What is scrum? Explained by Digimagg

Understanding Scrum

Scrum, an agile approach to project management, offers teams a structured framework guided by values, principles, and practices. Similar to a rugby team preparing for a match, Scrum fosters experiential learning, self-organization, and reflection to enhance performance. While commonly associated with software development, Scrum's adaptability makes it applicable across various teamwork scenarios, contributing to its widespread popularity. This article delves into the core components of the traditional Scrum framework as outlined in the Scrum Guide and insights from David West, CEO of Scrum.org. Additionally, we'll explore how organizations often customize Scrum to suit their unique requirements.

Agile versus Scrum

Scrum is often misconstrued as synonymous with agile due to its focus on continuous improvement, a core principle of agile. However, while Scrum serves as a structured work framework, agile is a broader philosophy. Agile emphasizes iterative enhancement through frequent releases, necessitating team-wide commitment to customer value delivery. Although one cannot simply "adopt agile" overnight, frameworks like Scrum aid in cultivating agile principles within team dynamics and work practices.

Distinguishing agile from the essence of Scrum lies in the Scrum guide and the Agile manifesto, which delineates four core values:

• Prioritizing individuals and interactions over processes and tools
• Favoring working software over comprehensive documentation
• Promoting customer collaboration over contractual obligations
• Prioritizing adaptability over strict adherence to plans

Scrum's definition hinges on empiricism and lean methodologies. It emphasizes experiential knowledge and waste reduction, fostering continual learning and adjustment. Acknowledging the team's evolving expertise, Scrum facilitates adaptation to shifting conditions and user needs, incorporating frequent prioritization and short release cycles for continuous improvement. Despite its structured approach, Scrum permits customization to suit diverse organizational contexts. While various theories exist on optimal Scrum team dynamics, effective communication, transparency, and an unwavering commitment to improvement are paramount, regardless of the chosen framework. Ultimately, success lies in how these principles are applied in practice.

The scrum framework

The Scrum framework delineates a set of values, principles, and practices guiding Scrum teams in product or service delivery. It specifies team members and their roles, defines key "artifacts" shaping the product, and outlines Scrum ceremonies facilitating the team's workflow.

Scrum team composition

A Scrum team, characterized by its agility and focus on delivering product increments, is compact and adept. Typically comprising around 10 members, it's sizable enough to accomplish significant tasks within a sprint. The team comprises three essential roles: the product owner, the Scrum master, and the development team. Given its cross-functional nature, the development team encompasses testers, designers, UX specialists, and ops engineers, alongside developers.

The scrum master

Acts as the advocate for Scrum principles within their teams, providing guidance and coaching to teams, product owners, and the business on Scrum practices, while seeking opportunities for improvement.

A proficient Scrum Master possesses a thorough comprehension of the team's tasks, aiding in enhancing transparency and workflow efficiency. As the primary facilitator, they orchestrate resources—both human and logistical—for sprint planning, daily stand-ups, sprint reviews, and retrospectives.

The scrum product owner

Serves as the primary advocate for their product, dedicated to grasping business, customer, and market needs, then aligning engineering efforts accordingly. Key responsibilities include:

• Crafting and overseeing the product backlog.
• Collaborating closely with both the business and the team to ensure clarity on backlog items.
• Providing clear direction to the team regarding feature prioritization.
• Making decisions on product release timing, favoring frequent deliveries.

It's worth noting that the Product Owner isn't always synonymous with the Product Manager. Their focus lies in maximizing value delivery to the business. Additionally, individual ownership is crucial to avoid conflicting directives within the development team.

The scrum development team

Scrum teams are renowned for their efficiency in achieving tasks and advocating sustainable development practices. Optimal Scrum teams are typically compact, co-located groups comprising five to seven members, following the 'two-pizza rule' popularized by Jeff Bezos. This rule suggests a team size small enough to be fed by two pizzas.

With diverse skill sets, team members cross-train each other to prevent bottlenecks in task completion. Robust Scrum teams exhibit self-organization and foster a collective mindset, where every member contributes to sprint success.

Driving sprint planning, the Scrum team estimates the work they can accomplish based on historical velocity, maintaining fixed iteration lengths to refine their estimation and delivery process, enhancing forecast accuracy over time.

Scrum artifacts

Scrum artifacts comprise crucial data utilized by the Scrum team to delineate the product and identify the tasks required for its development. These artifacts include the product backlog, sprint backlog, and increment, serving as consistent reference points for the team throughout sprints and over time.

1. The Product Backlog serves as the main inventory of tasks to be completed, overseen by the Product Owner or Manager. It's a dynamic compilation of features, requirements, enhancements, and fixes, akin to the team's "To Do" list. Regularly revisited and reprioritized, it adapts to evolving knowledge and market shifts, ensuring relevance and addressing emerging solutions.

2. The Sprint Backlog comprises items, such as user stories or bug fixes, chosen by the development team for implementation during the current sprint cycle. Determined in sprint planning meetings, these items are drawn from the Product Backlog. While the Sprint Backlog remains flexible and can evolve during the sprint, the core sprint goal remains non-negotiable, defining the team's objective for the sprint.

3. The Increment, or Sprint Goal, represents the tangible output achieved at the end of a sprint. Often showcased during end-of-sprint demos, it demonstrates what the team has completed. While "increment" may not be a widely used term outside certain contexts, it can be synonymous with the team's definition of "Done," a milestone, or the sprint goal. Teams vary in their interpretations, with some aiming for customer releases at each sprint's end, while others, working on longer cycles, focus on completing parts of larger versions. Flexibility in defining artifacts is crucial, ensuring alignment with team needs and openness to adaptation for enhanced efficiency and reduced stress.

Scrum ceremonies or events

Here is a compilation of the primary ceremonies a Scrum team may participate in:

1. Backlog Organization 

Sometimes referred to as backlog grooming, this task falls under the responsibility of the product owner. Their primary role is to steer the product towards its vision by consistently gauging market and customer needs. Thus, they maintain the backlog, incorporating feedback from users and the development team to prioritize tasks effectively.

2. Sprint Planning

Led by the Scrum master, this meeting involves the entire development team in planning the scope of work for the current sprint. The team determines the sprint goal, selecting specific user stories aligned with this objective from the product backlog.

3. Sprint Execution

A sprint is a designated timeframe during which the Scrum team collaborates to complete an increment. While two weeks is standard, some teams opt for shorter or longer durations based on project complexity. During the sprint, scope adjustments may occur through negotiation between the product owner and the development team, embodying the empirical nature of Scrum.

4. Daily Scrum or Stand-up

This brief daily meeting, typically held in the morning, aims for simplicity and efficiency. Although it's commonly limited to 15 minutes, the focus is on ensuring everyone is aligned with the sprint goal and outlining plans for the day. Team members may address concerns or obstacles hindering progress.

5. Sprint Review

At the sprint's conclusion, the team gathers for an informal session to demo or inspect the increment. The development team presents completed backlog items to stakeholders for feedback. While the product owner may choose to release the increment, this meeting also serves as an opportunity for backlog refinement, influencing subsequent sprint planning.

6. Sprint Retrospective

This session enables the team to reflect on the sprint, identifying successes and areas for improvement across various aspects such as projects, relationships, or tools. The focus is on constructive discussion to enhance future performance rather than dwelling on setbacks.

Scrum values

In 2016, the Scrum Guide introduced five core values deemed essential for the success of Scrum teams. These values provide a guiding framework for the team's work, actions, and behavior.

Commitment

In Scrum teams, where every member's contribution is pivotal, commitment entails agreeing to tasks within one's capacity and avoiding overcommitment. Regular communication, often facilitated through stand-ups, ensures transparency in work progress.

Courage

For a Scrum team, courage entails the willingness to challenge existing norms and overcome obstacles hindering success. Members should feel empowered to experiment and voice concerns openly, fostering an environment conducive to innovation and growth.

Focus

Central to Scrum workflow is the sprint, a defined period during which the team concentrates on completing predetermined tasks. The sprint instills structure and directs efforts towards achieving specific objectives within a set timeframe.

Openness

Daily stand-ups promote openness by encouraging team members to discuss ongoing work and address any impediments. Questions like "What did I work on yesterday?" and "What issues are blocking me?" facilitate progress tracking and problem-solving, fostering a culture of transparency.

Respect

In an agile team, collaboration thrives on mutual respect and appreciation for each member's contributions. Celebrating achievements and maintaining respect towards team members, product owners, stakeholders, and the Scrum master strengthens team cohesion and effectiveness.

Scrum, Kanban, and Agile

Scrum, a widely embraced agile framework, is often mistakenly conflated with agile itself. However, there are alternative methodologies like Kanban, which has gained popularity. Some organizations opt for a hybrid approach, combining elements of Scrum and Kanban, known as "Scrumban" or "Kanplan."

Both Scrum and Kanban employ visual tracking methods such as Scrum boards or Kanban boards to monitor work progress and emphasize efficiency by breaking down complex tasks into manageable components. However, their approaches diverge.

Scrum emphasizes fixed-length iterations, with predetermined stories or backlog entries selected for implementation during each sprint cycle. In contrast, Kanban initially sets a limit on tasks or work in progress (WIP), determining the time required to complete these features in reverse.

While Kanban offers more flexibility compared to Scrum, with only the WIP limit being rigid, Scrum entails several predefined concepts like sprint review, retrospective, and daily scrum. It also emphasizes cross-functionality, necessitating teams to achieve goals independently, which can be challenging to assemble. Consequently, Kanban is easier to adapt, whereas Scrum demands a fundamental shift in the team's mindset and functioning.

Beginning with scrum

Starting with Scrum can seem daunting initially, but its straightforward framework offers clarity and structure to the development process. The defined rules, artifacts, events, and roles facilitate transparency and collective ownership throughout the cycle, making it suitable for complex projects. Although transitioning from traditional waterfall methods may pose challenges, such as adapting to smaller iterations and daily meetings, the long-term benefits justify the effort. Scrum's track record of success across various industries makes it a compelling choice for organizations seeking efficient project management.