Scrum in 30 seconds Scrum is an empirical way to manage software development projects. Scrum is made up of an easy set of rules and ensures that every team member feels the responsibility of a project Scrum allows fast and flexible changes to requirements while offering maximum transparency to the project owner Scrum makes obstacles visible both to the team and to the organization The ScrumMaster guides the team to work in a self-organized manner and also to optimize their work. The Product Owner is the main contact person who is always available for the team. He is responsible for prioritizing requests so that they are developed according to importance The team is responsible for delivering tested requests at regular and short intervals. (Elevator Pitch) Scrum in 30 seconds :: Page 2
Why is Scrum important? The complexity of software projects has increased; at the beginning of the project requirements are very often unclear and they change drastically as the project progresses. The complicated models and templates of the last decade have not managed to achieve the required levels of success for software projects. The strength of agile methods lies in direct communication and co-operation of all stakeholders. Time-consuming planning and processes can be replaced by short iterations. These allow effective feedback. Out of all agile methods, Scrum is the easiest to implement with very few rules and principles, making it easy to learn and teach. The main hurdle lies in trying to change the mindset of the stakeholders involved to start thinking in an agile way. What does Scrum mean? Scrum comes from the world of rugby and it defines the coming together of the rugby players to start / restart a game. The forwards of each team crouch side by side with locked arms; play starts when the ball is thrown in between them and the two sides compete for possession. Why is Scrum important? :: Page 3
What makes Scrum successful? How does Scrum work? Easy rules enable easy success for developers and customers through: focusing on results and binding agreements the self-organisation and responsibility of the Scrum team trust building through transparent procedures simplifying complexity using short iterations the possibility to be able to react fast to changes A Scrum project is made up of a series or constant iterations (typically 30 days). These iterations are called sprints. Scrum defines only three well-defined roles that are important for the Scrum process. These roles do not necessarily mean new positions in the organisation. Such roles can be practiced by existing employees: The Product Owner is responsible for the product. The Scrum team is responsible for delivering functional and tested results. The ScrumMaster is responsible for the Scrum process. What makes Scrum successful? :: Page 4
Scrum Flow The Product Owner is responsible for collecting requirements and prioritizing them into a product backlog. This is an ordered list of features to be implemented according to importance. This list should be available to the whole organisation to ensure that aims and expectancies are visible to all. The product backlog is subject to change and re-prioritisation due to changing conditions and new information. The team can only start to sprint after all entries in the product backlog have been estimated. The features with the highest priority are the most important. Estimation and prioritisation of the sprint backlog are adapted as the sprint progresses to ensure an effective and efficient release. Scrum Flow :: Page 5
Sprint Planning The following meetings and processes are repeated during every sprint: Sprint Planning 1 The Product Owner introduces the backlog entries with the highest priority. Together with the team he/she agree on a sprint goal that will be the basis of the sprint and its acceptance. The entries with the highest priority (depending on estimations and goals) in the product backlog are used to form the selected backlog. This list represents an agreement between the team and the Product Owner for the whole sprint and should not be changed. This ensures that the team can work in a disturbance free environment to be able to produce effective work in an efficient way. Sprint Planning 1 Sprint Planning 2 Sprint Planning 2 The team plans and organises its own work. Backlog entries are divided into tasks that should be achieved in a day. This spring backlog made up of tasks is the main instrument of the team for the whole sprint. Sprint Planning :: Page 6
Sprint The team members are responsible for organising and sharing tasks. The team as a whole is responsible for the result of the sprint. The team meets for a 15-minute daily Scrum meeting every day at the same place. The aim of this meeting is to exchange information and not to solve problems. Each team member should answer the following questions: What have you achieved since the last meeting? What do you intend to achieve till the next meeting? Are there any problems hindering the path to achieving your targets? Interested managers, quality controllers, customers and users can take part passively in this meeting. This avoids the need to organise extra meetings to exchange information. The ScrumMaster organises these meeting and should ensure that the rules are followed. The Scrum- Master is responsible for noting all impediments that hinder the spring goal to be reached in the impediment backlog. The ScrumMaster should then work to clear the problems. A burn down graph displays on a daily basis how much of the planned work is still to be achieved the decreasing hours or work and whether the sprint will reach its targets or not. Sprint :: Page 7
Sprint Sprint Review The presentation of the results of a sprint during a sprint review is the climax of a sprint. The production ready and tested product increment is introduced to the Product Owner and interested managers and / or customers. The Product Owner is responsible for deciding whether the team has achieved the sprint goal. After this review it is possible that changes are done to the product backlog. This can happen due to the better understanding of the product or failure to understand customer needs. The changes should be prioritised and estimated; these changes could be input for the next sprint. Retrospective The main aim of the retrospective meeting is to use the knowledge achieved during the last sprint to improve the productivity of the team. The team members discuss which practices they want to change and which practices they found useful. Together they then decide which practices they should use further and which improvements they should adopt. The results of this meeting are implemented during the next planning session. Sprint Review Retrospective :: Page 8
Glossary Daily Scrum Meeting The daily Scrum meeting helps the team organize themselves. It is a synchronization meeting between all team members. It takes place every day at the same time, at the same place. The meeting is time-boxed to 15 minutes. Estimation Meeting The Product Owner and the team, work on the estimation of the entire product backlog providing the basis for release and sprint planning meetings during the estimation meeting. Impediment Backlog The impediment backlog is the task list of the ScrumMaster. It consists of all the impediments that hinder the team to be productive. The ScrumMaster is responsible to address and clear these impediments. Product Backlog The product backlog is a list of any required deliverables. Its contents are ordered according to their business value. Backlog item priority is subject to change; requirements can be added and removed. This implies that the product backlog is a continuously maintained plan towards a growing business value. Product Owner The Product Owner is the representative of all stakeholders. His focus is the business side of the product and he is responsible to communicate the product vision to the team. His job also includes formalizing a specific, measurable and reasonable product backlog and prioritizing it according to business value. Retrospektive Inspect and adapt is a fundamental part of Scrum. During the retrospective meeting, the team analyzes the last sprint to identify what went well and what could be improved. Glossary :: Page 9
Glossary Selected Product Backlog The selected product backlog is the result of the sprint planning meeting. It defines the amount of work the team has accepted to deliver after a Sprint. It remains unchanged during the whole Sprint. Sprint Backlog The sprint backlog consists of the necessary tasks that need to be implemented in order to successfully complete the selected product backlog. The team uses the sprint backlog to synchronize its activities and make their progress visible. ScrumMaster The ScrumMaster is the mentor of the team. He/she is responsible for making sure that the Scrum process is working and that it is continually being adapted and improved. He/she must make sure that all rules are followed and that ideas from project stakeholders are understood and respected. The ScrumMaster must ensure that the team has no impediments and that they have the best conditions for reaching the spring target. Sprint Planning 1 During this meeting the team and the Product Owner decide on the sprint goal and the selected product backlog for the next spring after careful estimation. Sprint Planning 2 Following Sprint Planning 1 the team analyze every backlog entry and divide it into small tasks that should not take longer than one day. Sprint Review Meeting An informal meeting which marks the end of a spring, during which the team, present to management, the customer and the Product Owner the results of a sprint. The Product Owner decides whether the deliverables meet the sprint goal. Glossary :: Page 10
Glossary Scrum Team A Scrum team is made up of 5 to 9 people. This group size has proven to be most effective. The team is responsible for organising and dividing tasks. The whole team is responsible for delivering the promised product increment at the end of a sprint. A Scrum team has no defined roles. All team members should be able to contribute to every task Glossary :: Page 11