Project management is a field that is full of buzzwords and fancy terminology.
A person might be astonished to hear the terms “burn-down chart” or “Six Sigma” but wonder if they are reading about project management or the next Mark Greaney novel.
However, Scrum is a term I find most confusing and confusing in project management.
The good news about Scrum is that it is not as difficult as it may seem. You might even be able to apply Scrum to your own projects, whether you are a formal project manager or not.
What is Scrum methodology?
Scrum is an incremental and iterative development approach that ensures the regular delivery of working parts of final product.
Simply put, Gartner research director Nathan Wilson stated at the 2017 Gartner PPM Summit that Scrum is a way to organize work to foster agility.
Gartner defines Scrum to be “a well-known agile method that provides a simple framework for project management for organizing teams and their approach towards system development.”
Physics is the result of things bouncing off each other.
The good news is that Scrum methodology’s basic concepts can be explained easily. Once you have mastered these basics, Scrum methodology can be used to foster teamwork, improve communication lines, and get more done in your business.
Let’s start by introducing the product owner. The person or entity that wants something made is called the product owner. The product could be a new piece or gadget, or a gokart.
Next, the product owner creates a wishlist of features (called the product backlog) that they arrange in order of importance to the final product. Let’s say that the go-kart has four wheels, a seat, and is technically a gokart. It will work better with a steering and brake system, which are high priorities. A cup holder or headlights might be lower on the priority list.
The Scrum team and the product owner meet for sprint planning. This is when the team decides what to do first from the product backlog. This small group of tasks is called the sprint backlog.
Here’s the meat of the process. The Scrum team receives marching orders and embarks on a sprint (typically two to four weeks depending on the complexity of product) to complete a feature in the sprint backlog.
The Scrum team doesn’t just push forward blindly. They meet every day to discuss progress and problems. The Scrum Master oversees this meeting, which is known as the daily Scrum. His job is to keep everyone on a straight path.
The Scrum Master acts as a coach and is on the field with the Scrum Team, removing distractions and making sure everyone follows the Scrum Playbook. The product owner is, on the other hand, like the coach. He or she asks for wins and trusts the Scrum team to deliver.
The team should have a working piece of something at the end of each sprint. It doesn’t matter if the product is an automated chatbox or a navigation system for go-karts, the important thing here is that it actually works at the end each sprint.
After the sprint period has ended, everyone meets for a sprint review to discuss what went well and what needs to be changed. Then, the team selects a new piece from the product backlog and begins the cycle again.
The entire process, which includes the sprint planning and the sprint review, continues until the deadline is met, the budget is exhausted, and the product owner is satisfied.
Scrum is the best way to ensure that your project is successful.