Scrum
Scrum is an agile delivery method that helps develop, deliver and sustain complex projects.
Scrum is an agile methodology that is lightweight, simple to understand, but difficult to master. That’s why it is recommended to get the best out of Scrum, developers take an accredited Scrum course.
How to use the Scrum method
1. Select a team
- Product Owner – represents the customer, communicates the tasks and priorities of the development team.
- Scrum Master – acts as a mediator between the product owner and the development team.
- Development Team – responsible for developing the product.
Product backlog
The product owner creates a product backlog which is a prioritized list of tasks. The product owner manages the backlog, but anyone can add to it.
2. Sprint planning
The product owner presents the highest priority tasks from the product backlog to the development team.
Developers then decide what they can complete for the sprint, estimating the time and tools required before transferring them to a sprint backlog.
3. The sprint
One sprint is a work cycle lasting 2-4 weeks.
4. Sprint review
Developers demonstrate the product increment to the product owner. Feedback and suggestions are given.
5. Sprint retrospective
The team evaluates the sprint. They decide what worked and what didn’t and think on how to improve the next sprint.
6. Product increment
The increment is the product of all tasks completed during the sprint and previous sprints. The product owner decides when it is complete enough to be released.
7. Final/Interim delivery
The product is tested by users. If feedback is poor, the development team return to the product backlog to prepare for another sprint. This cycle repeats until the product owner is satisfied the product will deliver value to users.
Scrum infographic
The following infographic explains how to use the Scrum method to structure your project development cycle.