Scrum

Scrum is one of the project management methods designed to increase success rates of complex software projects. It consists of short meetings where team members come together to discuss their current stages, next steps and potential challenges in complex and difficult software processes.

Believing the difficulty in managing all phases in an orderly manner, this complex structure is reduced by following a method based on repetition, dividing into small pieces at short intervals. Thus, each piece can be examined individually, and necessary changes can be made instantly, errors can be detected easily.

It has a flexible structure and teamwork is extremely important in Scrum. Scrum is one of the Agile project management methods. It is built on 3 basic principles such as transparency, inspection and adaptation. Scrum is committed to values ​​such as commitment, courage, focus, openness and respect.

Every kind of team, including software development, engineering, human resources, marketing and design, uses Scrum. However, Scrum is more common among software development and engineering teams.

Scrum Artifacts

For Scrum teams to solve problems and manage projects, they provide planning information to teams with tools called Scrum artifacts.

• Product Backlog - A prioritized list that includes all the necessary elements for developing the product and possible changes in the product.
• Sprint Backlog - The Sprint Backlog is a list of tasks to be completed by the development team during the current Sprint cycle.
• Increment - It is the end product of the Sprint. It is the sum of the values of all previous Sprints and the Product Backlog items completed during a Sprint.

What are the Roles in the Scrum Team?

The Scrum team is the basic unit of Scrum. There are three main roles in the Scrum team: Product Owner, Scrum Master and Developers. Scrum teams self-organize.

Product Owner: The Product Owner is the person who maximizes the value of the product produced by the Scrum team, thinks about how to do this, decides what the product will be like at the end of the work and what features this product will have. In other words, it clearly determines the value of the product and manages the product backlog which includes all the needs of the product and all needs for the future.

The roles and responsibilities of the Product Owner are:

• Clearly defining the product goal,
• Clearly defining the features of the product,
• Creating a task list and defining the items,
• Following up on the task list,
• Ensuring the continuous increase of the task's value

Scrum Master: The Scrum Master is the person responsible for establishing Scrum as defined in the Scrum guide and for following up for the tasks to be delivered on time. The Scrum Master is also responsible for:

• Organizing the activities of the Scrum team,
• Ensuring the activities are completed on time,
• Removing obstacles in front of the progress of the Scrum team,
• Leading the organization in adopting Scrum, training and coaching the team,
• Planning Scrum applications,
• Ensuring the preservation of Scrum values such as courage, focus, commitment, respect and clarity

Developer Team: Developers take on jobs specified by the Product Owner for a product or product feature during the Sprints and achieve this by the end of the Sprint. The responsibilities of the developers are:

• Creating a plan for the Sprint list,
• Completing the Sprint on time,
• Adapting their plans according to the Sprint goal

Scrum Events

Sprint

Sprints are the containers for all other activities. A Sprint is a time period of a month or less that indicates a job is complete. A new Sprint starts after one Sprint is completed.

It includes other work such as Sprint planning, daily Scrums, Sprint review, and Sprint retrospective. Sprint times usually vary between 2 or 4 weeks. As this time extends, complexity may occur and risks may increase. Therefore, shorter sprints are used to reduce costs and eliminate risks.

Sprint Planning

Sprint planning are events that determine the work to be done for the Sprint, explain how the work will be accomplished, and initiate the Sprint. What can be done with the Sprint is discussed by the Product Owner, development team and Scrum Master. Tasks are divided into small pieces by the development team.

Daily Scrum

Daily Scrum is a communication meeting lasting a maximum of 15 minutes where each team member states their current stage. The aim of the Daily Scrum is to review the progress towards the Sprint goal and examine the status of the task list.

It's done every day, at the same time and place. Because it is done every day, it strengthens communication, reduces risks, and eliminates long meetings.

Sprint Review

The Sprint Review is an evaluation done at the end of each Sprint, which allows Sprints to be reviewed. The purpose of the Sprint Review is also to review the outcome of the Sprint and ensure that any errors are corrected.

Sprint Retrospective

Sprint Retrospective is a meeting where how the last Sprint went, what went well during the Sprint, what problems were encountered and how these problems were solved are evaluated. So, its purpose is to plan ways to increase quality. The development team and Scrum Master attend these meetings.

 

What are the Benefits of Implementing Scrum?

The Scrum approach typically provides many benefits. For the benefits of Scrum to be realized, Scrum team members must perform their tasks properly. So what exactly are the benefits of using Scrum?

• High quality: In the Scrum method, because there is testing and version control, errors are detected early and arising errors are eliminated. The earlier this test starts, the easier it is to find and fix problems. Hence, a high quality and stable product is produced.
• Lower costs: With the implementation of the Scrum method, productivity increases and because undesired issues won't grow, the cost of the project decreases at the same rate.
• Less risk: One of the benefits that Scrum provides is risk reduction. Scrum offers opportunities to reduce risks with features like coordinated teams, flexibility in the face of changes and continuous feedback.
• Quick adaptation to change: An important benefit of Scrum is its ability to respond quickly to changes.
• Team integrity: In Scrum, teams work in a coordinated way.
• Productive Scrum teams: In Scrum, there are self-managing and organizing teams. It raises the overall motivation of the teams by creating a supportive and trusting environment.
• On-time delivery: Well-defined Sprints help to follow the steps correctly. This helps the product to be delivered on time without delay.

Scrum Training

Training attended by Scrum and Agile users is called Scrum training. Scrum trainings are divided according to their levels. There are various books, online Scrum courses and videos about Scrum. There are also institutions that give Scrum certificate. The training includes topics such as the Scrum team, Product Backlog, Sprint and Sprint planning, Scrum roles, Scrum meetings.