Hi, my name is Fedor Gvozdev, and I have been developing IT projects for over 10 years. I want to tell you about the development and project management methods that have improved the productivity of my team over the past 2 years.

Classic approaches to project development, involves the preparation of terms of reference for the entire project, taking into account the risks and costs, and then only proceeding to the development without the possibility of step-by-step testing of the system, but only at the end of the development stage - are very outdated, and not suitable for the realities of the new world. There are always uncertainties during work due to business processes and the human factor, and it is impossible to predict all the risks and problems from the beginning. Thorough analysis and systematic work in traditional methods such as waterfall are good. They may be effective for dealing with projects with less uncertainty and repetitive processes but not for modern and large projects.

The solution to this problem is the Agile approach, which is more flexible, faster, and less risky for dealing with uncertainty. In this article, we will discuss what Agile and Scrum are, their differences, and how to implement them in your company.

Let’s start with basic definitions and understand the terms.

What is Agile?

Agile is an approach to project management designed as a more flexible and efficient way to bring products to market. A philosophy that allows you to create a product with ever-changing requirements.

The Agile methodology was originally outlined in the Agile Manifesto, a set of values and principles for software development, for example:

• Personality and interaction are more important than processes and tools
• Working software instead of comprehensive documentation
• Collaborating with customers instead of negotiating a contract
• Reacting to change instead of following a plan

What is Scrum?

Scrum is an Agile framework for managing and completing complex projects. It is an iterative and incremental approach to product development that emphasizes teamwork, accountability, and iterative progress. In Scrum, the team works together to create a potentially releasable product in each sprint that lasts 1-4 weeks.

The key roles in Scrum are:

1. The Product Owner, who represents the stakeholders
2. The Scrum Master, who helps the team follow Scrum values, practices, and rules
3. The Development team is responsible for creating the product.

What are the differences?

The Agile approach can be applied to a wide range of projects. It provides a set of values and principles, while Scrum is a specific implementation of Agile. Scrum is specifically designed for use in software development projects. It provides a specific structure with individual roles, events, and artifacts. Thus, all Scrum is Agile, but not all Agile is Scrum.

Why should we implement an Agile approach?

The traditional method does not take into account collective intelligence, but only the decisions of whoever is higher in the hierarchical line. This method does not allow for free product development and hides the potential of the team. It is not flexible and cannot adapt to change. In addition, it requires a lot of time and a high level of discipline from team members to complete the project. This can lead to burnout and demotivation, which is a very acute problem right now, as well as a decrease in efficiency.

Agile is preferable in large projects, the reason for this:

• Increased transparency and communication among team members. In Agile, team members communicate constantly, and misunderstandings are eliminated. You can easily discuss a bug or code or project problem with the team leader or another team member. There is no such thing that you can't get through to the manager, as in the traditional method, where the manager has no idea of the problems.
• Increased collaboration between team members. An Agile model helps you get better results by improving the cooperation of team members because the whole team, not just the manager, is responsible for the whole project. Each team member has a specific task, and all members can track progress until the project is completed.
• Risk Reduction. All risks are identified at an early stage, which allows you to eliminate them faster. In the traditional approach, risks are eliminated at the end, so in Agile the probability that the project will not go as planned is low.
• Increased flexibility. Changes are made at any stage of the project, which helps the final product meet customer requirements.

Stages of implementing Scrum

Before you implement Scrum, you should thoroughly learn everything about it. Read books and articles that may be useful to you, such as Henrik Kniberg's book "Scrum and XP".

Аll team members must understand their roles and responsibilities for Scrum to function accurately. Then define in advance the roles of the Product Owner and the Scrum Master, and assemble a team of four to six professionals.

After, prepare tools to collect the backlog and track the entire process, such as online and offline whiteboards, handwritten notes, retrospective worksheets, etc.

You do not need to implement Scrum all at once in the entire company or a team you are not a part of because you will lose control.

Then start implementing the stages of the Scrum cycle.

1. Backlog

Instead of a statement of work, Scrum uses the Backlog, which represents everything that could potentially be included in the project, that is, what needs to be done during the development of the project. It can be system requirements or customer requests. It prioritizes tasks, and tasks are added in real time as you go along.

2. Sprint Introduction

The sprint mechanic was invented so that the team would take some tasks from the backlog and complete them in a certain amount of time. Usually, it is one to four weeks. As we said earlier, there are key roles in Scrum.

• The Product Owner is the person who was in the project from the ground up, sets all the objectives, sets the overall concept, and takes into account the views of clients.
• The Scrum Master is responsible for how the work is done. He is responsible for executing the daily procedures. He records the start of the sprint, sets deadlines, and monitors the team's work.
• The team performs tasks, deciding independently which method to use to achieve maximum effectiveness

The sprint objectives are discussed and accepted jointly by the whole team before the sprint, taking into account the team's capabilities and the speed of the presented objectives.

3. Controlling the processes

Meetings or daily stand-ups should be held every day to discuss what was done yesterday, what is planned for today, what problems there are, and so on. The task of the manager is to identify the problems of the team.

Minimal reporting is required from team members. In addition, Scrum Master needs to monitor the concentration and effectiveness of the team. That is, how many tasks should have been completed according to the plan, and how much is done, will help predict the number of tasks that the team can complete in the next sprint. And that's how performance is evaluated. Performance monitoring leads to increased efficiency.

4. Sprint Retrospective

After each sprint, a retrospective is held. At this meeting, we will talk about what has been done during this period, and new releases may be announced. The team also has the opportunity to tell what was good and what was bad during the sprint. They can offer their ideas for improving the work.

Eventually, the cycle starts over and the team updates the backlog.

Conclusion

The implementation of Agile/Scrum methodology can bring numerous benefits, such as improved communication, increased efficiency, and flexibility, as well as the ability to respond quickly to changes. However, successful implementation requires careful planning and consideration of factors such as team structure, roles, and responsibilities, as well as communication processes. By following Agile/Scrum principles and regularly reviewing and adjusting the process as needed, scrum teams can effectively apply this approach to achieve their goals and ensure success.