Agile & Scrum 101

Before answering this question, it’s important to understand that Agile itself is not a methodology but an overarching guideline in terms of values and principles.

Agile by definition is a set of principles and values, a collection of beliefs and guidelines that teams can use for making decisions and delivering the work in developing software. It started with the Software development industry and now has evolved into many other industries. As described in the Agile Manifesto, created in 2001, agile values the items on the left more than the items on the right.

The agile key values:

• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
• Working software* over comprehensive documentation
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
• Responding to change over following a plan

*Working product instead of working software is commonly expressed to expand the definition to have shippable increments.

From the 4 key values it branches out to 12 key principles that specify the behaviour one needs to be aware of. The key principles are;

1. Customer Satisfaction through Early and Continuous Delivery:
   Deliver valuable software frequently, with a preference for shorter timescales.
   
   
2. Welcome Changing Requirements:
   Agile processes harness change for the customer’s competitive advantage.
   
   
3. Deliver Working Software Frequently:
   Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference for the shorter timescale.
   
   
4. Close, Daily Cooperation between Business People and Developers:
   Business and development teams must work together daily throughout the project.
   
   
5. Build Projects around Motivated Individuals:
   Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.
   
   
6. Face-to-Face Conversation:
   The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.
   
   
7. Working Software is the Primary Measure of Progress:
   The primary measure of progress is working software.
   
   
8. Sustainable Development:
   Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
   
   
9. Continuous Attention to Technical Excellence and Good Design:
   Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.
   
   
10. Simplicity:
    The art of maximizing the amount of work not done is essential.
    
    
11. Self-Organizing Teams:
    The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.
    
    
12. Regular Reflection and Adjustment:
    At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.

Scrum framework structure considers three elements to manage an Agile Project. 

First element to ensure the project solves the right problem for the right people through a Design Thinking mindset, to engage customers and improve the product based on feedback.

Second element focussing on delivery using Lean Start-up and Agile delivery (Scrum) to effectively improves flow of delivery, iteratively to the customers while ensuring waste is either reduced or removed i.e. delivering incremental values to customers as quickly as possible through continuous improvements time-boxed cycle called Sprint.

A Scrum team typically has fewer than 10 people, and is expected to be cross-functional, self-managing and collaborative. The team would only have 3 roles which are;

• Product Owner: Represents the voice of the customer and ensures the product backlog reflects their needs.
  
  
• Scrum Master: Facilitates the Scrum process and ensures the team is following the rules.
  
  
• Development Team: A group of self-organizing professionals who do the work of building the product.

Design Thinking is integrated into the Agile development process which is a human-centered approach to problem solving. It focuses on understanding the user and their needs. The process is iterative and non-linear, meaning that teams can revisit stages throughout the process.

The key differences between Agile and traditional project management methodologies include:

1. Flexibility vs. Predictability:
   Agile: Emphasizes flexibility and adaptability to changes throughout the project lifecycle.
   Traditional: Focuses on thorough upfront planning and predictability, with a linear, sequential approach.
   
   
2. Delivery Timeline:
   Agile: Involves iterative cycles, delivering small increments of work frequently.
   Traditional: Aims for a single final delivery after all project phases are complete.
   
   
3. Customer Involvement:
   Agile: Continuous customer feedback and collaboration are integral.
   Traditional: Usually only engages with customers during User Acceptance Test.

• Focus on Learning: Both methodologies emphasize learning and iterating based on customer feedback.
  
  
• Build-Measure-Learn: The Lean Startup cycle (Build-Measure-Learn) is similar to the Agile cycle of sprint, plan, develop, test, review.
  
  
• Agile Development: Lean Startup incorporates Agile development practices to deliver products in iterations and gather customer feedback quickly.
  
  
• Reduced Risk: Both approaches aim to reduce development risk through iteration and testing.

Overall, Agile provides a framework for iterative development and project management, while Lean Startup focuses on validating assumptions about the product through a Build-Measure-Learn feedback loop. They work well together to develop products that meet customer needs.

1. Sprint
   • What is it: Time-boxed period for a Scrum team to deliver value.
   • Purpose: To enable predictability by ensuring inspection and adaptation of progress toward Product Goals.
     
     
2. Sprint Planning
   • What is it: Goal setup and work commitments alignment session for the sprint.
   • Purpose: To commit the work to be completed in the sprint and how it will be accomplished.
     
     
3. Daily Scrum
   • Purpose: To synchronize the team’s activities and plan the day’s work, discussing progress and any blockers. To inspect whether the sprint goals can be achieved or not.
     
     
4. Sprint Review
   
   • Purpose: To inspect the increment of work completed during the sprint and gather feedback from stakeholders.
     
     
5. Sprint Retrospective
   • Purpose: To reflect on the sprint process and identify areas for improvement.

• Increasing focus and transparency.
• Enabling empiricism and iterative development.
• Encouraging self-organizing teams.
• Reducing complexity.
• Improving communication and collaboration.

• Resistance to Change: Teams accustomed to traditional methodologies may resist adopting Agile practices. Overcoming this requires clear communication of benefits and gradual integration of Agile principles.
  
  
• Lack of Experience: Teams may lack the necessary skills and experience with Agile and Scrum. Providing comprehensive training and continuous learning opportunities can address this issue.
  
  
• Poor Collaboration: Effective Agile implementation depends on strong team collaboration. Facilitating open communication channels and fostering a collaborative culture is essential.
  
  
• Incomplete Backlog Management: Inadequate backlog grooming can lead to scope creep and prioritization issues. Regular refinement sessions with the product owner can help maintain a well-organized backlog.
  
  
• Misunderstanding Roles: Misunderstanding of Scrum roles (Scrum Master, Product Owner, Development Team) can impede progress. Clear role definitions and responsibilities should be emphasized through training and coaching.
  

There are many tools and techniques that the team could explore. Most importantly to try and test what’s best and fitting the team. Co-located team is best to utilize physical boards to track work and have transparency on progress. For remote teams, there are multiple collaboration tools that are available to be explored. It’s best for you to reach out to your Agile Coach on advice or contact us through the available channels below.

Email: [email protected]
Phone/WhatsApp: +6019-2981055