Optimization is a keyword in many areas of life, especially in business. We need to optimize costs, time and, above all, processes and procedures in the company. It was for this purpose that the concept of management or agile programming was created, of which the Scrum method is one of the best-known examples (although the better term will be the framework, i.e. a certain frame that can be filled in any way). No matter if you are green in this topic or you already know something about Scrum, the following article will help you acquire and organize knowledge that you can use later in practice. So a cup of coffee, tea or other favorite drink in hand and let’s get started!

Table of Contents

• Scrum – what is it?
• How does Scrum work?
• Roles in Scrum
• Rules
• Myths about Scrum
• Where can Scrum work?
• Is (and why) worth it?
• Is it really so colorful?
• Summary

Scrum – what is it?

Hearing this name, it’s impossible to avoid references to Agile. What is it and how do both concepts relate to each other? I will try to sort out the conceptual mess appearing here and there and give you specific knowledge useful in making changes in my own company.

Agile is the so-called agile approach to software development. It has its own manifesto and rules that should be followed within its framework. The general idea is to lead to the implementation of the project work method that will allow a quick response, efficient execution of subsequent milestones related to a given product, motivation and unrestricted cooperation between various specialists/departments, as well as maximum simplicity of the process. Team self-organization is very important here – in the next stages, the team should analyze all possibilities to improve performance and bring ideas to life.

In the context of the Agile Scrum concept outlined above, it clearly fits into the principles of agile programming. It was created mainly as a method of creating IT products. It is all about efficient work on the project, constant delivery of working parts or functionalities of the created product, as well as optimization of the team’s activities and continuous supervision over the tasks performed. All this should become quite clear after discussing the detailed principles of Scrum, about which in a moment. Ready, steady…

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How does Scrum work?

The Scrum methodology itself is not too complicated. The most difficult in all of this is the integration of the information provided and the implementation of the method in practice. The basis is a thorough understanding of the ideas, individual stages, as well as the role of each of the participants in the project. For optimal operation, it is also necessary to strictly follow the rules, which are included in the official Scrum Guide. Who, then, is involved in the process and how is it carried out?

Roles in Scrum

Product Owner

The product owner is responsible, as the name suggests, for the process of creating a given thing (it can be both a program, a website, and other products, not only from the IT industry). He creates a list of individual tasks to be carried out under the project and coordinates the activities of the team implementing the entire project.

Team

Its members create a product using their skills in a given field (e.g. programmers coding a website). In their case, the most important is the optimal selection of tasks and compliance with the rules governing the framework.

Scrum Master

He oversees the entire process and ensures that Scrum rules are fully followed by all those involved.

Rules

Scrum’s methodology will become clearer if you look at the graphic below. What are the next steps and what tasks are waiting for the project team (including Product Owner and Scrum Master)?

1. Product Backlog – created by the Product Owner (in consultation with the other members of the project team). It is a list containing all the actions necessary to create a given work. The most common (and works very well in design reality) practice is to put all parts in order from the most important to less and less important. Their complexity must also be taken into account here. Everything must be planned in such a way that the team can fully perform all tasks planned for this stage.
2. Sprint Planning – a meeting at which the allocation of responsibilities for members of the team performing a specific product is determined. The idea is to analyze the Product Backlog tasks, determine how many of them can be done in one sprint and how to spread them to create one iterative one after each iteration.
3. Sprint Backlog – a list of tasks related to one sprint
4. Sprint – the period during which tasks from the Sprint Backlog are performed by the team. It ends with making a functional part of the final product. It should last from 1 to 4 weeks. The specific number depends on many factors, including the complexity of the project and the “size” of the individual tasks.
5. Daily Scrum – daily meetings (often in the form of a standup meeting, i.e. standing up to get the maximum focus on the discussed issue), on which the progress so far is determined, reveals arising problems and determines ways of overcoming them.
6. Sprint Review – the team within the sprint creates functionality or part of the product that is subject to evaluation. The assessment team may include members of the project team, other people from the company, as well as stakeholders themselves. It is very important here to provide clear feedback that will allow you to get information whether work on the product goes in the right direction, whether any corrections are needed.
7. Increment – a fully completed part of the product, and in scruma – its increase. It is an evaluated and tested result of a single sprint that has undergone a review stage.
8. Flashback – one of the most important stages of the entire operation, because it determines further progress. During Sprint Retrospective, all stages related to a given sprint are analyzed and conclusions are drawn for the future – what can be done better, how to optimize the process, how to assign next tasks. The point is for the next iteration to run even more efficiently.

Work on the product covers a certain number of sprints up to the final finalization of the project.

Example

The company gets an order to create an online store for a brand selling hand-sewn backpacks. The Product Owner prepares a list of all activities necessary to complete the entire fully functional website, i.e. the Product Backlog (e.g. home page, specific subpages, blog). Then the team members evaluate their capabilities realistically and create their Sprint Backlog during the meeting, which creates a list of specific tasks for the next 2 weeks (in our case it takes one sprint). Let’s assume that these tasks include coding the page template, tool configuration and basic functionalities that allow you to navigate freely on the main page. The development team begins operations by discussing all important issues on the Daily Scrum every day. After 2 weeks, the team presents a product at a given stage that is subject to review and evaluation. The result is the main page with a ready template and basic functionalities, to which next modules will be added in the next sprints. The last stage is Retrospection, which is a comprehensive assessment of the sprint course, which affects the organization of the next iteration. The team gathers again and selects the next tasks from the ProductBacklog.A

Myths about Scrum

It is worth quoting a few myths or misconceptions about Scrum that may appear at the very beginning of the adventure with this construct.

Scrum is not a method of accelerating work – although it is also intended to serve this purpose. However, once you get out of this condition, you may have difficulty implementing the framework properly. The main thing is to ensure good cooperation between team members and a clear path that will allow you to get a steady increase in the value of the product.

Scrum does not specify the methods and tools to perform the necessary tasks – this is very important in the context of understanding the whole idea. Scrum is a kind of frame that can fit various styles and modes of operation. It is only important to follow the set rules.

Scrum doesn’t give you control over the entire project – so it’s not a project management system. He focuses exclusively on subsequent sprints. The effect is, of course, the finished product, but to fully control the performance of the whole, finished scrum product is not enough. With its help, you can create specific functionalities and add them to the existing part on the basis of increment.

Where can Scrum work?

Due to its specificity, Scrum is most often used in the IT industry, in which work on the application, website, game, etc. fits in perfectly with the principles discussed above. The next stages add the next parts, features, possibilities, and the customer has the opportunity to track the creation of commissioned work. Where else can you successfully implement this framework?

The comprehensive source of information is the Scrum Master Trends 2019 report, which contains data from 2,100 people working as Scrum Master from 87 countries around the world. According to him, apart from software and internet services companies (where 33% of respondents work), scrum is used in the following companies:

• Financial and insurance (16%),
• Consulting (10%),
• Providing engineering and technology solutions (7%),
• Telecommunications (5%),
• Transport (4%).

Of course, some people working in non-IT industries can work in departments developing software dedicated to a given company, and such data is not provided by the report. However, it still reveals a lot in the context of the potential use of an agile project management approach.

Is (and why) worth it?

You could probably write a lot and extremely floridly about how Scrum affects the functioning of the company, but it’s best to use the data. Of course, data, like data, has its own. That is why I rely on first-hand information, i.e. the 2017-2018 State of Scrum Report for Agile Professionals, which examined 2,000 practitioners of this framework. What interesting data can be found in it?

• 97% of respondents intend to continue using Scrum in the future,
• 85% say that Scrum is constantly improving the quality of work on projects,
• 71% indicate that its use leads to the provision of added value to customers,

It is important to note here that the benefits of using a new organization may be visible only after some time. Research (e.g. these or these ) indicates that the application of Scrum principles leads in the long run to shorter time and lower costs associated with the creation of a given product, and also increases the accuracy and transparency of work (with greater satisfaction with its performance).

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Is it really so colorful?

While properly implementing Scrum policies can have beneficial effects for some companies, this is not a solution to all problems and, more importantly, is not for everyone. In addition, implementation can be a big challenge. The report cited in the previous paragraph indicates, for example, that 51% of practitioners indicated that the implementation of Scrum proved to be a difficult task, 44% of them pointed out that the transformation was caused by the transformation from the traditional Waterfall system. Additional problems that have appeared in the report include the lack of clear rules and determinants that can be used to measure the degree of success of a given project, difficulties in team motivation or lack of trust in the new system. Here you can see why Scrum Master is necessary when implementing a changed work organization watching over the proper course, building the morale of the members of the whole team and explaining all disputed issues.

Summary

Scrum is an extremely interesting concept that can significantly improve the functioning of a company focused on the design model, which is why it is willingly used, among others by Software Houses and interactive agencies. The above information should allow you to fully understand what Scrum is, what its principles are and why you should be interested in it. Of course, this is not the only agile method, but it certainly reigns in terms of popularity. By using clever solutions that support work on the project, you can achieve very good, and above all long-term effects.