Scrum Project Management
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Introduction to Scrum
Scrum is one of several forms of agile project management. One of the key designers of Scrum is Jeff Sutherland. There are many online videos describing the process, roles, and terminology. Here is one video summarizing the book and outlining the process:
How to do Scrum (Steps according to the book)
- Pick a Product Owner
- Pick a Team
- Cross-functional; all skills needed to complete a sprint
- 3 to 9 people; keeps communication manageable
- Pick a Scrum Master
- Remove barriers and waste in order to speed up the work
- Create and prioritize a Product Backlog
- Refine and estimate the Product Backlog
- How much value does it add?
- Is the value realized quickly?
- How much time and effort is required relative to other tasks? Use the Fibonacci sequence to estimate a point value
- Sprint Planning
- Time period keep consistent and less than one month
- Consider the team’s Velocity (Total value points completed in the previous Sprint)
- Identify the Sprint Goal (How does it relate to the product vision?)
- Lock in the commitment. Don’t change or add to the Sprint Backlog.
- Definition of ready
- Acceptance criteria
- Definition of done
- Make Work Visible
- Scrum Board; Do, Doing, Done
- Burn down Chart; Points remaining in sprint vs number of days
- Daily Stand-up (15 minutes or less)
- What did you do yesterday to help the team finish the Sprint?
- What will you do today to help the team finish the Sprint?
- Is there any obstacle blocking you or the team from achieving the Sprint Goal?
- Sprint Review or Sprint Demo
- Anyone can attend (transparency)
- Only demo what meets the Definition of Done
- Sprint Retrospective
- What went right?
- What could have gone better?
- What can be made better in the next Sprint?
- What is the improvement in the process that they, as a team, can implement right away?
- It is crucial that people as a team take responsibility for their process and outcomes, and seek solutions as a team.
- Don’t blame; Be candid; Find a solution together
- “By the end of the meeting the team and the Scrum Master should agree on one process improvement that they will implement in the next Sprint. That process improvement, sometimes called the kaizen, should be put into the next Sprint’s backlog with acceptance tests. That way the team can easily see if they actually implemented the improvement, and what effect it had on velocity” (p. 238).
- Now start the next Sprint cycle.
Documents for Workshop