Scrum: What Is It and How To Make it Work?

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Unless you have been living aside from society in the past few years, you have probably read about Scrum, Kanban, or Agile Methodologies in general, and there is a reason for it. This framework has been described as a simple method to streamline complex tasks.

From software development to marketing, Scrum and Agile methodologies, in general, have transformed the meaning of efficiency and teamwork, becoming more and more popular among organizations that aim to improve productivity.

In this blog, we want to share with you what Scrum is, how it works, and give you tips and best practices to leverage the power of Agile methodologies.

What Is the Difference Between Scrum and Agile?

Initially, the difference between Scrum and Agile may seem unclear. However, we are here to help you understand!

The main difference between Agile and Scrum is that while Agile is a project management philosophy associated with a group of core values or principles, Scrum is a specific Agile methodology utilized to manage rapid development projects.

What is Agile, then? We can think of Agile as an approach to work or a work methodology that consists of continuously iterating during the processes of the Software Development Lifecycle. One of the benefits of this methodology is delivering high-value features in short delivery cycles, which was otherwise challenging when using the traditional waterfall methodology.

During the software development lifecycle, the product is divided into relatively smaller units/builds that can be delivered faster while addressing road bumps and setbacks within the production cycle. This allows concurrent development and promotes good communication between team members. When Agile processes are in place, customers are more likely to be satisfied and companies are more likely to retain their business.

The Scrum Process

Backlog Grooming

Using feedback from users and the development team, the product owner prioritizes and keeps the task list current so that it can be worked on at any point in time.

Like any other process, Scrum starts with a list of tasks or requirements from the clients or users. This list is called the backlog and is a key component of the Scrum framework. The requirements are collected and organized as user stories, using input from all stakeholders.

Then, for each story, specific tasks are defined in order to accomplish the goals. Next, the developers define the hours or story points needed to complete each task within the sprint. Finally, the times needed to complete the prioritized tasks are estimated to determine how much can be accomplished in the next sprint, which could be a period between 2 and 4 weeks. Once the sprint is planned out and stakeholders, developers, and the Scrum master agree on the due dates and workloads, the team can start working.

Daily Scrum meetings are held to ensure the team is aware of the status of every story or task. Organizing the team in this way lets us understand the rhythm of the duties and avoids blockages caused by codependent tasks. During these meetings, the regular questions asked are: “what did you accomplish yesterday?”, “what are you working on today?” and “are there any blockages?”. They are called stand-ups because they are often done standing up, expecting not to take more than 15 minutes each.

At the end of the sprint, the team should have a fully functional product or feature to share in the sprint review. Whether it is a complete MVP, a new function, or any other working component, the Scrum project should be demoed and reviewed at the end of every sprint, in sprint review.

Read: What’s an MVP?

The 6 Principles of Scrum

Scrum focuses on five values needed in the team to apply the methodology successfully. These are Commitment, Focus, Openness, Respect, and Courage. Additionally, this Agile framework consists of six core principles:

Control over the empirical process

Scrum emphasizes Transparency, Evaluation, and Adaptation, allowing teams to report adequately and receive stakeholders’ feedback in order to adapt the backlog based on that.

Self-organization

Independent decision-making allows everyone involved to be more engaged while assessing contributions effortless.

Collaboration

As each release approaches, teamwork, communication, and delegation become increasingly crucial.

Value-based prioritization

Organization is vital in order to have a streamlined work pipeline. Clear prioritization is necessary for the team to move seamlessly.

Timeboxing

Allocating and scheduling a certain amount of time for specific activities during sprints allows the team to be aware of the achievable goals during the development process.

Iterative development

This principle enables the development team to make adjustments and manage change more effectively.

Roles Within Scrum

The Scrum methodology has three main roles: a Scrum master, a product owner, and the Scrum team. However, do not confuse these roles with job titles. Regardless of the job title, a member of the team is assigned, they should also be able to play any other role in the Agile process itself.

Empiricism, self-organization, and continuous improvement are at the core of Scrum. The three roles define responsibilities and accountability so that teams get to work more effectively. This way, every team member is held responsible and accountable for their commitments, the team goals, and self-improvement.

Scrum Master:

The Scrum master’s role is to guide the team to understand Agile practices and follow them, while allowing the team to learn continuously as they work. They ensure that the team doesn't give in to management pressure and ensure agility is not compromised. A Scrum master does not need to know how to code, but having some knowledge of coding does help when managing a group of developers.

Product Owner:

As a key stakeholder responsible for all the major product decisions, this individual must have a good understanding of the market, the end-user, the business, and the product expectations, which allows them to prioritize what features to work on next. They must perform as a product manager, business strategist, market analyst, and manager of projects.

The Scrum Team:

As the people responsible for the final product, team members need to be inquisitive, enjoy facing challenges, and respect each other, so they work well together as a Scrum team. Scrum depends on peer feedback and taking teammate’s criticism in a constructive manner. All these only works when there’s trust and communication within the team.

Benefits of the Scrum Methodology

The benefits of using Agile software development or Agile project management in your products are many. However, the outcome will depend on the quality of the team, the management, and the complexity of the project. Some main benefits of Scrum are:

Teamwork

Scrum is based on communication and this tends to strengthen the relationships within teams. A motivated team is proven to be more productive and bring their best individually and as a team to the organization.

Higher ROI

All Agile methodologies help to organize and ultimately streamline processes, killing wasted time and enhancing performance, which translates into revenue and better use of resources.

Velocity

It is proven that an Agile pipeline reduces the time to market. With the iterative processes, it is easy to spot bugs, errors, and bottlenecks on time before they hurt the process. That way, the team can solve or eliminate those issues to improve development speed.

Final Words

In conclusion, Scrum is an amazing way to organize your team and processes. It makes team members more accountable and keeps stakeholders informed about every process. It does all of this while leveraging resources in the most efficient way.

Agile methodologies have been around for decades, not only in software development but in many other industries. They have been helping teams around the globe improve their efficiency and build an efficient work culture, while preventing errors and foreseeing difficulties to overcome.