Monday 21 October 2013

Will SCRUM help me improve productivity?


What is the SCRUM framework?

The SCRUM framework was designed to have more interaction with clients, among individuals working on a team, be more productive by delivering small pieces of a product and get the feedback from client. This framework has a good transparency and a more open interaction with client where one can reach to client for help. 

Normally the product development is done across Sprint. You might be wondering that what is a Sprint? 

Sprint is a period of usually 15 days. There is a product backlog where the client of BAs keep adding defects / new features / Change requests. The first day of the Sprint starts with Planning where the whole team does their capacity planning - work hours, leaves etc and then depending on capacity pull items to be done in the period i.e. Sprint. 

While pulling the items, they are estimated for how much time will be needed and then everyday as the team works, they log their hours 'spent'.
 
Everyday Standup is held where the team talks about they plan for the day, previous day's activities and look at the burn down chart. A burn down chart is the graphical representation of the estimation Vs the work (hours) logged. The last day is the Demo day where the developed feature is shown to the client and asked for their feedback. The Sprint ends and again next day new sprint starts.

Along with this there are usually calls everyday with the client to discuss road blocks, queries etc and the whole team the participant.

Happy and Satisfied Clients :)



So you see SCRUM is a framework designed to help you grow.

http://www.softwaysolutions.com/blog/tag/softway-solutions/


How is it different from the normal water fall model?

  • Flat team structure comprising of the SCRUM Master, devs, QAs, BAs and the Product owner.
  • Short delivery cycle.
  • Less product documentations.
  • Early feedback from client.
  • Better utilization of resources.
  • More focus on building good relations.





http://pm.stackexchange.com/questions/9918/scope-time-cost-triangle-balancing-to-motivate-team-and-satisfy-client


What benefits can I get from SCRUM?

  • Increased interaction across team(s) and client.
  • Capacity planned beforehand so good work life balance.
  • Less wait time for getting replies from client.
  • Increased co-operation between team members.
  • Reduces release time 'stress' which usually people get at the product release time.
  • More focused due to more clarity of the feature and easy access to client
Talking about my personal experience I am working in the QA field since last 7.5 years and Mommy of a toddler and  and I find it very easy to maintain a work life balance because of the SCRUM culture.