If you’re new to website or software development, you may have heard the term “Scrum” used before. Scrum is a type of framework that helps development teams work together efficiently.
Scrum received its name based on the game of rugby. Likewise, development teams are encouraged to learn through their experiences and organize their way through project dilemmas.
Developers are also tasked with reflecting on their wins and losses to boost the quality of deliverables. Although scrum in this instance is implemented mostly by software development teams, the core fundamentals and principles can be applied in any activity that requires teamwork.
Thus, this is one of the top reasons why scrum is very popular.
Typically viewed as an agile management framework, scrume lists a wide variety of roles, tools, and meetings that work simultaneously to help any team manage and organize their work. It involves continuous improvement and assessment, unlike the waterfall project approach which is more linear and sequential.
In this article, we’ll dig deep into the process of scrum, why it’s important, and how this structure can help expedite your software development projects in record time.
The Basics of Scrum’s Framework
Most of the time, people use scrum and agile interchangeably. This is because the basis of scrum is focused on continuous improvement, which is also a core aspect of agile. However, there are two major differences between the two.
Scrum is a framework instrumental in helping software development teams get work done more efficiently. On the other hand, agile is a mindset. For this reason, you can’t implement agile the way you would scrum because it would require the entire team’s mindset to change about how they’ll deliver an excellent product to the client.
Implementing agile requires a holistic approach, but scrum is much more systematic. Scrum and agile do work hand in hand. By starting using scrum in your workplace, you can then build the momentum in implementing agile in due time.
The scrum framework is designed for developers to learn on their own and constantly improve. It hinges on fluctuating factors, while acknowledging that the entire team doesn’t know everything and will rely on their adaptability to navigate their project together.
In sum, scrum is structured to allow developers to adapt to changing user requirements and conditions. With short release cycles and re-prioritization, scrum helps developers grow and evolve over the span of a project.
What are Scrum’s Artifacts?
To help you learn more about scrum, it’s best to pinpoint three essential artifacts used in the process. In scrum, an artifact is something that a team creates, basically a tool to solve an issue.
There are three main articles, which include:
- Increment
- Sprint Backlog
- Product Backlog
These are three constant variables that development teams will continually revisit and improve over the course of a project.
Below, we’ll get into further detail:
Product Backlog:
This is simply the amount of work that needs to be completed over the course of a project. The product backlog is maintained either by the product manager or owner. Overall, the product backlog consists of fixes, enhancements, requirements, and features that are essential for the sprint backlog.
The product backlog will serve as the team’s to-do list as far as scrum is concerned. It will also be constantly reworked, maintained, and re-prioritized by the product manager. As certain to-do items are no longer relevant and core issues are solved, the product backlog will become a sort of living document.
Sprint Backlog:
The sprint backlog is a collection of bug fixes, user stories, and items that are chosen by the development team in what is known as a sprint cycle. A sprint cycle is a collection of sprints, a continuous project lifecycle.
Before each sprint is determined, a meeting must take place with the development team. They must determine which to-do list items from the product backlog that they’ll work on in separate sprints.
A sprint backlog is also malleable over the course of a project. Though, the major goal that each sprint will achieve cannot be changed.
Increment
This is also called the “sprint goal” that was mentioned in the previous section. The increment is basically the end product derived from sprints. The increment is showcased when development teams show personnel and clients what was achieved during sprints.
The word “increment” can be closely interpreted as the project milestone, or the important objective that was finished. It will ultimately depend on what your objectives are and how you’ll define your sprints as complete.
For example, if you’re working on an app for a client, you’ll have to identify what the increment is when the client begins to want to see the progress of the project. If you’re working on two-week sprints in the beginning stage of the product, the increment could be a live demo of the app.
This way, clients can be easily satisfied and development teams can stay on task and unified.
The Scrum Process
Scrum looks different depending on your organization, client, deliverables, and the end product. Ultimately, the process should look something like this:
- Product Backlog — The product manager begins to organize all of the key to-do list items necessary to complete the project.
- Sprint Planning — Once the product backlog is finished, a meeting is held to discuss how each item will be dissected into sprints, as well as the interval of each sprint.
- Sprint — This is the interval where each to-do list items are completed in an orderly fashion.
- Daily Stand-Up — This is the intercession where team members can comment, reflect, and discuss the progress of the project and how it can be improved.
- Review & Introspective — Once the sprints are completed, the development team will meet and view the increment, discuss improvements, and document the successes and failures of the entire project.
Expedite Your Development Project Today!
Scrum is an amazing framework that can help you navigate a seamless development project. However, it’s still important for you to have the right personnel software development for your upcoming project.
To learn more about how we can take on your development project, contact us today to speak to a member of our team.
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