In rapidly-changing environments organizations are in need of a process framework that could significantly boost their productivity. Today many name Scrum as the only way for successful agile development, fast achievement of business goals and satisfaction of customer needs.
It’s quite difficult to grasp all the methods of agile development at once, so many companies introduce Scrum to their employees gradually. Similarly, in this article, we’ll cover only top 35 concepts, roles, and definitions that will help you get acquainted with such great thing as Scrum. Probably you’ll decide to take this cool journey too and work by Scrum in your company. Let’s start!
Scrum is not solely about software development. It’s a business approach that can be implemented in any sphere. It just happened so that methodology is now widely used by dedicated IT teams to create software products fast, deliver high-quality results to customers on an ongoing basis.
And it is not possible without these 14 obligatory elements:
Sprint Goal
Sprint goal is the shared view of the Development Team and the Product Owner on the story to be implemented during the Sprint rather than on the desired outcome of the Sprint.
Product Backlog
The product backlog is the list of features prioritized for development of the product. It includes all the things to be done in order to accomplish the project. Product Backlog is the responsibility of the Product Owner.
Sprint Planning
At the Sprint Planning meeting, the Product Owner describes features of the highest priority to the Development Team. In turn, the Development Team asks the PO questions to clarify the requirements so they could break down user story into tasks.
Sprint Review/Demo
During the Sprint Review (or Demo) meeting the Development Team shows the Product Owner what they have achieved during the Sprint by demonstrating what new features of the product have been developed.
Sprint Retrospective
The Sprint Retrospective is the meeting usually conducted by the Scrum Master after the Sprint Review, during which the Development Team reflects on the concluded Sprint and discusses things that can be changed to improve productivity in the next Sprint.
Development Team
The Development Team is the team of professionals who work on the implementation of the product version, which can be potentially released after the end of each Sprint.
Scrum Master
The Scrum Master is the person that introduces Scrum, ensures that everyone in the organization understands it and adheres to its practices and rules. The main responsibility of the Master is to actuate Scrum in the organization and keep it working for the benefit of the Development Team and the Product.
Definition of Done
Definition of Done is the list of activities or criteria that must be met before the feature is considered complete. This checklist is created and agreed on by the Development Team and the Product Owner.
Product Owner
The Product Owner is a project’s stakeholder that has the vision of the product to be implemented by the Development Team, the authority to make decisions, accepts features as done and is regularly available for discussions with the Development Team.
Daily Scrum
The Daily Scrum is the meeting held each day at the same location and at the same time with all the members of the Development Team and the Scrum Master. During Daily Scrums each member answers three questions: What have you done since the last one? What are you going to do until the next one What are the obstacles that prevent you from achieving your tasks?
Task Board
The Task Board has three obligatory columns: To Do, In Progress and Done. As the Development Team progresses, they move tasks to corresponding status/column and the Task Board is being updated. With each new iteration, the Task Board is being reset, so the new iteration has a new set of tasks on the Task Board.
Backlog Grooming
Backlog Grooming is the regular meeting of the Development Team and the Product Owner usually held at the end of the Sprint, during which Backlog refinement for the next Sprint is conducted.
Velocity
Velocity is the main metric in Scrum that shows the amount of work delivered by the Development Team during a sprint. It is calculated at the end of each sprint as the sum of Points of all fully completed User Stories. The Development Team must work on improving Velocity from sprint to sprint.
Estimation
Estimation is done collectively by the Development Team during the Sprint Planning meeting to decide the difficulty of each User Story. There are several types of techniques that can be used during Estimation: Fibonacci, Numeric, T-Shirt and Dog Breeds. The most popular is Planning Poker technique, which is based on Fibonacci numbers.
Scrum Master, Product Owner & Development Team Roles
Key roles in the process are fulfilled by the Development Team, the Scrum Master, and the Product Owner. Each has their own set of functions that must be adhered in order for the methodology to work and result in the highly productive, effective workflow.
According to Scrum the Development Team must:
- Manage the development process
- Demonstrate results of the Sprint
- Regularly meet and communicate live to achieve goals of the Sprint
- Ensure transparency of the process
- Provide assistance to the Product Owner
- Estimate complexity of development
- Own the plan of work for the Sprint
The functions of the Scrum Master in a process framework include:
- Maintaining the values of Scrum and Agile
- Facilitating work meetings
- Stimulating constant growth of the Team
- Protecting the Team from external effects and obstacles
- Teaching how to work by Scrum and Agile
- Introducing changes in an organization
- Developing and maintaining KAIZEN, the culture of continuous improvement
According to Scrum the Product Owner:
- Accepts the ready work
- Owns vision of the product
- Open for answering the questions regularly
- Synchronizes interests of stakeholders
- Defines dates of releases
- Manages the Product Backlog
- Participates in the Sprint Planning
Effective Scrum Teams understand and follow Scrum practices in their everyday agile development. Adoriasoft is no exception. Our dedicated IT teams work and deliver effective software solutions thanks to Scrum process framework successfully introduced and functioning. Contact us if you prefer to work with a Scrum Team on your project.