplicitfactorsasprocedures,devices,connections,andworkplaces

Finishing work utilizing the meaning of done that tends to improvement,testing,joining,anddocumentation

DiminishedtimetoadvertiseScrumhasbeendemonstratedtoconveyanincentivetotheendclient30to

40 percent quicker than conventional techniques. This abatement in time isbecauseoftheaccompanyingelements:

Prior inception of improvement because of the reality the forthrightdocumentation periods of cascade ventures (which regularly takemonths) areinevitable by having a committed item proprietor installed inside the scrumgrouptodynamicallyexpandnecessities"withoutamomenttospare"andgivecontinuousexplanations.

Most noteworthy need necessities are isolated from lower-need things.Steadilyconveyinganincentivetotheendclientimpliesthatthehighest-esteemand -hazardprerequisitescanbeconveyedbefore the lower-worthandhazardnecessities.Nocompellingreasontoholdupuntilthewholeventureisfinished

beforedischarginganythingintothemarket.Usefulness is swarmed to finish eachdash.Toward the finish of each run,

scrum groups produce working item and administration augments that areshippable.

ExpandeddegreeofprofitabilityThereductionsoastoshowcaseisonekeyexplanationthatscrumventures

understandabetteryieldonspeculation(ROI).Sinceincomeandotherfocusedon benefits start coming in sooner, prior aggregation implies higher absolutereturnaftersometime.This isanessentialpreceptofnetpresentworth(NPV)computations. Notwithstanding time-to-showcase benefits, ROI with Scrumlikewiseincrementsby:

Ordinary input through dash surveys legitimately from partners,including clients, empowers course rectifications early,which is lessexpensiveandtediousthanlatersimultaneously.Less expensive imperfections because of mechanization and directfronttestingimplylesssquanderedworkandquickerarrangements.Diminishing expenses of disappointment. In the event that a scrumventure will come up short, it flops prior and quicker than cascadeventures.HigherconsumerloyaltyScrumgroupsarefocusedondeliveringitemsandadministrationsthatfulfillclients.Scrumempowersmorejoyfultasksupportsthroughtheaccompanying:Teamingupwithclientsasaccomplicesandkeepingclients includedandconnectedallthroughventures.Havinganitemproprietorwhoisaspecialistonitemprerequisitesandclientneeds.Keepingtheitembuild-uprefreshedandorganizedtoreactrapidlytochange.Exhibiting working usefulness to inner partners and clients in eachdashsurvey.Conveying item to end clients quicker andmore regularlywith eachdischargeinsteadofatthesametimeattheend.Steadily subsidizing tasks as opposed to requiring huge in advanceresponsibilities.Highercamaraderie

Workingwithcheerful individualswhomake themostof theiroccupations

can be fulfilling and fulfilling. Self-administration puts choices that wouldregularly bemade by a chief or the association into scrum colleagues' hands.Scrumimprovesthespiritofcolleaguesinthesemanners:

Being a piece of a self-overseeing and self-arranging group enablesindividualstobeimaginative,creative,andrecognizedfortheiraptitude.

Advancementgroupsmay sort out their group structure around individualswithexplicitworkstylesandcharacters.

Scrum groups can settle on choices customized to give balance betweencolleagues'expertandindividuallives.

Having a friend association with a business agent (item proprietor) on asimilargroupadjustsspecializedandbusinessneedsandseparatesauthoritativehindrances.

Havingascrumace,whoservesthescrumgroup,evacuateshindrancesandshieldstheimprovementgroupfromoutsideobstructions.

Concentrating on manageable work practices and rhythm guarantees thatindividualsdon'twearoutfrompressureorexhaust.

Working cross-practically permits improvement colleagues to adapt newaptitudesandtodevelopbyinstructingothers.

Empowering a hireling head approach helps scrum groups in self-administration and effectively staying away from direction and-controlstrategies.

Giving a domain of help and trust expands individuals' general inspirationandassurance.

Having eye to eye discussions lessens the dissatisfaction ofmiscommunication.

Atlast,scrumgroupscanconcedetorulesabouthowtheyworktotakecareofbusiness.

ExpandedcooperationandpossessionAt the point when scrum groups assume liability for activities and items,

theycandeliverextraordinaryoutcomes.Scrumgroupsworktogetherandtakeresponsibilityforandventureexecutionthroughtheaccompanyingpractices:

Havingtheimprovementgroup,theitemproprietor,andthescrumaceworkfirmlytogetherconsistently

Directingrunarranginggatherings,permittingtheimprovementgrouptosortoutitsworkaroundeducatedbusinessneeds

Having day by day scrum gatherings where advancement colleaguescomposearoundworkfinished,futurework,andbarricades

Leading run surveys, where the item proprietor plots his prioritizationchoices and the improvement group can exhibit and talk about the item

legitimatelywithpartnersLeadingdashreviews,permittingscrumcolleaguestosurveypastworkand

prescribebetterrehearseswitheachrunWorkinginacolocateddomain,takingintoaccountmomentcorrespondence

andcoordinatedeffortamongadvancementcolleagues,theitemproprietor,andthescrumace

SettlingonchoicesbyagreementProgressivelyimportantmeasurementsThemeasurementsthatscrumgroupsusetoevaluatetimeandcost,measure

ventureexecution,andsettleonventurechoicesare frequentlymore importantandmore precise thanmeasurements on conventional undertakings.On scrumventures,measurementsareprogressivelypertinentonthegroundsthat

The individuals who will take the necessary steps, and nobody else, giveexertionevaluationstoextendprerequisites.

Coursesofeventsandspendingplansdependoneveryadvancementgroup'sgenuineexhibitionandabilities.

Utilizing relative appraisals, as opposed to hours or days, tailors evaluatedexertiontoanindividualimprovementgroup'sinformationandabilities.

In under onemoment daily, designers can refresh the torchoutline, givingdaybydayperceivabilityofhowtheadvancementgroupisadvancingtowardadashobjective.

Toward the finish of each dash, an item proprietor can look at theundertaking'srealcost(AC)inadditiontotheopendoorcostoffutureactivities(OC)against theworththat thepresent taskisreturning(V)torealizewhentoendaventureandstartanotherone.Youdon'thavetoholdupuntilthefinishofaventuretorecognizewhatitsworthis.

ImprovedprogressperceivabilityandpresentationOn scrum extends, each individual from the undertaking group (which

incorporates the scrum group and partners) has the chance to know how theventure is going at some random time. Straightforwardness and perceivabilitymake scrum an introduction model to enable the venture to group preciselyrecognizeissuesandallthemorepreciselyforeseehowthingswillgoasthetaskadvances.Scrumactivitiescangiveanelevatedlevelofprogressperceivabilityby:

Puttingahigh incentiveonopen,genuinecorrespondenceamong thescrum group, partners, clients, and any other individual inside anassociationwhoneedstothinkaboutanundertaking.Day by day scrums that give day by day knowledge into the

improvementgroup'spromptadvancementandbarriers.Day by day scrums around task sheets empower engineers to self-arrange and distinguish the most elevated need errands for theafternoon.Utilizingthedatafromeverydayscrumgatherings,runtorchdiagrams,and errand sheets permits the task group to follow progress forsingularruns.Runreviewspermitscrumcolleaguestorecognizewhat'sfunctioningadmirably and what's not to make activity arrangements fordevelopment.Showing achievements in run audits. Anybody inside an associationmaygotoadashaudit,evenindividualsfromotherscrumgroups.Expandedventurecontrol

Scrumgroupshavevariouschances tocontrolventureexecutionandmakerevisionsasrequiredasaresultoftheaccompanyingpractices:

Modifying needs all through the task at each dash interim instead of atsignificant achievements enables the association to have fixed-time and fixed-valueventureswhilepleasingchange.

Graspingchangepermitstheventuregrouptorespondtooutsidefactorslikemarketrequests.

Every day scrum coordination permits the scrum group to rapidly addressissuesastheyemergeandswarmtogethertocompletenecessities.

Every day updates to run overabundances imply that dash torch graphsprecisely reflect run progress, allowing the scrum group the chance to makechangestheminuteitseesissues.

Upcloseandpersonaldiscussionsevacuatebarriers to correspondenceandissuegoals.

Runauditsletventurepartnersseeworkingitemsandgiveitemproprietorsthecriticismtheyhavetoensurethesafety.

If done correctly, the Scrum framework can have the following positiveeffectsontheteamandthecompany:

BetterproductqualitythatmeetsorexceedsclientexpectationsMore frequent code deployments (which means visitors to a site orusers of the software or app can use the product and benefit from itthroughbugfixes,addedfeatures,orupgrades)Fasterleadtimefromcommittingtotheprojectallthewaythroughtocodedeployment

LowerchangefailurerateReducedcostsofdeploymentsImprovedemployeemotivationImprovedorganizationalperformanceasa resultof fasterdeliveryofbetterorsuperiorproductImprovedoverallproductivityImproved market penetration, increased market share, and higherprofitability

CompaniesthatutilizetheScrumframeworkfindthemselvesabletoadapttotheever-changingrequirementsofclientsandstakeholderswith lesschaosandconfusion.Theyknow that they’recreatingaproduct thatwill remain relevanteveniftherearesuddenchangesinrequirements.It’sawin-winsituationfortheScrumTeamandthestakeholders.

Chapter10ScrumMistakestoAvoid

1.AnticipatingthatTransformationshouldAgileandScrumtoBeEasyVeryregularly,somebodywillgetabookonAgileorScrum,startcleaving

up prerequisites into client stories, start every day stand-up gatherings, createprogrammingin2-multiweekruns,andafterwardcallthemselvesAgile.Simple,correct?Theywillprobablyobservesomeimprovementintheircapacitytoreacttochangeandmayevengiveworkingprogrammingquicker–tosometime.Itwon't be excessively long,however, until theguaranteesofAgilebecome lessobvious, groups battle to keep up the pace, programming doesn't generallycoordinate client desires, and afterward Agile is regarded a disappointment.Nimble change requires some serious energy and quite often beginsmuddled.Genuine change uncovered existing corporate and culture issues that must bemanaged–issues,forexample,poorcorrespondence,absenceofresponsibility,doubt, and so on. Successful Agile change is regularly an absolute culturechange. Give it time, and be all set through the torment and protection fromsocialchanges.

2.DoingthePracticesWithoutthePrinciplesAccomplishing the simple things like actualizing Scrum gatherings, filling

theScrumjobs,andutilizingappropriateScrumantiquesisgreat,howeverisjusthalf (or less) of the fight. The Agile standards are what make the practicesfunctionadmirably,andmakethemreasonableoverthelonghaul.Standardsarea lot harder to consolidate than rehearses, which is the reason numerousorganizationsmissthemark–theydon'tdothehardparts.Utilizingprocedureswithout understanding why you are doing them can prompt disappointment.Litheisaboutindividuals,collaborations,andculture,notprocedures,practices,andapparatuses.

3.MuddlingtheAgile/ScrumStartupDoall that you can to keepAgile newcompanies straightforward.Nimble

tasks can be fruitful without the most recent, coolest coordinated effort orlifecycle instrument.Stickiesonadivider,assignments ina spreadsheet,andaphysicallycreatedtorchdiagramwilltakecareofbusiness.Investingimportantenergygettinganinstrumentgoingasopposedtogettingindividualscooperatingis concentrating on an inappropriate thing. TheAgileManifesto places higherincentiveonpeopleandcommunicationsthanonproceduresanddevices.

4.DrivingaScrumTeamLikeaProjectManagerA"directionandcontrol"mindsetiscountertotheAgilesystem.Apioneer

allocatingundertakings andmanaging exertion is anAgile enemyof example.ExtraordinaryAgilegroupsareself-sortingout, theScrumMaster isahirelingchief, and groups figure out how to turn out to be better at cooperating andconveying more prominent worth all the more proficiently by normalinvestigation and adaption. Regularly the exercise is found out better byunderstanding (fortunate or unfortunate experience) than by simply beingdeterminedwhattodo.ScrumMastersandAgilementorscontrolmorethantheydrive.

5.AnUn-ReadyProductBacklogAn item accumulation that isn't "prepared" is one of the most widely

recognizedexplanationsbehindrundisappointmentandforunmotivatedgroups.It is likewiseamaindriver for lowconveyance speedandnot conveyinghighworth.MostnewProductOwnersaren'tpreparedtobeprofitableallalone.Theyneedguidance,instructing,andhand-holdingfortheinitialscarcelyanydashesas theyfigureouthowtocreateandkeepupan itembuild-up thathasenoughimportant highlights assessed at a significant level, and organized by businessesteem.Settinguptheaccumulationwellinfrontofthefollowingsprint(s)isanabsolutenecessity.Youneverneed thegrouptocomeupshortonwork todo,andthatworkmustbeofmostnoteworthyincentivebythenasorganizedbytheProductOwner.BeingaProductOwnercanbetedious.Setthecorrectdesires,giveallthepreparation,andhelptheProductOwnertokeeptheprogressionofsignificantworthcoming.

6.Imparting"Through"theScrumMasterSomething Inormally see innewScrumgroups is individualsutilizing the

Scrum Master to convey their messages to other people. For instance, anengineer has an inquiry concerning a client story; rather than goingstraightforwardly to theProductOwner, he/shemessages theScrumMaster toget thedata.AkeyAgile rule is conveyingupcloseandpersonal atwhateverpoint conceivable.The time it takes tomake the emailwould almost certainlyhavebeeneveryoneofthatwasexpectedtofindthesolutionlegitimatelyfromthe partner.Be that as itmay, for some, specialized individuals, up close andpersonalcorrespondenceisastartlingthingwhenthey'reaccustomedtolivingintheirwork-spaceworld,withoutconversingwithindividuals.Thisisasocialorcharacter issue that must be survived. It sits around idly and, all the moresignificantly,expandsthedangerofmiscommunication.

7.AProductOwnerWhoisn'tAvailableOrInvolvedTheProductOwnerjobcanbeverytedious.Numerouswhoarenewtothe

jobarenotpreparedfortheresponsibility,orsimplydon'thaveaclueaboutthatthey should be so included. Cooperation is basic in the Agile world.Businessmenandengineersneed to cooperate todeliverprogramming that thebusiness needs. This occurs by steady correspondence, coordinated effort, andshortinputcyclestoapproveormakecourserevisions.AtrainingIlovetoseeistheProductOwnersoengagedwith theeverydayactionof the taskgroup thattheSprintReviewisabsolutelyaconventioninlightofthefactthattheProductOwnerhas justobservedafewcyclesof thehighlightsall throughtherunandhasguidedthegrouptomanufacturepreciselywhatthebusinessneeds.Thatisanexcellentthing.

8.CarelessDailyStand-upsThe day by day stand-upmeeting is significant from a few angles. It puts

individualseyetoeyeeachdayfor15minutes,powerscorrespondenceandjointeffort,andgivesperceivabilityandstraightforwardnessintothetask.Forsuchakey gathering, it's essential to set the correct desires in advance so the grouppaysattentiontoit.Thismaysoundactivist,yetparticipationatthedaybydaystand-up is rarely discretionary. Start on schedule and complete on schedule.Adheretothethreeinquiries(whatdidIachieveforthetaskyesterday,whatwillIchipawayattoday,whatimpedimentsareblockingmefromfinishingmyworkonschedule).Trynottopermitsidediscussions,talks,orcriticalthinkingduringthestand-up;thoseshouldallbepossibleafterthestand-upisdone.Thisgetsthegroupinthemethodofregardingthegroupandindividuals'time,andtheyfigureouthowtoconveybetterbyadheringtothetargetsandbeingbrief.

9.NotConductingRetrospectiveMeetingsAfterEverySprintOne of the twelve standards behind the Agile Manifesto is "At ordinary

interims,thegroupconsidershowtoturnouttobeprogressivelycompelling,atthatpointtunesandmodifiesitsconductinlikemanner".LamentablytheSprintRetrospective is frequently treated like an extra or an extravagance, andperformed just "if there's time". The truth of the matter is, Agile is aboutalterations to a great extent, calibrating and reacting to change. It's extremelydifficult toalterandcalibrateontheoffchancethatwedon'tdelaytodiscoverwhere modifications are required. Business as usual isn't Agile, persistentimprovementis.

SOMECOMMONPROBLEMSTHATASCRUMMASTERFACES

TheScrumMasterhasthemainroleoffacilitatingthisworktechniqueandensuring that there isnoobstacle in the team's efforts at achieving their sprinttarget. However, little problems and unforeseen mistakes always occur, andsome are so common that all scrum masters should have some ready orprospectiveoptionspreparedfor them.It isnotonly time-savingandeffective,butalsoallowsforthesharpeningofone'scrisismanagementcapabilitiesinthelongrun.

OneofthemostcommonissuesthatoccuristhattheProductOwnerisnotabletogivethegrouptheproductbacklogintime.Notknowingtheprioritiesofthe ProductOwner, it is challenging for an advancement group to go forth inaction.

In such a situation, the scrum master can select from among differentalternatives, relying on the exact scenarios. Either the whole team could beallowedtotakeabreakfromrunning,especiallyifthehold-upissupposedtobebyadayormore.Ontheotherhand,adevelopmentgroupcouldalsocontinuewithitsplanningconferenceswithoutgivingconcerntostockpile,specificallyifthegrouphasalreadyfinishedsomeeffectivesprints.

Theteamcanthendevelopanoutlineofconcernsiftheyrecognizewiththegeneraldirection theproduct is takingandpresent it to theProductOwner forapprovalorchange.Apartfromthis,thegroupcouldtakethisbreakasachanceto examine their work and gather feedback to more enhance the scrumprocedure.

Though,toguaranteethatthescrumpatternisfollowed,astrictpolicymustbe followed where such breach of the process is inappropriate. If extremesituations are dealt with, the sprint completion can work upon a design ofrewardsaswell.Apartfromthis,inmostsituations,overseasunitsarenormallyuninformedofScrumandhowitworks.Forthatreason,correcttraining,albeitaconcise, brief one must be conducted for, otherwise the sailing will not besmooth.

Somanyscrummastersalsofacethequestionofwhetheritwillbebetterforawholedevelopmentgroupworkonaspecificaspect,finishthematchingsprintandmoveontothenext,orthegroupbesharedvariousdifferentgroupshandingdifferentelementsattheexactsametime.

The solution to this problemdependsonnumerous aspects like the sizeofthe team, the time constraints, the nature of the task, and so on etc. Often amaster might choose to try both the strategies before selecting one as therequirementorchoosenottohaveabasicapproachatall.

Aknowledgeablescrummasterusuallydoeshassomesuchsolutionsathandtodealwithsuchhindrances.Still,beingpreparedaheadoftimeisalwaysbest,

for it displays foresight and effectiveness that are both very important forbusinessmatters.

WHATMAKESATERRIFICPRODUCTOWNER?HereareafewtraitsthatIfeelareveryimportanttobeanefficientProduct

Owner:Overall Commitment - complete engagement with the Scrum group is

necessary.WhileitmaynotbepossibletobephysicallypresentinaScrumteamroom all of the time, the PO ought to be readily available via email, socialmedia,messenger, and so on.The idea is to appear friendly so that the groupmembersdon'tthinktwicetovoicetheirquestions.

ProductBacklogowner-thePOownstheItemBacklog.Thisisapurchasedlist of all the functions that are preferable in the product. The PO continuallyordersthisaccordingtochangingbusinesstopprioritiesandmustbeonhandtoansweranyquestionsconcerningthebacklog.

SubjectMatterProfessional-Asanexpertwhomustknowthebusinessandtheproductinsideout,thePOisthego-topersonfortheScrumgrouptoansweranyitemassociatedquestions.Heisthesoleauthorityontheitemandmustbeabletoclarifyanybusinessreasoningorin-depthperformancethatneedstobebuiltin,andhence,shouldassistthegroupastheyworkontheirSprinttasks.

Collaborative-BeingcollectiveandbeingagreatcommunicatorisvitalforthePO.Heneedstohavetheabilitytopositionhimself 'atpar'withtheScrumgroup and be open to dealwith them at a peer level. A significant change inmindsetmightbeneededhere!DespitethefactthatthepersonwhoisthePOismuchhigherintheorganizationalhierarchy,he/sheneedstomixintothegroupandworkshouldertocarrytoattainthetypicalgoal.

ScrumVsExtremeProgrammingAgileProcessThe Agile Process or software application development refers to a set of

software application development methods that are based upon iterativedevelopment.Inthisprocedure,theoptionsandrequirementsbothevolvemutualpartnershipbetweencrossfunctioninggroups.Theseteamsareself-organizinginnature.

TheAgilesoftwaredevelopmenttechniquenormallypromotesaregimentedkindofjobmanagementprocesswhichencourages:

1.Frequentadjustmentandinspection.2.Self-organizationandaccountability.3.Amanagementphilosophywhichpromotesteamwork.

4.Afirmapproachwhichbringsintolinethedevelopmentwithclientneedsandcompanyobjectives.

5.Andagroupofbestengineeringpracticeshavinganintentiontoallowforfastdeliveryofgood-qualitysoftwareapplication.

ExtremeProgramming(EP)It is a software development methodology with an intention to boost

softwareresponsivenessandqualitytotheunstablerequirementsofconsumers.Thisintroducescheckpointsandenhancestheperformanceinawaythatthenewrequirementsfromcustomerscanbeadopted.

ThebenefitsofExtremeProgrammingare:1.Unittestingofallcode.2.Avoidingprogrammingoffeaturestillneeded.3.Programminginpairsorcarryingoutextensivecodeevaluation.4.Clearnessandsimplicityincode.5.Unstablecustomerrequirementsbetterunderstood.6.Aflatmanagementstructure.7.Regularcommunicationbetweenthedevelopersandevenwiththeclient.

ThedisadvantagesofExtremeprogrammingare:1.Nodocumentedcompromisesofuserconflicts.2.Unsteadyrequirements.3.Lackofoveralldesignfileorspecification.4.Incorporatesinsufficientsoftwareapplicationdesign.5.Demandsmeetingsatrecurrentintervalsathighcosttoclients.6. Can expand the risk of scope creep as a result of the lack of

comprehensiverequirementsdocumentation.7.Needsexcessofculturalchangetoadopt.

DifferencesbetweenScrumandExtremeProgramming(EP):1.Thetimeperiodforiterativesprintsisdifferentinbothapproaches.2. Changes aren't enabled by the Scrum groups throughout their sprints.

Whereas Extreme Programming teams need to be far more reasonable tochanges.

3.WorkisdonebyEPteamsinstrictconcernorder.WhereasinthecaseofScrum,theProductOwnerfocusesonthesetofactivities.

4.EPdoesprescribesomeengineeringpractices;Scrumdoesn't.

Chapter11ScrumCertification

PROFESSIONALSCRUMAswasnoted,gettingeducatedaboutvariousaspectsofScrumisagoodway

toensureyourScrumprojectsendinsuccess.However,noteveryteammembermight be interested in pursuing certification-level Scrum training. For them,perhaps attending one or two-day Scrum appreciation workshops or seminarsmaybeagoodstartingpoint.

ForthoseteammembersthatareinterestedingoingfurtherwiththeirScrumtraining,thereareanumberofcertificationoptionsavailableasproposedbytheScrumAlliance.Hereareafewtoconsider:

CertifiedScrumMaster®(CSM)

ACertifiedScrumMaster® serves as a vital resource to helpScrum teamsmakeproperuseofScrum,therebyenhancingthechancesofaproject'ssuccess.AsaCSM,youwillgainadeepunderstandingofScrumvaluesandpractices,andtheirapplication,andwillprovidetheScrumteamexpertiseandknowledgethattypicalPMsdon'tusuallyhave.

AsaCSMs,youwilllearnhowtoactasa"servantleader",whichempowersyouto lead the teamwithoutformalauthorityover them.YouwillalsomastertheprinciplesoftheScrumframework,andlearnhowtohelptheteamnavigatethem.Most importantly, you will gain valuable skills on how to insulate theScrum team from internal and external distractions that often serve to derailScrumprojects.

CertifiedScrumProductOwner®(CSPO)

TheProductOwnerroleisapivotalpositioninthebroaderScrumTeam.Asa CSPO, you will acquire in-depth knowledge of all necessary terminology,principles and practices that will allow you to successfully fulfill yourresponsibilities as a Scrum Product Owner. As noted earlier in the book,ProductOwnersweardualhats-thatofaconventionalProductManageraswellasaProjectManager.Assuch,theCSPOdesignationwillbeofimmensevaluetoanyonedesirousofsteppingintothatchallengingrole.

CertifiedScrumDeveloper®(CSD)

ScrumproductdevelopmentisunlikethetraditionalWaterfallphased-projectcycle approach.TheCSDcoursewill providedevelopers all theknowledge tosharpentheirAgiledevelopmentskills.Inaddition,developerswillalsomasterthesciencebehindincrementaldevelopmentasadvocatedbyScrum,insteadofadeliveryatend-of-projectlifecycleapproach.

CSD has the edge over non-Scrum colleagues in that they not only learnAgileengineering,butarealsoexposedto thebasicprinciplesandpracticesoftheScrumframework.

CertifiedScrumProfessional®(CSP)

CertifiedScrumProfessionals(CSPs)arein-practiceCSMs,CSPOsorCSDsthat wish to take their Scrum certification to the next level. Every projectdelivery methodology can be stretched to its limits, and that's whenorganizations see additional benefits. This trainingwill enable you to acquireadditional skills and knowledge to help you challenge your Scrum Teams toextendtheircurrentboundariesofScrumpractice.

CertifiedScrumTrainer®(CST)

WhenScrumpracticehasmadeyouperfectinthescienceofScrum,it'stimetolearntheartofteachingScrum.AsaCST,you'lllearneverythingthereistoknow about translating yourwealth of Scrum knowledge and experience, andpassingitontoothers.

Everyorganizationthat'scommittedtoScrumshouldconsiderhavingatleastone CST on board. CST's will not only help Scrum practitioners in theorganizationkeeptheirskillscurrent,throughcontinuoustraining,butcouldalsowearthehatofScrumMasterorProductOwner,ifrequired.

CertifiedScrumCoach®(CSC)

For CSP's that wish to elevate their Scrum credentials, CSCmight be theanswer. As a CSC, you must be able to demonstrate that you have all thepracticaland theoreticalknowledgeofScrumtoqualifyasaCoach toothers -individuals,groups,andorganizations.

Onepre-requisitetoattainingtheCSCdesignationisthatyoumustbeabletoprovethatyouhavehelpedatleastoneorganizationsuccessfullyadoptScrumintheimplementationofreal-lifeprojects.

Chapter12ApplyingScrum

Stayingupwiththepacemaybedifficult.Itrequirestowinabattleagainstyourself and to become able to gather and analyze evidence to challengeyourself.TimothyGallweyintroducestheconceptofthe“innergame”inwhichyourfirstselfisalwaysjudgingandnottrustingyoursecondself(theinnerone).It’svitaltofindtoolsthatwillhelpyouinkeepingthepacebybecomingabletoanalyzethefactsinawaythatisfreefromjudgment.Scrumcanreallyhelpyouinbuildingthestructurethatcanhelpyouinreachingthatobjective.

The first thing to applyScrum in theSSDmanner is to define your sprintlength. This timeboxwill evolve according to what works for you. Themaincriterion is to find out what is the shortest amount of time that it takes, onaverage,foryoutoreachasetoftasksthatareorientedtoaspecificgoal.Thesprint shouldanywaybeno longer than1month. Ifyoudecide for a1-monthsprint,itmeansthatyouwillhave12sprintsinayearandeverymonthyouwillfollowthe4maineventsofScrumtomanageyourprogress.InSSD,yourteammay be physically built only upon yourself, so there will be only one sprintbacklog for all the products that youwill have to handle. Remember that forsomeof them, the product ownermaybe someone else (e.g. your partner) andthis means that when planning you will have to handle any dependency andprioritythatyoucannotjudgealone.Involvingtheotherproductownersinyourplanningiskeytoprepareagoodsprintbacklogthatwillhelpyouinreachinggoals.

Remember that you may be working alone to your sprint backlog, so behonest,trytofocusandtoavoidputtingtoomanythingsthatwillmakeyoufeeloverwhelmed.Again,yourdayismadeof24hoursandyoucannotchangethatfact.Youneedtosleep,toeat,andtodomanymandatorythingsjusttolive,soyourcapacityisfixed.

Atthebeginningofyoursprint,youwillhavetodecidewhatyourgoalwillbe.That’s the sprint planning.Things like “Iwant topass the examX”, or “Iwanttolose1kg”canbegoalsforasprint.Havingtohandlemoreproducts,youmaytrytoputmorethanonegoalforunrelatedproducts,giventhatyouaresureyoucanpursuebothwithoutinterferences.Forexample,ifyourgoalsaretopassanexamandatthesametimelose1kg,youwillhavetobesurethatthetimeyou use to get fit, does not get in the way of the time you use to study.Moreover, if youwill have ambiguous situations inwhichyouarenot sureofwhat you need to do, you will have to give your goals an order (not just a

priority,sincetheymayhavethesamevalue).Havingaclearorderwillhelpyouindecidinghowtospendyourtimeincaseofambiguities.

Onceyouhavedefinedyourgoal,youwillhavetopickthethingsyouwanttodo toachieveyourgoalandmove themfromyourproductbacklog toyoursprintbacklog.The sprintbacklogwill be themain tool tovisualizewhatyouexpecttodointhesprint.Havingthoseitemsclearlyvisiblewillhelpyoustaymotivated, see your progress, and keep concentrated. You can build yourbacklogwithwhatevertoolthatworksforyou.ItcanbeanapplikeMicrosoftOneNoteorEvernote,whereyoucancreatepagesorsectionswheretoregisterto-doitemsforeachproduct,ormoreadvancedapplicationsthathelpyouhandleto-dolistswithattributesorevenKanbanboardslikeTrello.Rememberthatthebacklog isa livingdocumentso it shouldbeeasy tomodifyand tosort thingsout.Youmustbe able to clearly seepriorities and, in case, to showwhat’s inyourpottosomeoneelse(e.g.toraisetransparency).

Once you have your sprint in place, you will do a daily Scrum with theobjectiveofcheckingifyouareprogressingtowardsyourgoal,ifthereareanyimpediments andwhatwill be your plans for your next 24 hours.There is nobestmomentfortakingthose15minutes.Somemayfinditusefultodoitinthemorningwhileothersduringtheday.Ifoundthatthebestmomentformeisinthe evening, just before going to bed. I look atmy day and search forwhat Ilearnedfromwhathappened.Itrytofindoutwhatblockedmefromprogressingandwhatthingsworkedormademegrow.Finally,IlookatmysprintbacklogandseewhatIwanttoachievethenextday.

Managing thebacklog issomething thathappensatanymoment.AddingaTrellocardorwritinganoteonEvernoteissomethingthatyoucandowheneveranewproductbacklogitemcomesintoyourmind.Therewillbetimetorefinethe backlog and get rid of what you put there that may no longer fit yourpurpose.

At the end of the sprint, you must find your way to do a review and a

retrospective.It’svitalnottoskipthosetwomoments.Thefirstonewillbetheeventinwhichyouwillcheckwithyourself,freefromanybiasedjudgment,ifyouachievedyourgoalsandwhatistheresult.Passingtheexam,checkingyourweightorcountingacertainnumberofoccurrenceswillbeyourproof.Hereyouwillbeusingthedefinitionofdonetounderstandifyoureallymadeprogressornot.Yourobjectiveduringthereviewistorefineyourbacklogandtoaddnewitems(ortoremoveothers)accordingtowhatyouachieved.Forexample,let’ssay you did not pass an exam, you may put in your backlog an item thatremembersyoutostudyanadditionalbook.Ifpossible,inviteotherstakeholdersto your reviewor simply ask for feedback. If you had a goal that other couldobserve, simplyhaveacasualchatwith themandask if theynoticedanythingthatcanprovethatyousucceeded.Learntodealwithfeedbackofanytype,fromconstructive to destructive and gather everything that can help you in refiningyourbacklog.

Finally, find at least one hour per sprint to do a retrospective. This isprobably themost importantmoment for your growth and your path to beinghappier.Theretrospectiveisamomentinwhichyouwilllookatwhatyouhavedone and find outways to improve your processes and your relations. Itmayvaryfromfinding thebest transportationmediumtoget towork, to improvingyourrelationshipwithyourpartner.Thekeyelementistokeepthefocusononeproblem at a time and to find actionable items. It’s important to distinguishbetweenactionpointsandactionableitems.Anactionpointiswhen,bylookingbehindyourback,youseethatyoumayhaverequiredabettercommunicationtoimprove your life at home.An actionable item is something tangible that youwilldothenextsprint,like“leavingapost-itwiththereminderofwhattobuy”tomakeiteasierforyourcompanionstogogroceryshopping.

Agoodretrospectivewillpassthrough5stages:settingthestage,whereyouwill break the ice and start discoveringwhat’s your purpose for thatmoment.Gather thedata, so, looking atwhat you tracked that canhelpyouunderstandwhat did not work in relation to the identified problems. Generate insights,whereyouwillstartgivingameaningtothedatayougathered.Findwhattodo,inwhich a list of actionable itemswill be generated.Closure,where youwillwrapupwhatyoujustdecidedandcommityourselftoimprove.Evenifyoudoasolo-retrospective, it’s very useful to visualize your thoughts. A retrospectivecould last even one hour, so youmay generate data and insights that after 20minutesofself-reflectionmayjustdisappearfromyourvision.So,it’simportanttofindyourway tokeepeverythingyoustartanalyzing infrontofyou.Usingstickynotesonawallmaybeasolution.Therearemanywaystoimplementthe5phasesofaretrospective,butyouwillhavetofindwhat’sworkingforyou.In

general, the most effective way is to start by looking for the right questionsinstead of the right answers.Once you find a good question to start, you canbeginwriting down your thoughts into the cards and then post them onto thewallsothatyoucanvisualizewhateveryouarethinkingandrealizing.

Chapter13TheScrumFramework

Delivering a project in accordance with the requirements of variousstakeholders is an inherently challenging task.However, Scrumhasmade thatchallenge easier to navigate by prescribing a "framework" for conducting theprojectmanagementprocess.

The Scrum framework revolves around some basic "Scrum values" thatpractitionersmustadhereto,including:

CommitmentOpennessFocusCourageandRespect

Within these value parameters, complex projects can be delivered throughcollaborationandeffectiveteamwork.

The main focus of successful Scrum is to try and effectively manage aProductBacklogofdeliverablesthatrepresentthe"whole".This,inturn,isdonebybreakingup the "whole" into smallerdeliverablebacklogsknownasSprintBacklog.AseachSprintiscompleted,itaddsvaluetothedeliverablesproducedbypreviousSprints,sothatthefinalSprintmarkstheculminationoftheproject.

Within this framework, Scrum uses Scrum Teams that are governed bypredeterminedRoles,Events,Artifacts,andRules.

ScrumTeamsIntherealworld,ScrumTeamsareacollectivenamegiventoseveralsetsof

roles thatareperformedbyindividualsandgroupsworkingonaScrumdrivenproject.ThekeytoasuccessfulScrumprojectistoensurethatyouputtherightteaminplace,andthateveryone:

AgreestopursuecommongoalsEmbracesacommonsetofrulesandnormsRespectseachandeverymemberontheteamValuesallinputgivenbyeverymember

Without these prerequisites in place, a Scrum project is doomed to failure

fromtheoutset.While many novice PMs think of Scrum (Agile) teams in the context of

"hitting theground running", the truth is that becauseof their cross-functionalnature, that might often not be the case. Veteran Scrum PMs will, however,always build flexibility in their plans for the Forming, Storming, Norming,Performing and Adjourning cycles (as defined by the Tuckman model, andadaptedsubsequently-moreonthislater!)toplayoutbeforetheteamgetsdowntoproductivebusiness.

Scrum teamsare,bydefinition, cross-functional in their setup.Thatmeansyouwill likely have people on the teamwith diverse skill sets,many ofwhohaveneverworkedtogether(asacoherentteam),andsomethatwillprobablybepartofateamforaveryshortduration,andthenbereplacedbyothers.

ScrumRolesScrum, as an agilemethod of handling project development, decentralizes

theresponsibilitiesandauthoritiesonceheldbytheProjectManagers.Theaim,ashasbeenexplainedpreviously,istocreateaprojectdevelopmentenvironmentthat is more flexible to change and capable of spontaneously reacting to thischange. This does not mean that the Scrum Project Management is, or canpossiblybe,devoidofreportingauthorities.

Arguably,everyPMmodelhas tobeboundandgovernedbycertainrules,which maintain its functional integrity. And by rule, these Rules have to beenactedbyoneormoreauthority/reportingfigures.Therefore,even thoughthenew model decentralizes the authority once held by the project manager, itcannotsimplyeradicateit.

The fundamental responsibilities needed to create, retain, and managesufficientstructureintheteamareredistributedtovariousnewdesignations.

It is in this context, therefore, that the Scrum Team must be organizedaroundspecificteamroles.

Scrum Master: This role ensures that the Team follows Scrum bestpractices, and adheres to theNorms andRules that the teamagrees to follow.Typically,thisroleisoneofa:-Protector(whoshieldstheteamfromexternaldisruptions) - Coach - Facilitator - Moderator - Cheer Leader At projectinitiation, the ScrumMaster is usually unable to directly contribute to actualSprint goals.His/hermain goalwill be to shape the team, and to get them tofocusondeliveringoncommittedgoals.However,withthepassageoftime,astheteamsettlesintothe"performing"stage,theScrumMastercouldpotentiallystartdoing"real"work.

Ideally,theScrumMastershouldhavetheconfidenceofallteammembers,andmustnothaveanyconflictofinterest(realorperceived),whenitcomestohis/herrelationshipwithanyoftheteammembers.

Product Owner: This is a combination of the role performed by thetraditional"ProductManager"and"ProjectManager".TheProductOwneractsasthego,betweentotheScrumTeamandotherstakeholders,andisresponsibleformakingsure that theTeamisworkingon the rightdeliverablesat the righttime.

Inaddition toworkingcloselywith theScrumTeamonotheragreedroles,theProductOwnerprimarily:-ManagestheScrumProductBacklog-Decideswhatdeliverablesmustbeproduced,andwhen-ControlstheReleaseScheduleofthecompleteddeliverables-Seeksanyclarifications(fromexternalsources)for the Scrum Team about Product Backlog Items (PBIs) Communication,betweentheScrumTeamanddiversegroupsofstakeholders,isaprimaryroleoftheProductOwners.Theroleshouldthereforebefilledbysomeonewithstrongwrittenandverbalcommunicationskills.Additionally,performthisrolerequiressomeonewithgoodnegotiationandstakeholdermanagementskills.

TheTeam:InadditiontowhathasbeensaidearlieraboutScrumTeamsingeneral, these teamshavecertainothercharacteristics that set themapart fromteamsusingotherprojectmanagementmethodologies(likeWaterfall).ThecoreScrum Team: - Is often relatively small, usually between 5 to 8 individuals.AdditionalSubjectMatterExperts(SMEs)canbecalleduponasneeded-Doesnot have sub-teams - it functions as an entity unto itself - Works with greatdegreeofautonomyasaself-organizedunit-Isverymuchself-governed,takingtheirdirectionfromwithintheteamandtheRulesandNormstheyhaveagreedtoadopt-Worksbestwhenstaffedwithfull-timeresources-Shouldpreferablybe collocated As a group, the team is responsible for: - Producing andmaintaining certain Scrum artifacts (more on this later), primarily the SprintBacklog -Organizing, running andparticipating in theDailySprintMeeting -WorkingcollectivelytoproduceashippabledeliverableattheendofeachSprint-Ensuring that statusupdates to teamdashboards, specifically theSprintBurndownChart,areregularandaccurate.

Each of these roles is linked to one another across multiple layers ofmanagement i.e. no oneScrumRole is accorded all the responsibilities of theProject Manager. Rather, many responsibilities of the traditional PM are leftunassigned i.e. to no one in particular.Hence, the ScrumRoles prioritize andassignthemamongstoneanother.

TheScrumModeldisseminatestheresponsibilitiesacrosstheRoles,andbykeeping each other co-dependent instills the need for greater collaboration,openness in communication, and transparency across all stages of projectdevelopment. In order towin, sports teams need to be nimble, just as projectteamsmustbe agile tobe successful.Whenwe lookathow"typical"projectswork,weseestrikingsimilaritiestothesportsworld.Individuals(Players)formgroups(Teams)andworkonspecifictasks(Plays)todeliversuccessfully(Win)on commitmentsmade to stakeholders (Fans). Periodically, there are frictions(Infringements) amongst individuals and groups, and projectmembers have toregroup(Scrummage)tosortthingsout.

Management experts took all of those similarities,wrapped them around aprovenbodyofprojectmanagementknowledge,andcreatedanagileapproachtomanaginganddeliveringprojects,whichtheycalled"Scrum".

IndevelopingtheScrummethodology,expertsrealizedthatthereneededtobe a certain discipline behind the science of project management.What theydiscovered is that projects can consistently be delivered to spec, on time andwithinbudget,ifPMs:

Organizethebusinessintosmallerself-governing,cross-functionalteams;Organizeworkintosmallerchunksofdeliverables;Rank,prioritizeandestimatecompletionanddelivery;Organize delivery of small "working components" into shorter fixed-

timeframe(1to4week)Iterations(or"Sprints")Consult with customer’s/end users and organize release plans based on

inspectionresultsofeachiterationOptimize the entire process based on retrospective review following every

iterationThisisthecentralideafromwhichScrumevolved.

ScrumEventsScrumprojectsarecarriedout throughaseriesofevents,whicharegeared

towards producing all of the project deliverables.Additionally, there are otherScrumEventswhichservetomanagetimelinesandqualityofthedeliverables,aswell as conduct self-appraisals of the overall Scrum (and Sprint) processesthatwerefollowed,andadoptmeasurestostreamlinethemwherenecessary.

TheSprint:withintheScrumFramework,allprojectactivitiesdesignedtodeliver itemsintheScrumProductBacklogareperformedviaaneventknownas the Sprint (or "Iteration"). Sprints are usually confined to time-boxeddurationsofbetween1and4weeks.

Theobjectiveofthesprintistocreatetheidealconditionssothattheprojectteam"sprints"tofinishallofthedeliverablesthatareontheSprintBacklog.

SprintPlanning:EachSprintcommenceswithtwosetsofplanningsessions- aWHAT and aHOW. In theWHAT session, the ScrumTeam reviews theProductBacklogandagreesuponwhatitemsfromtherewillbedeliveredinthecurrentSprint.

Team members are allowed to freely express their views on whether thecommitmentscanbemet,or if theyseepotentialhurdles indelivery.Oncetheteam has agreed upon what is to be included in the current Sprint, theycommencediscussingHOWtodeliverontheWHAT.

The HOW session takes all of the WHAT deliverables and breaks themdown into specific tasks, estimates timelines for them, and assignsresponsibilitiesforeachtasktoindividuals(orgroups)ontheprojectteam.

Daily Scrum Meetings: Now that the Scrum Team has received it's"marchingorders"forwhatneedstobedeliveredbytheendoftheSprint(in1to4weeks’time),theteammeetsdailytomanageitsworkloadandensureprogressisbeingmade.

TheScrumMasterfacilitatestheDailyScrumMeetings,andparticipationofall teammembers is mandatory. Thesemeetings are "stand up" sessions, andshould be nomore than 15-minutes in duration. If there are significant itemsflaggedduringthesession,theyshouldnotbeignoredduetolackoftime."Offline"meetingscouldbescheduledtodealwithsuchitemsseparately.

DuringtheDailyScrumMeeting(alsocalledtheDailyStandUpMeeting),theScrumMasterwillreviewthefollowingwitheachteammember:-Whatwasaccomplishedbyhim/hersincethepreviousDailyScrumMeeting?

-Whatpreventedhim/herfrommeetingtheirgoals?-Whatdotheyplanonaccomplishingpriortothenextsession?TheSprintBacklogisupdatedasaresultofthesedailysessionstoreflectthe

currentstatusoftheSprint.

The Sprint Review: Since each Sprint is meant to culminate with thecompletion of certain deliverables, this implies that the SprintReviewwill beheldoncethosedeliverableshave,infact,beencompleted.

During these sessions, held at the end of a Sprint, the Scrum Teamdemonstratesallof theSprintBacklogitemscompleted.TheProductOwner isresponsible for accepting (in line with predetermined acceptance criteria) orrejecting any Sprint Backlog item. Should an item be rejected, the Product

OwnerwillremoveitfromtheSprintBacklogandaddit(back)totheProductBacklog.SuchitemsarethenreviewedandreprioritizedforpossibleinclusioninsubsequentSprints.

The Sprint Review should be kept as informal as possible, with lessemphasisonceremonyandmoreonsubstance-suchasdecisionsindicatingthestatus of Sprint Backlog items: "accepted", "rejected", "needs someimprovement".

TheSprintRetrospective:Asitsnameimplies,thisisaretrospectivelookat the recently completed Sprint. The Sprint Retrospectivemeeting should beconductedimmediatelyfollowingthecompletionofaSprint,andmustfocusonthefollowingthreethings:-WhattheScrumTeamdidwellduringtheSprint?

Whatdidn'tgoasplannedduringtheSprint?What improvementsneed tobemadeso thingscangoevenbetter inthenextSprint?

The Scrum Master facilitates these sessions, and it is mandatory for theentire Scrum Team to attend and provide feedback. The Scrum Masterdocuments these sessions and updates the Scrum "lessons learned" and bestpracticesdocumentationforfuturereference.

ScrumArtifactsInarchaeologicalterminology,anartifactdescribesamanmade-object,like

avaseandtool.Essentially,anartifactissomethingthatwepeoplemaketobeabletofixanissueorevenproducesomething.

Like any good process or methodology, Scrum prescribes certain tools,called ScrumArtifacts, which help practitioners document the overall project.TheScrumTeamandotherstakeholdersalsousetheseartifactsasvisualaidstomanage and keep track of the progress beingmade on the project as well asindividualSprints(Iterations).

Product Backlog: All project teams, regardless of the methodology theyfollow to manage the project, need some kind of "list of features" to worktowards.Initssimplestform,theScrumProductBacklogmaybeconsideredastheentireuniverseof features(UserStories) thatmustbedelivered inorder toconsidertheprojectcompleted.

SprintBacklog: Once specific Product Backlog Items (PBIs) are selected

for inclusion in aSprint, the challenge is tomonitor and track all of the tasksneededtodeliverthosePBIduringtheSprint.TheSprintBacklogisyetanotherpowerful tool thathelpsScrumTeamsstayontopofwhatneedstobedonetoaccomplishtheirgoals.

TheSprintBacklogprovidesavisualpictureof:

ThePBI (orUser Stories) that are scheduled for delivery during thecurrentSprintThelistofopentasksthatmustbecompletedinorderforeachPBItobeconsidered"done"Asubsetofthose"open"tasksthathavebeenassignedtoadeveloperandareactivelybeingworkeduponAlistofdevelopmenttasksthathavebeencompleted("done")Whenateammemberisassignedatask,thetaskisremovedfromthe"Open"queueandenteredinthe"Dev"queue,withhis/hernameagainstit.

Asandwhena taskisfinished, it isremovedfrom"Dev"andaddedto the"Done"queue.

ScrumTeamsownandmanage theSprintBacklog, and it isupdateddaily(often several times a day). It is reviewed during theDailyStand-upmeeting,andupdatesmadeforeveryonetosee.Usually,itishelpfulfortheteamtoalsoestimate"timetocomplete"and"timelefttofinish"inperson-hourssothatallteammembersandstakeholdershaveaclearindicationofworkinprogressandeffortremaining.

Burn Down Chart: Managing projects requires keeping a keen eye onwhat'shappening,intermsofhowworkisbeingfinished,andwhatisexpectedtohappen,intermsofforecastingfutureoutcomes.TheBurnDownChartisanexcellent tool in the arsenal of the Agile PM to accomplish both thoseobjectives.

This tool helps PMs and other stakeholders see exactly how quickly theScrumTeamis"burning"throughtheProductBacklog(UserStories).TheBurnDown chart: - Is a visual aid that helps show progress made on completingvariousmilestones to deliver the final product - It compares how the team isdoing(RealBurnDown),intermsofeffortinfinishingdeliverables-Itprojectswhat completion will look like (Estimated Burn Down) if the current rate ofprogress ismaintained -Plots the progress rate (Velocity) of theScrumTeamPMscanusevariousformatsofBurnDownChartstofocusonvariousmetrics,such as "Total Effort versus Work Done"; "Total Effort versus Work

Remaining";"EffortversusVelocity".TheseviewswillhelptheScrumMasterandProductOwnerdecidehowtomanageslippage(ifany),orreprioritizePBIsinamorerealisticway.

The Burn Down Charts should be reviewed during each Daily ScrumMeeting, and Team Members should be allowed to comment on why thingsaren'tprogressingasplanned.

Conclusion

Scrumcanhelp teamsdelivergreatproductson time if the teammembers,the Scrum master, and the product owner already have the right skills andabilities to create the product. Scrum is not a magical set of rules that anyorganizationcouldjustfollowlikeacookbookrecipeandexpectinstantresults.WhatI’vegivenyouisabasicunderstandingontheessentialsofScrumandhowtouseit totapintotheskillsoftheteammembers,Scrummaster,andproductowner,turningthoseintopowerfulleveragesincreatinginnovativeproductsontime.

Scrum is flexible in a sense that after severalprojects, it canmorph into acompletelydifferentframework,perhapswithmoreeffectivetools,artifacts,androles.Nevertheless,Scrumhasnomarkedfinishline.Thereisnoendgoal,thatmeansyoucanstoplearning.

Being good in the implementation of Scrum is never the end goal ofcompanies.Inthesamewaythatstudyingisnottheendgoalofstudents,rather,to learn more effectively, learning to be more proficient with Scrum meansyou’llbeabletohelpyourcompanyreachitsgoalbetter.

Some methodologies actually have end states, which is why they havecertainlevelstoreach.Scrum,however,doesnotmakeanassumptionthatthereisastatewhereinyoucannolongertranscendthecurrentstate.Itassumesthatyouwillalwaysfindnewandbetterwaysofachievinggoals.Afterall,thisistherealworld,wherethebestdoesnotstaythebestfortoolong.

NoSuchThingasaPerfectStartI’ve probably mentioned this quite a few times in this book one way or

another,butthat’sbecausealotofpeoplestillcan’tquitegetthisconceptright.A lot of people try to implement Scrum, only to delay the start ofimplementation because they can’t seem to perfect the concepts of Scrum.Ironically,thisisexactlywhatScrumisagainst:waitingfortheperfectmomentbeforeyoubegin.

We live in a non-ideal world. Ideal conditions only exist in abstractmathematical notations that only a fewof uswould live to see. Scrum allowschangestohappenbecauseofthefactthatpeoplewhotrytoimplementScrumwillinevitablymakemistakesbefore,during,andafterthedevelopmentprocess.A team’s concept of perfection before product developmentwill inevitably bedifferentfromitsconceptofperfectionduringandafter.

If you’re worried that you don’t have everything perfectly planned, youshould stop worrying! Perfection means no longer being able to learn newthings,andScrumemphasizestheneedtocontinuouslylearnandgrow.Inmostcases, the first few sprintsmaybe somewhat disappointingor evendownrightugly,butthat’sallright.Theimportantthingisthatthesucceedingsprintsstarttobecomebetterthanthepreviousones,andinmostcases,theyreallywill.

Getstarted!Bystartingassoonasyoucan,yougiveyourcompanyalotoftimetogrow.

The first few sprintswon’t be perfect and neitherwould the sprints in thedistant future, but no Scrum implementation is ever problem-proof. Allcompanies have problems implementing Scrum. Remember that since Scrumhelpscompaniesdiscoverhiddenkinksandbottlenecks,thecompaniesthatfindthese problems may associate difficulties from the problems to the Scrumframework itself. This misconception is understandable because a lot ofmethodologies sometimes make work seem a lot easier than it is by hidingpotentialproblems,onlytoletthempop-upsomewhereneartheend.

Scrumisabitmorethorough,lettingtheteamsseepotentialproblemsaheadinthebeginning,middle,andendoftheproduction.Thethingis,though,Scrumdoesn’ttellyouhowtosolvethoseproblems.Itcanonlytellyousomuch;theScrummaster, product owner, and teammember all have towork together tofindasolution.

I’vesaidbeforethatonecanchangesomeaspectsofScrumshouldhefindmoreeffectivesolutions,butbewarethatalotofpeopletendtochangeScrum,thinkingthatit’dleadtomoreefficientoperationsonlytofindoutthattheywereslowly reverting back to their old methodologies. If there are dysfunctionalpeople in theorganization, the introductionofsuchapowerful framework thatexposesbottlenecks,kinks,andotherproblemsmaymakethemrebellioustotheideaofitsimplementation.

Therewillbealotofimpediments,especiallyinproblematicorganizations,before Scrum could be implemented. It takes patience, consistency, anddiligence toproperlycement the foundationsofScrumintoaweaklymanagedorganization. A lot of people, even the ones with good intentions, will rebel.People naturally resist change, especially ones that force them to change theirwayofthinking.HelpthepeopleinvolvedbyeasingthemintotheprinciplesofScrum and give them a concrete view of the goals you’re trying to achievethrough this change in methodology and framework. The more peopleunderstandScrum,thelessthey’llresistitsimplementation.Thelesspeoplewhoresist new implementations, the better your companywill be at implementingScrum.

Idon’t claim that thisbookhasall theanswersyou’ll everneed.Far fromthat, I encourage you to keep learning and keep asking questions. Keepchallenging existing ideologies in a healthymanner. I hope that this book hasgivenyoualotofinsightsandideasabouttheScrumframeworktohelpyouinyourjourneyincreatinganddeliveringgreatandinnovativesoftware.Goodluckandmayyourvisionsforyourcompanyandyourteamscometrue!