SCRUM is a powerful Agile software development methodology that provides a structured approach for prioritizing, managing, and executing product builds.
Every SCRUM team consists of a SCRUM master who is responsible for managing the SCRUM process and leading the daily standups, a product owner who interfaces with stakeholders and is responsible for defining the product’s goals and functionality, and a development team responsible for building the product.
What Does this Process Look Like?
The SCRUM process begins by defining most Epics and the first several Stories—descriptions from the end user’s perspective about something they want to accomplish.
“Epics” are large, high-level pieces of work that cannot be completed within a single two-week Sprint. Essentially, an Epic represents a large feature or functional area of the product that needs to be developed over time. It is composed of smaller, more manageable user “Stories.”
Stakeholder meetings are used to gather all the epics. Then epics are broken down into stories. After enough stories are created and stored in the backlog, the Sprint can then begin. Sprints typically take2 weeks to complete. A Sprint starts with a planning session where the team agrees on which stories they will complete during the Sprint.
An example of a Story would be, “As a user, I don’t want another username and password. I would like to authenticate to the mobile app using my Facebook account.” Based on this description the SCRUM team would break down this user story into functional tasks to complete the requirements of the story and then get to work.
Throughout the Sprint, there is a daily stand-up meeting where each team member reviews what they worked on yesterday, what they plan to work on today, and any challenges or roadblocks they currently have.
There are also one to two refinement meetings during this 2-week Sprint. During these meetings, the team can discuss new stories, ask the Product Owner questions, and brainstorm how to approach new stories. It is important to give the story a point value during these sessions because this gives the Product Owner knowledge on how large or small the development work will be for that story.
At the end of the Sprint the team holds a Sprint Review with key stakeholders. This is when the team will take the stakeholders through what was accomplished during the Sprint. Feedback from these stakeholders allows the team to assess priorities and potentially alter their next tasks. After the Sprint review, the SCRUM team holds a retrospective. They talk about what they liked and didn’t like about the Sprint and then agree upon any changes they would like to make to foster continued improvements for future Sprints.
Logic has been using the SCRUM methodology for the past 10 years. It allows our team to produce results faster and provides clients with a better view into the product build and ultimately greater satisfaction with the outcome.
To hear more about the SCRUM process and details about Team Velocity, the Sprint Retro, and other team members involved in Sprints, watch this Tech Shorts video presented by our CTO, Matt Sarkesian.
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