Scrum: what it is and how it helps raise productivity

When working on a complex product, how you organise the process plays an enormous role. That is why IT values good project managers and other specialists who understand methods of project management. 

At present there are seven such methods: 

• classic project management;

• Lean;

• Kanban;

• Six Sigma;

• Prince 2;

• Agile;

• Scrum. 

In this article we describe Scrum: the particulars and the main concepts of this framework management method. 

Scrum focuses the whole team's attention on working in concert, helps it self-organise and draw the most from experience already gained. Analysing successful and unsuccessful actions is one of the compulsory elements of working in Scrum, and the results of that analysis are brought into the working process as quickly as possible.  

Scrum is most often used for developing applications and IT services. But the approach is universal and will suit various kinds of project. 

The method involves the use of dedicated tools, regular meetings and particular roles for different members of the team. 

Scrum and Agile: the differences, what they share, how they relate

Even project managers sometimes confuse Scrum and Agile. The two approaches share the idea of constant improvement. The main difference is that Scrum is a method, while Agile is a way of thinking and of judging working situations, one that carries values and principles that help change your attitude to the work.

Among the main ones: 

• active, close collaboration;

• adaptability to changing tasks and conditions;

• the readiness and the ability to change your approach as experience accumulates. 

In essence Scrum is a practical realisation of Agile's ideas as a foundation. 

For many it is easier to begin the move to Agile precisely by bringing Scrum's principles into everyday practice. 

Scrum is heuristic by nature. At the start of a project a team cannot hold complete information, even if the client supplies a detailed brief. On the other hand, Scrum provides the flexibility needed to adapt to changing conditions. The working process under this method allows for shifting priorities and for short cycles. 

What are the artefacts of work in the Scrum approach? 

Scrum has the concept of an artefact — everything the team creates while working on a project, tools for solving a problem included. There are three kinds: 

• the product backlog;

• the result of the work, the product or increment (with set criteria of readiness that the team defines in advance);

• the backlog of the current sprint. 

The product backlog is the main list of tasks to be carried out. The product manager, or the product owner, is responsible for keeping it. That person has to return to the product backlog constantly, updating it, changing priorities and adding current information. 

The sprint backlog is a list of smaller tasks, user stories and bugs to be fixed in this cycle. The team plans each sprint in advance at a dedicated meeting, where it chooses which tasks from the backlog are best carried out in this sprint. There should be a key goal for the sprint. 

An increment is a logically and functionally complete product of a sprint, ready to be used and demonstrated. Many companies hold dedicated presentations at the end of a sprint, where the increment is shown. The term is used rarely; the notions of a goal, a product or a sprint result come up more often. In any case there have to be clear criteria for the product's readiness, and they depend on the particular team, the business and its specifics. 

Meetings, regular events and their role in Scrum   

One of Scrum's particulars is its use of various meetings. The main kinds: 

• Keeping and organising the backlog. The product owner is responsible for it, keeping the list of goals and features and changing priorities. In practice this happens both within meetings and outside them.

• Sprint planning. At such events the team, under the scrum master's guidance, plans its work for the coming cycle. Everyone gives their view on the priorities, the criteria of readiness and the risk factors that could affect the cycle's successful completion. 

• Scrum meetings (daily stand-ups). Extremely short meetings held at the same time every day, lasting no more than 15 minutes. Their purpose is for every member of the team to understand what to do during the coming working day. 

• The sprint review. At this meeting the sprint's results are reviewed and examined. 

• The retrospective. Here the successful and unsuccessful decisions are discussed. Such meetings help a team concentrate on constructive conclusions rather than dwelling on the negative side of mistaken decisions. 

The difficulties of applying it

Nothing in the world is flawless, and methods of project management are no exception. Applying Scrum brings certain difficulties: 

• Legal matters. The method assumes no fixed brief and no clear budget limits, and in that situation the terms of cooperation are hard to fix in a contract. 

• Situations where Scrum does not apply. The method cannot be used for government contracts or where deadlines and budgets are cut to the bone. Alternative approaches to project management will finish projects under such conditions — but the result, and the product's quality, will be noticeably worse.

• If Scrum is used for building, launching and supporting sites, the design and content stages force you outside the method, because those elements of the product have particulars of their own that do not allow their creation to be split into sprints. 

• The method demands of every participant, without exception, an inclination and an ability to work in a team, and difficulties often arise there. Sometimes the team has to be reassembled. 

• The practice of daily meetings is uncomfortable for some people, which is why many companies and teams abandon or modify it. 

• If for some reason a team member leaves temporarily or for good, there is a risk of finishing the sprint later than planned. 

• Many find the method hard to adapt to. Bringing it in can drag on, and the product's quality suffers in the meantime. The client may be extremely unhappy. 

Why is Scrum so popular? 

Scrum is as simple as it can be: it sets the rhythm and the rules of the working process while allowing flexibility and the chance to adapt it to different areas of business. For planning tasks the Scrum way you can use various online services, including Leantime. 

The method is used in developing software, online services and other products. Another of its particulars is that the approach speeds up the release and produces a product of value to the client, one that can be improved further. 

Scrum's other advantages include: 

• Growing quality of customer service. The client gets more value and a better product within predictable timeframes. The team meanwhile understands the situation more clearly and makes more effective decisions. Which means both sides are happy with the cooperation. 

• Every team member understands the task better and, with the right level of self-discipline, works more effectively. 

• The causes of internal conflicts and misunderstandings within the team are removed.

• Working the Scrum way, projects can be launched as quickly as possible on a minimal budget.

• Scrum improves control over a project's progress and over how the budget is used. 

• It becomes possible to add to the brief as the project goes on.  

It is precisely its universality, its aim of constant improvement and the noticeable gain in productivity that make Scrum one of the most popular approaches to project management. 

This way of managing projects rests on the self-discipline of the staff, their understanding of the basic principles and a high level of technical knowledge. A comfortable working environment matters for that, along with tools for organising information. Host4Biz provides such services in the Business Box package.