The role of a Chief Scrum Master is necessary to ensure proper collaboration among the Scrum Teams. Coordination across various Scrum Teams working on a project is typically done through the Scrum of Scrums (SoS) Meeting. There is no hierarchy between the Scrum Masters: they are all peers. The Chief Scrum Master just works on…
Organizations applying the Scrum framework encourage an open environment and dialogue among employees. Conflicts among Scrum Team members are generally resolved independently, with little or no involvement from management or others outside the Scrum Team. Conflict can be healthy when it promotes team discussions and encourages debates, as this usually results in benefits for the…
Agile and Waterfall are two different methods used in managing a project. Both the methods have their own pros and cons and choosing one model is based on many project-centric factors. Waterfall Method The Waterfall model is a progressive design process which in the software development industry goes through stages such as Conception, Initiation, Analysis,…
How are decisions made in Scrum? In Scrum, decisions are made based on observation and experimentation rather than on detailed upfront planning. Empirical process control relies on the three main ideas of transparency, inspection, and adaptation. Transparency Transparency allows all facets of any Scrum process to be observed by anyone. This promotes an easy…
User Stories adhere to a specific, predefined structure and are a simple way of documenting requirements and desired end-user functionalities. A User Story tells you three things about the requirement: Who, What, and Why. The requirements expressed in User Stories are short, simple and easy-to-understand statements. The predefined standard format results in enhanced communication among…
The Prioritized Program Backlog plays a very similar role at the program level as the Prioritized Product Backlog does on project level. It identifies the requirements for the program and their priorities. The items in the Prioritized Portfolio Backlog provide inputs to the various Prioritized Program Backlogs and, through Prioritized Program Backlogs, to Prioritized Product…
Selecting appropriate Scrum Master(s) and identifying relevant Stakeholder(s) is crucial to the success of any project. In some projects, there may have been pre-conditions stipulating certain team members and their roles. When there is flexibility in choosing the Scrum Master(s), the following are important Selection Criteria: Problem-solving skills—This is one of the primary criteria to…
The Program Product Owner develops the Program Product Backlog which contains a prioritized list of high level business and project requirements preferably written in the form of large Program Backlog Items. These are later refined by the Product Owners of individual projects as they create and prioritize Product Backlogs for their projects. These Prioritized Product…
The preferred leadership style for Scrum projects is Servant Leadership. This term was first described by Robert K. Greenleaf in an essay entitled The Servant as Leader. Below is an excerpt where he explains the concept: The servant-leader is servant first…It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious…
Large projects require multiple Scrum Teams to work in parallel. Information gathered from one team may need to be appropriately communicated to other teams—the Chief Scrum Master is responsible for this activity. The role of a Chief Scrum Master is necessary to ensure proper collaboration among the Scrum Teams. Coordination across various Scrum Teams working…
