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The scrum development method uses sprints, which are timebound iterations in software construction and delivery. Sprints are typically 2 to 4 weeks long. At the end of the sprint, the team is expected to provide a potentially shippable working model. The development goal and team should not change during a sprint, and the product owner or development team may redefine the scope as needed. The sprint team iterations (time length of the sprint) remain constant but can vary from team to team.
Scrum has three essential elements: roles, artifacts, and events. The principal roles are the scrum master, the product owner, and the scrum development team. The responsibility of the scrum master is to support the scrum team, ensuring the project achieves its goals. In contrast, the product owner is the expert on the business case, controls the backlog, and can make decisions on behalf of the company. The development team is responsible for delivering and implementing a releasable product at the end of each sprint. The development team usually comprises three to nine professionals responsible for delivering a functional product. It has the authority to determine the necessary actions to achieve the objectives of each sprint. The team defines and sets the goals before the beginning of the sprint.
The activities (events) of scrum focus on the sprint, which is the heart of the scrum development approach. Sprints start with a sprint planning meeting that sets the goals and guidelines of the iteration. Each day during the sprint, the development team conducts a stand-up meeting to report the team's accomplishments the day before, the plan for the current day, and any impediments the team has encountered. The benefit of the stand-up meeting is to assess the current progress and mitigate any risks that may arise. The stand-up meeting allows the team to communicate and share project knowledge, report on progress, and resolve issues that arise during the sprint.
At the end of the sprint, the team conducts a review meeting to evaluate the accomplishments of the sprint. The sprint review meeting is a retrospective in which the team evaluates the sprint regarding communication, resources, and processes to identify potential improvement areas. After each sprint, the team has the opportunity to share the positive and negative aspects to improve future sprints. The sprint retrospective is a “lessons learned” meeting to provide the team with what worked well and what did not.
The sprint backlog and the product backlog are artifacts that list the items that provide value and represent the work requested. The sprint backlog is a list of items to be accomplished in the sprint that define the requested enhancements, requirements, and corrections the team commits to working in the specific iteration. The product backlog is a priority-ordered list of everything that is needed or requested to be accomplished in future sprints. The sprint backlog and the product backlog comprise all the requests and requirements the development team delivers to the customer.
The process of scrum starts by translating the customer’s requirements into the product backlog. The team holds the sprint planning meeting with the help of the product owner to determine the planned accomplishments of the sprint. During the sprint meeting, the development team estimates the work to be accomplished. The team transfers items designed for the sprint from the product backlog to the sprint backlog, and the team completes the items in the sprint backlog for the iteration delivery. The sprint and product backlogs list things to be accomplished as requested by the product owner.
is a framework used in project management, typically for agile software development. The Scrum framework aims to facilitate team collaboration on complex projects. The key components of Scrum include the Scrum Team, Scrum Events, and Scrum Artifacts.
Scrum Team: The Scrum Team consists of the Product Owner, the Scrum Master, and the Development Team.
Product Owner: The Product Owner is responsible for defining the product in terms of user stories (small units of work) and prioritizing them in the Product Backlog (the list of all possible tasks for the project). The Product Owner ensures the team is working on the most valuable features or tasks.
Scrum Master: The Scrum Master is responsible for ensuring the team follows Scrum principles and practices. They facilitate communication, solve problems, remove obstacles that might slow down the team, and ensure a productive working environment.
Development Team: The Development Team is composed of professionals who perform the work of delivering a potentially releasable increment of the product by the end of each Sprint.
Scrum Events: These include the Sprint, Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, and Sprint Retrospective.
Sprint: A Sprint is a fixed-length iteration cycle, typically 2-4 weeks long, during which the work is done to deliver a potentially shippable product increment.
Sprint Planning: At the start of each Sprint, the team engages in Sprint Planning to decide what work will be done during that Sprint.
Daily Scrum (or Standup): This is a short (usually 15 minutes) meeting for the Development Team to share updates and plan work for the next 24 hours.
Sprint Review: At the end of each Sprint, the team conducts a Sprint Review to inspect the work done and adapt the Product Backlog if needed. The goal is to review what was accomplished during the Sprint and discuss any new ideas or changes.
Sprint Retrospective: After the Sprint Review and before the next Sprint Planning, the team holds a Sprint Retrospective. This meeting is an opportunity for the team to discuss what went well, what could improve, and how to implement improvements in the next Sprint.
Scrum Artifacts: These include the Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, and the Increment.
Product Backlog: This is an ordered list of everything that is known to be needed in the product, maintained by the Product Owner. It's a dynamic list, meaning items can be added, removed or reprioritized as needed.
Sprint Backlog: This is the subset of the Product Backlog that the team commits to complete during a Sprint. The Development Team owns the Sprint Backlog and can update it throughout the Sprint as more is learned.
Increment: This is the sum of all the Product Backlog items completed during a Sprint and all previous Sprints. At the end of a Sprint, the new Increment must be "Done," meaning it is potentially shippable.
Scrum emphasizes values such as focus, courage, openness, commitment, and respect. It promotes self-organization, flexibility, and direct communication among team members.