Scrumming to Success: How Our Company Applied Agile Methodology to Improve Developer Productivity and Predictability
asterbyte
January 19, 2023
As a growing company, we have always been focused on finding ways to improve efficiency and productivity. We have tried a variety of different methods and systems, and Scrum has indeed brought a positive impact at our workplace. For those unfamiliar with Scrum, it is a framework for managing projects that emphasizes teamwork, accountability, and adaptability. It is a form of agile methodology, which means that it focuses on delivering small increments of work frequently, rather than trying to complete a project all at once.
One of the key benefits of Scrum is that it allows us to work in short, focused sprints. This means that we can deliver tangible results quickly, rather than spending months on a project without any visible progress.
At our workplace, we follow a weekly sprint process. The process begins with the creation of a backlog, which is a list of all the work that needs to be done. Whenever a new requirement or a change in scope comes up, we keep on adding them as tasks to the Product Backlog. At the beginning of each sprint, the team holds a Sprint Planning meeting (usually on Mondays) to determine which tasks they will work on and how they will complete them. Based on this meeting, the stories are finalized (Sprint Backlog), and the Sprint board is started. A Story is the smallest unit of work for a Scrum team and Story Points in Scrum are units of measurement used to estimate the effort required to complete a story. We estimate 1 story point as 1 day of effort (8 hours), and each team member is assigned a maximum of 5 story points per sprint. The team members work independently on their assigned tasks and meet daily in a short stand-up meeting (Daily Scrum) to discuss their progress. At the end of the sprint, the team holds a Sprint Review meeting to demonstrate the work they have completed and to identify any improvements that can be made in the next sprint.
To effectively track and manage our progress as a Scrum team, we turned to JIRA. We use it to create and prioritize our user stories, assign tasks to team members, and track our progress during sprints. Additionally, we use JIRA’s built-in reporting features to generate useful charts and graphs (like Sprint Report, Burndown Chart, Velocity Chart, etc.) that give us a clear picture of how we’re doing.
One major advantage of Scrum is that it promotes collaboration and transparency. The daily stand-up meetings where team members share updates and raise any issues or concerns help us to stay on track and ensure that everyone is aware of what is happening.
Additionally, Scrum promotes clear communication among team members. Each member has a specific role and is held accountable for his tasks, which helps to eliminate confusion and ensure that everyone is on the same page. This has greatly improved the overall productivity of our team.
Another advantage of using the Scrum framework is the way it helps with expectation management for stakeholders and upper management. At the end of each sprint, the team demonstrates the work they’ve completed to stakeholders and upper management, which helps ensure that everyone is on the same page and that expectations are being met. This level of transparency and frequent check-ins helps reduce the risk of misunderstandings or unrealistic expectations, which can be a common source of frustration in traditional project management models. By using Scrum, teams can more effectively communicate their progress and accomplishments, which helps build trust and confidence with stakeholders and upper management.
Scrum has also helped us to improve our problem-solving skills. By working in small, cross-functional teams, we have learned to rely on each other and support each other in achieving our goals. This has fostered a sense of teamwork and camaraderie that has been invaluable in helping us to deliver high-quality products and services to our clients.
But perhaps the greatest benefit of Scrum has been its ability to adapt to change. As we all know, the business world is constantly evolving and projects can often take unexpected turns. With Scrum, we can quickly adjust our priorities and focus as needed, without losing sight of our end goals.
In a nutshell, Scrum has greatly improved our company’s project management process and has led to increased success and satisfaction for our team and clients. It has helped us to work more efficiently, deliver better results, and foster a positive and collaborative culture. If you’re looking to implement an agile methodology in your company, we highly recommend giving Scrum a try.
