What Is Scrum?

Photo by Daria Nepriakhina on Unsplash

Have you ever worked on a project where you had to wait until the end to see results? Did this frustrate you?

If you answered "yes" then Agile working environments may be the place for you.

Agile is an umbrella term for software development approaches that deliver software frequently - from a few weeks to a couple of months.

What makes Agile different to other project management approaches is that it has a strong focus on communication, collaboration, and continuous feedback.

• Scrum is an Agile framework that helps teams work together to address complex problems.

• Much like rugby (where it gets its name) the team moves forward as a unit.

• Scrum encourages teams to learn through experiences, self-organize while working on a problem, and reflect on their wins and failures to continuously improve.

• A key principle of Scrum is the recognition that customers will change their minds about what they want or need.

• There will be unpredictable challenges.

Before we go further, watch this video that explains the Scrum Framework.

The Scrum Team consists of three main roles, namely a Product Owner (PO), a ScrumMaster and the Development Team.

The Product Owner represents the client or end user and prioritizes the work. This work is called a Product Backlog. The Product Backlog contains User Stories, which is a brief, plain-language explanation of what the team needs to build written from a user’s point of view.

The ScrumMaster is responsible for making the scrum process run smoothly.

The Development team is responsible for delivering work through the sprint (a time boxed period, usually two weeks in duration).

There are 5 main Scrum Events:

Sprint Planning: a time-boxed working session where the team agrees to complete a number of User Stories for the Sprint and it is called the Sprint Backlog.

Daily Scrum Meeting: a short communication meeting (no more than 15 mins) that happens once per day, where the team discusses what they are working on and if they have any roadblocks.

Product Backlog Refinement: a meeting where the team adds detail and estimates to the user stories in the product backlog. The purpose is to review items for future sprints.

Sprint Review: also called theSprint Demois held at the end of the Sprint where the team demonstrates the work completed and receives feedback from stakeholders.

Sprint Retrospective: Agile is about getting rapid feedback to make the product better. During the Sprint Retrospective, the team discusses what went well and how to improve future sprints.

The most important Scrum artifacts are: the Product Backlog, the Scrum Board and a Burndown Chart.

Product Backlog:

• It contains all the features listed and prioritized.

• The Product Owner is responsible for the Product Backlog (PB).

Scrum Board

• A tool that helps teams visualize the work to do, in progress, and tasks that are done

• The board can be physical or virtual and is updated by the Team

Burndown Chart

• It is a graphical representation of work left to do versus time.

• The outstanding work (or backlog) is often on the vertical axis, with time along the horizontal. 

Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

How can you apply Scrum in your current work or school life?

Can you start to do a retrospective on your own work or school week?

Ask yourself:

1. What went well?

2. What didn't go so well?

3. What you can do better next week?

Can you build a Scrum Board to visualize your own workload?

Create 3 columns:

1. To do: What is the work I have to do?

2. In Progress: What am i currently working on?

3. Done: What work have I completed?