Scrum: Understanding Scrum at a Deeper Level and Mastering Agile Project Management

By Jeff Branson

This book explores the Scrum framework in details. As the world of business grew more competitive, project managers were looking for a way to hasten the delivery of projects, so they could get a competitive edge through faster time - to market. Project management specialists came up with the Agile framework to support that goal. Scrum is one such Agile methodology that differs from traditional approaches, in that it delivers product in incremental cycles called Sprints.

This guide will serve as a starting point for you and is not intended to be an inclusive body of knowledge but will contain steps that will help create a very strong foundation to build your skills upon.

The steps outlined in this guide are intended for someone who is about to become a Scrum master or is already in that role. Of course, there is valuable information for anyone who is interested in Scrum. Always keep in mind that transition to Scrum require a huge cultural change and takes time and lots of patience.

Why take this book?

• You will be prepared to apply Scrum to your projects
• You will be able to speak about Agile/Scrum with confidence.
• You will understand the difference between Agile and other methodologies
• You will learn why Agile isn't only for IT or Tech projects but it's actually applied across many industries worldwide
• You will get tools and tips
• You ill learn how to apply Scrum project management practices in an Agile environment!

Agile project management has at its heart an aim to bring improvements in the project continuously as it proceeds, while being flexible, having complete team input, and delivering high-quality products or results. It has a scrum framework approach which is to build quality first and eliminate maximum wastage. Organizations can utilize the different tools and techniques available to the team to build agile management as this proves to be more effective.  

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jeff Branson
• Release date: Jun 24, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393617181

Book preview

SCRUM

Understanding Scrum at a Deeper Level and Mastering Agile Project Management

Table of Contents

Introduction.................................................................................6

Chapter 1: What is Scrum?.....................................................8

Chapter 2: Elements of Scrum............................................15

Sprint Planning................................................................19

Daily Scrum......................................................................20

Sprint Review..................................................................21

Chapter3: Agile Estimation Techniques...........................22

Affinity Mapping..............................................................24

Ordering Protocol...........................................................25

Chapter 4: Scrum in action..................................................27

Building the Team...........................................................29

The Individual's Mindset................................................30

Creating and Managing The Team............................32

Team Dynamics...............................................................35

Chapter 5: Sprinting in Stages............................................36

The Norming Stage.........................................................40

The Performing Stage....................................................42

Adjourning Stage............................................................44

Chapter 6: Why Use Scrum..................................................47

Chapter 7: Scrum and Extreme Programming (XP)......57

Simplicity..........................................................................58

Courage............................................................................59

Respect.............................................................................60

Practices...........................................................................61

Remain Together.............................................................62

Complete Team...............................................................63

Useful Workspace...........................................................64

Revived Work...................................................................65

Pair Programming...........................................................66

Stories...............................................................................67

Weekly Cycle...................................................................68

Quarterly Cycle...............................................................69

Slack..................................................................................70

Ten-Minute Build............................................................71

Constant Integration......................................................72

Incremental Design........................................................73

Roles.................................................................................74

Customer..........................................................................75

The Developer.................................................................76

The Tracker......................................................................77

The Coach........................................................................78

Lifecycle...........................................................................79

Origins..............................................................................81

Main Contributions.........................................................82

Chapter 8: Scrum in Project Management......................84

Key features of Scrum Management............................85

Benefits of Employing Scrum Management................86

Using Scrum Enhances Client Perception..................87

Employ Scrum Management for Better Product Lifecycle  89

Chapter 9: The Scrum Framework....................................90

Scrum Teams..................................................................92

Scrum Roles....................................................................94

Scrum Events.................................................................99

Scrum Artifacts............................................................103

Chapter 10: Scaling Scrum................................................106

Chapter 11: How to Put a Scrum Team in Place.........109

Scrum Master................................................................111

Non Core Roles in Scrum............................................114

Chapter 12: Successful Scrum Tips................................115

Get Educated.................................................................116

Get The Right Sponsor.................................................117

Attack Low-hanging Fruit First..................................118

Be Realistic....................................................................119

Co-locate Teams............................................................120

Start Low-tech...............................................................121

Celebrate Success........................................................122

Chapter 13: Professional scrum.......................................123

Certified Scrum Developer..........................................124

Certified Scrum Professional......................................125

Certified Scrum Trainer...............................................126

Certified Scrum Coach.................................................127

Conclusion.............................................................................128

Introduction

This book explores the Scrum framework in details. As the world of business grew more competitive, project managers were looking for a way to hasten the delivery of projects so they could get a competitive edge through faster time-to market. Project Management specialists came up with the Agile framework to support that goal. Scrum is one such Agile methodology that differs from traditional approaches, in that it delivers product in incremental cycles called Sprints.

Scrum project success also hinges on making sure the teams have a good balance of skill sets required for the project, and are backed by an adequate level of sponsorship. Teams are best if they are small in size - between 5 to 8 members.

Success will be greatly assured if everyone involved in a Scrum project is trained and educated in the basic Scrum philosophy, with more specific training provided to key players, including Scrum Masters, Product Owners and Developers.

A project begins as an idea. For the idea to be implemented into a real project, a sequence of steps must be followed. These steps form the project development methodology. A proper way of planning for these steps is needed. Each project development methodology requires resources. Such resources should be planned for so that the project can use them in the right manner. Any project development process also requires labor from a number of individuals. In all projects, there are different participants who play different roles towards ensuring that the project goal is achieved. Such labor should be coordinated in the right way so as to ensure that everything runs smoothly.

This guide will serve as a starting point for you and is intended NOT to be an inclusive body of knowledge, but will contain steps that will help create a very strong foundation to build your skills upon.

The steps outlined in this guide are intended for someone who is about to become a Scrum master or already is in that role. Of course, there is valuable information for anyone who is interested in Scrum. Always keep in mind that transition to Scrum require a huge cultural change and takes time and lots of patience.

Happy reading.

Chapter 1: What is Scrum? 

Scrum is simply a project development framework. The framework was initially developed to be applied in development of software projects. However, it has been refined so that it can be applied in the development of other types of projects as well. The goal is to promote an early engagement of users of the product in the project development process. Both the developers and the users work hand-in-hand so that the developers do not deviate from what the users want. By incremental, we mean that the Increment or the Product released at the iteration’s end is an improvement on what had been released in the previous iteration. If the customers are included right from the early stages of development, there are high chances that the final product will be acceptable. The constant involvement of users helps to ensure that the developers do not deviate from what had been initially planned and agreed. Scrum is also a good framework for allowing changes to be made to a project even if it is in its stages of development without the need for a change to the previous releases. This is not the case with traditional project development methodologies such as waterfall. Scrum is a modern and efficient framework for project development compared to the traditional project development methodologies, which has caused the popularity of the framework to rise.

Scrum is one of the various agile frameworks, mostly used in developing complex projects. Initially, the Scrum framework was formalized to be used in software development projects, but it can now be applied in any innovative and complex project.

Scrum is a control and management process which cuts through the challenges and complexities of project development to develop a product capable of meeting the business needs. The Scrum Teams are allowed to deliver working products in

Reviews for Scrum

[José Baltodano · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

For a small book, it really needs an editor. Many times subtitles were erased and I was reading without knowing what the author was refering to.