Working according to Scrum

06 August 2021 This is how

Scrum is a form of Agile and is all about "working smarter. Creating more value with less work. We started working agile over 12 years ago (2009) because it fits well within our corporate culture.

What is Agile working?

Agile working ensures "agility" so that we can respond immediately to the constantly changing world. 4 values are central to this:

People and interaction are more important than processes and tools.
Working software is more important than comprehensive documentation.
Customer collaboration is more important than contract negotiations.
Responding to change is more important than sticking to a plan.

With the agile mindset, we don't constantly follow the same playbook; we adjust our plan based on changes in a project. It is a process of continuous improvement.

We follow the Scrum method

There are now more than 40 agile frameworks and we follow the scrum method. This involves dividing a project into so-called "sprints. The advantage of this is:

After each sprint is a delivery.
After each sprint, the delivered product is inspected by the customers/stakeholders (review).
After each sprint, the process is evaluated and improved (retrospective).
The client (Product Owner) can continuously influence the final product.

The roles of Scrum

We organize self-directed, multidisciplinary teams that work in 1-2 week periods. The roles in those teams:

Product owner: he/she represents the client and determines what needs to be done within a sprint (The scrum team determines how.). In this role, you monitor the product backlog and provide prioritization.
Scrum master: he or she guides the process and motivates the team. He or she facilitates all meetings and ensures that the team can work unhindered.
Development team: members of the development team do the substantive work. For each sprint, they look at what needs to be done to deliver the user stories and how to get it done.
Stakeholders: persons without an official role in the scrum team, but with an interest in the product to be developed. For example, users, people from another department or the client's management. They have no influence on the sprints or backlog, but it is important that they are aware of the scrum project. Stakeholders can and may therefore always join during sprint meetings.

The concepts of Scrum

Sprint: a 1-2 week period during which functionalities are developed. A workable product is delivered after each sprint.
Product backlog: a list of different functionalities. Before a sprint begins, the Product Owner can continuously adjust the prioritization.
Sprint backlog: a list of functionalities that the team has indicated it will realize in the sprint.
User story: a short, simple description of an end user need and the reason for it.
Sprint review: inspection of the delivered product by the client/stakeholders of the team.
Retrospective: an evaluation following the sprint review. The team looks at itself and defines actions for improvement.

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