Scrum encourages teams to learn from experience, self-organize work on a problem, and reflect on successes and failures in order to continuously improve. It contains specific artifacts (meetings and events) that must be implemented, and specific roles: Scrum Master, Product Owner, and Development Team. Scrum functions according to the Scrum Guide established and updated by its creators (the latest version from 2020), and the SM and PO roles are certified.
Backlog grooming
Activities belonging to the Product Owner’s responsibilities. The main task of the product owner is to direct work on the product in a way that is consistent with the product vision and to continuously monitor the market and the client. For this purpose, such a person maintains this list, using feedback from users and the development team to prioritize, organize the items on the list, and keep it ready to start work at any time.
Sprint planning
During this meeting, the entire software development team plans the work to be done (scope) during the current sprint. The meeting is led by the Scrum Master. During this time, the team agrees on the sprint goal. Then, user stories from the product backlog are added to the sprint. These stories are always aligned with the goal, and their feasibility during the sprint is agreed upon with the Scrum team. At the end of the sprint planning meeting, each Scrum team member must know exactly what can be delivered within the sprint and how to achieve the increment.
Sprint
A specific timeframe during which the Scrum team collaborates to complete the increment. Sprints usually last from 1 to 4 weeks.
Dave West from Scrum.org advises that sprints should be shorter the more complex the work is and the more unknowns there are. But really, it all depends on your team. If this model doesn’t work, don’t be afraid to make changes!
During this period, the product owner and the software development team can renegotiate the scope if necessary. Once a specific timeframe for a sprint has been established, it should not be changed during the product development process. This will make it easier for the team to learn from past experiences and apply the lessons learned to future sprints.
*A scrum board shows what stage of work we are at in the current sprint. We can record the progress of the sprint on a physical board (cork, magnetic) or an electronic one (various types of applications, e.g., Asana, Jira, Trello). To facilitate your work, the board should be divided into three categories: To do, In Progress, Done. We can use sticky notes to describe tasks on the board, which we can easily move and edit.
Daily scrum meeting or stand-up meeting
This is a very short, daily meeting, which, to make it easier, takes place at the same time (usually in the morning) and in the same place. Many teams try to complete this meeting within 15 minutes, but this is only a guideline. The goal of the daily scrum meeting is to keep all team members informed, make sure they are working towards the sprint goal, and plan activities for the next 24 hours. During the stand-up meeting, any concerns regarding the achievement of the sprint goals and blockers are reported. A common practice when conducting stand-up meetings is to ask each team member to answer three questions in the context of striving to achieve the sprint goal:
- What did I manage to do yesterday?
- What am I going to do today?
- Are there any obstacles?
Sprint review
At the end of the sprint, the team gathers for an informal session to watch a demonstration or inspect the increment. The software development team presents the backlog items marked as “Done” so that stakeholders and other team members can comment on them. The product owner can decide whether such an increment will be released, and in most cases, this is exactly what happens.
Sprint retrospective
It consists of gathering the team to document and discuss successes and failures in the context of the sprint, project, people or relationships, tools, and even specific events. The idea is to create an opportunity for the team to focus on what went well and what needs to be improved next time, and less on what went wrong.
- Commitment – Scrum teams are small and agile, each member significantly contributes to the team’s success. For this reason, each team member should take on tasks that they are able to complete.
- Commitment – Scrum teams are small and agile, each member significantly contributes to the team’s success. For this reason, each team member should take on tasks that they are able to complete.
- Openness – the daily stand-up meeting fosters openness, which allows teams to talk openly about work in progress and blockers.
- Focus – the central element of workflow in Scrum teams is the sprint, i.e., a clearly defined period in which the team performs a set amount of work. This provides structure and allows focusing on completing the planned work.
- Respect – the strength of the team lies in collaboration and the recognition that every team member contributes to the execution of work within the sprint.
