Ever since people learned of Scrum, they have identified it as a framework or process that they can rely on for efficient execution of projects. But what it actually means, when to use Scrum, how it can be extremely beneficial for organizations, irrespective of their size, structure, and setup, is something yet to be discovered. This article will elucidate all the fundamentals that one should know about Scrum.

Scrum is best suited for handling intricate, complicated projects and unexpected scenarios. The reason is, these situations call for quick, dynamic solutions, which only the scrum methodology can resolve. Also, since Scrum implementation is not confined to only a particular area of work or industry, you can rely on it irrespective of the niche you work in.

When to use Scrum?

You can use Scrum when:

• There is no specific objective defined for your work.
• You are working on a dynamic project open to new developments.
• You are a part of a complex project that needs new research, learning, and frequent feedback.
• A project needs micromanagement due to evolving environments.

The Scrum methodology focuses on simplifying complicated projects into small, manageable tasks, often called “sprints”. This uses an agile framework comprising roles, events, and artifacts to deliver excellent results.

Key Components of Scrum

The components of Scrum include its artifacts, roles, and events - all of which are driven by a set of structured values and principles.

Here is a defined layout of Scrum:

• Artifacts - Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, and the Increment
• Roles - Includes the Scrum Master, the Product Owner, and the Development Team
• Events - Sprint, Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review and Sprint Retrospective are the five events of Scrum.

Why Use Scrum?

Countless benefits of Scrum make it a preferable option for businesses and companies managing data. The Scrum methodology is a multi-purpose methodology that you can use to sort and simplify numerous business operations. 

• Promise of Promptness - Today, where most businesses and organizations acknowledge or are open to quick changes and developments, Scrum provides users with sufficient room to explore without hindering the project’s flow or disrupting the timeline. This means that no matter how significant or last-minute the changes are, incorporating them into the system will not be difficult.
• Mitigating Project Issues - Any form of project handling involves risks, delays, defaults, and mishaps. However, with timely planning, smart execution, and regular supervision from a dedicated project manager, you will know what is scrum framework, and when to use the Scrum framework to handle projects, and mitigating risks will be a more manageable task.
• Consistent Quality Check - Maintaining product quality and its standards is extremely crucial during the product development process. To avoid any last-minute delay, Scrum ensures constant quality assurance through timely testing during the development process. This helps mitigate any potential quality issues.
• Collaborator Delight - People involved in a project, who we often refer to as the stakeholders, take an interest in knowing about its course of development. Scrum offers complete flexibility to project collaborators by keeping them updated about its progress, allowing them to conduct sprint reviews, participate in discussions, and provide real-time inputs.
• Flexibility at its Best - Scrum offers everything one can ever look for, while handling and executing projects effectively. It helps boost productivity within a team through effective collaboration between team members. Additionally, it also keeps everyone involved and informed about the work progress, problem areas, and new tasks.

How to Implement Scrum?

For efficient and effective implementation of the Scrum methodology in any project, the user must have a well-structured team, comprising a product owner, Scrum Master, and the development experts. Additionally, ensure that you have a well-defined vision for your business and a clear understanding of the stages of development involved.

Follow this up by creating a product backlog and a sprint length (duration). Think about the scrum events - including sprint planning, daily scrum, sprint review, and sprint retrospective. Examine the Scrum artifacts - such as the product backlog, sprint backlog, and the increment (also known as the sprint goal). Each of these will help you to decipher the progress of the project you are working on. Always think of the sprint goal (the finish line), so you can oversee if all the stages are complete and the product functionality is taken care of.

Everything else will fall into place when you integrate deeper Scrum values and roles within your team, namely - Courage, Commitment, Focus, Openness, and Respect. Remember, daily scrum helps to oversee and balance the progress of a project, and the sprint review helps you to review the project.

Challenges You Face When Adopting Scrum

There are innumerable scrum master challenges that the organizations, management, and the project managers face while adopting Scrum. Some of the major ones include - resistance to change, failing to understand the core Scrum principles, uncertainty of the management to adopt new technology with Scrum, poor product backlog management, improper sprint planning, poor communication among team members, and lack of trust in the methodology.

What is the Waterfall methodology?

In the Agile project management system, everything is planned, programmed, and executed using the waterfall methodology. It is a different project management approach that follows a sequence of completion, where one has to close every project before starting off with the next.

This follows a structured, linear process that involves a few stages:

• Requirements - All the requirements are first collected and comprehended.
• Design - The developers design a logical layout that describes the issue and scope of the project.
• Implementation - All developments and technical design aspects are fulfilled during the implementation phase of the project.
• Verification - An important stage of the waterfall methodology is its testing phase, where a product is supervised and verified before being released.
• Maintenance - Finally, the developed product is released to users and stays under the maintenance phase.

Why Choose Scrum vs Waterfall for Software Projects?

The Scrum and Waterfall methodologies of project management are both quite popular in the business handling and management domain. Scrum follows a simple format of task closure (by breaking down complex projects into multiple, manageable tasks) in short durations, called sprints. At the same time, the waterfall methodology is a conventional project management framework that follows a fixed format for closing tasks, with zero scope for development during the process.

The Scrum methodology is a flexible framework that is easier to adapt and sees consistent development. Here, one can experiment with new collaboration, but with the waterfall framework, there is timely planning and predefined objectives to achieve. In this, there are minimal chances of adaptability.

Additionally, the following pointers would help you decide how Scrum is a better choice in handling software projects:

1. Maintains transparency: The Scrum methodology of work is an organized approach to work that maintains transparency and adaptability throughout the development phase.
2. Mode of work and deliverables: Deliverables are completed according to the evolving project requirements without any major hindrance.
3. High scope of development: Scrum focuses on regular feedback from both the development team and the customers, which helps in growth.
4. Minimal risk involved: With constant supervision of the project by project managers, the scope of risks remains in check.

Read More: Comprehensive Comparison between Scrum versus Waterfall

Similarly, when discussing Agile and Scrum, we can take note of the key differences between the two and the one that can be a good choice.

 Agile vs. Scrum

Now that we have discussed Scrum fairly and gotten a deeper understanding of the methodology, here are some primary aspects about it that we should know.

Members of a scrum team

Professionals forming a core unit to deliver a valuable output is what defines the scrum team. Primarily, you will find a Scrum Master, a Product Owner, and Developers in a Scrum team, where each one works towards a mutual objective of the company or the business. Typically, a scrum team consists of a small group, often comprising only 5 to 9 people.

Each of them works independently, but the roles are integrated (as they work together), where there is no traditional framework followed for product delivery. 

Scrum Artifacts

The Scrum team uses Scrum artifacts to define products and the work required to create them. There are seven artifacts in Scrum, in total, but only three of them - namely the product backlog, the sprint backlog, and the sprint goal - are the most popular ones.

All seven Scrum artifacts are listed below:

1. Product Vision: A statement that outlines the long-term goal of the product.
2. Product Backlog: A prioritized list that highlights the areas of improvement in a product.
3. Sprint Goal: A pre-decided objective to be achieved by a team during a Sprint.
4. Sprint Backlog: A list of workable items planned by a team to be completed during a sprint.
5. Definition of Done: Defines a list of activities to be accomplished to produce software.
6. Product Increment: This represents the total of all products previously delivered (or completed work) as well as the new developments made.
7. Burndown Chart: A graphical tool with a timeline and progress details, to represent the existing work to be completed within a project

What are Scrum ceremonies or events?

The Scrum Guide discusses five events or ceremonies for the Scrum Team. These are formal, time-specified meetings held within the Scrum framework that help to inspect, adapt, and support constant improvement in product delivery. The five Scrum ceremonies are, namely, the Sprint, Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, and Sprint Retrospective.

As discussed previously, a sprint is a time-boxed duration that a scrum team takes to accomplish specific work. Additionally, there are some Key Scrum tools you should know that will help you get through your next sprint.

Refer to this table to boost team productivity and accentuate project delivery:

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Scrum Project Management:

Scrum is an agile project management methodology used to synchronize complicated projects within smaller teams. Here, the work gets accomplished in phases (short cycles), also known as sprints. Scrum allows teams to deliver results quickly through its structure (involving roles, events, and artifacts). The top benefits of Scrum have been highlighted in the table below.

Have a look at the advantages and disadvantages of Scrum Project Management when used in project management.

Now that you have gained a fair understanding of Scrum, its features, and principles, let us apprise you of the crucial skill sets and credentials that can help you gain an edge over other professionals in the project management segment.

Tips for Becoming a Certified Scrum Master

• Gain relevant expertise in Agile and Scrum fundamentals.
• Refer to the Scrum guide and other authentic resources for more information.
• Fulfill the required eligibility criteria for the scrum master certification course, as listed by the authorized body.
• Primarily, an individual has to have at least some prior knowledge of Scrum before they complete the training and appear for the certification.

Conclusion

If you are still unsure about when to use Scrum and how, be aware that Scrum is a great option to consider when you have multiple projects on the table, particularly when there is little to no planning. Whether there is an unrealistic project commitment or uncertainty in the delivery timeline, Scrum can help you navigate through the scenario efficiently and quickly! With this extraordinary management framework and scrum master basics, you can work in teams to drive a shared project goal.