Conducting The Daily Scrum Meeting Or The “Daily Stand Up”

The daily scrum or standup meeting

One of the primary responsibilities of the scrum master is to hold the daily scrum meeting, or the “daily stand up”, as it is commonly referred to by scrum professionals. The person is required to get the product owner and the team members together for the meeting. The objective is to avail information pertaining to three important aspects of the daily scrum ^Figure 

1.     Which tasks have been completed in the sprint carried out the day before, or yesterday?

2.     What tasks are to be taken up for development for the particular day, or today?

3.     Did any team member face any hurdles or impediments during the sprint? If so, what were they?

Duration of the daily standup

The daily scrum meeting is time boxed to last for a maximum of 15 minutes, and should not extend this period.

Purpose of the daily scrum

The main purpose of the standup is not to resolve issues or provide solutions to problems. The aim is to apprise the team members regarding the current status of the project, and ensure they collaborate and contribute jointly as a team during the development activity ^{Figure 2}. If any team member faces a problem, and it is mentioned during the daily standup, it is the scrum master’s responsibility to ensure that the issue is resolved at the earliest. The solutions to such problems are provided by the scrum master and the product owner.

Holding stand-ups for non-collocated or distributed teams

One of the major concerns, and also a probable problem at times, for the scrum master is to hold the daily standup when teams are not located in the same office or geographical area. Many companies now use and implement scrum methodology, and in certain cases, the entire development team may not be located in the same place. With off-shoring activities becoming popular by the day, soon it would be common scenario to hold meetings with team members residing in different states and even different countries. Scrum advocates that the daily scrum should include all the team members. In fact, the term “scrum” is akin to the scrum huddle often practiced in rugby, or “rugger”. With large distances separating the team members, it may not be possible to hold a daily scrum in which all team members can be physically present.

A possible way out is to use electronic media and facilities to decrease the geographical distances.Team members can use Skype and videoconferencing tools to participate online in the meeting. The scrum master has to instruct every remotely located team member to log on at a particular time when the daily scrum is to be held, and explain that the members should make sure the hardware and software tools are properly functional at the time of the meeting. 

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3 Serious Pitfalls Which Every Scrum Master Should Avoid – Implement Scrum Successfully

The scrum master holds a very high position and an important one too, while executing projects using scrum methodology. The main role of the scrum master is to ensure that the development team effectively employs scrum during the sprint activity. If scrum is properly implemented, each member of the team remains busy with the tasks allotted, or taken up, by him or her. It is not required for the member to seek guidance from the scrum master as to what should be done next, or what task need to be carried out. The main objective of the sprint planning meetingheld before the commencement of the sprint is to ensure that proper and enough tasks are taken up by each team member. However, at times due to various reasons, which ought to be avoided at all costs, the scrum master knowingly or unknowingly transgresses his or her responsibilities, and extends the primary role of the scrum master. This can lead to undesirable results and ineffectual implementation of scrum methodology. It can also lead to increased development costs and bloated overheads – something every business owner tries to avoid at all costs. So how does a scrum master know that he or she is making a mistake? How does the person find out whether he or she is transgressing the responsibilities associated with being a scrum master?     

The three main mistakes of a scrum master

It is not an easy task to become a scrum master. If the person is new at the job, or lacks enough knowledge or experience as a scrum master, it can be very easy to fall back upon doing what project managers know best – behave and function as traditional managers. It can be very easy to fall into this trap, and many scrum masters often fail to avoid this pitfall during the early stages of their career. A scrum master is not supposed to behave as a typical project manager. Scrum methodology does not support or subscribe to it. Certain indications can help you identify and avoid the pitfalls:    

 

1.    Start assigning tasks to team members

During the sprint process, if scrum is implemented properly, each team member has enough tasks on hand to last the entire sprint duration. The very purpose of holding a sprint planning meeting before starting with the sprint is to ensure that proper and enough tasks are taken up by each team member, and each task is allotted a predetermined time during which it is to be completed. So when scrum methodology is enforced in a proper manner, team members generally do not run out of tasks, and are not required to ask for new tasks when the sprint is currently underway.

Pitfall

As a scrum master, if any team member runs out of tasks and approaches you for new tasks before the current sprint is over, you might be inclined to allocate new tasks to the person. This is a pitfall, and should be avoided. It means that the sprint planning meeting was not done in the correct manner.Read more on http://blog.quickscrum.com/post/2014/01/29/3-Serious-Pitfalls-Which-Every-Scrum-Master-Should-Avoid-%E2%80%93-Implement-Scrum-Successfully.aspx

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What Should the Perfect And Ideal Daily Stand-Up Scrum Meeting Consist Of As Per the Official Scrum Guide?

The daily stand-up scrum meetings play a vital role in ascertaining that the development activity is carried out in a sustained manner. The meetings are usually time boxed to 5–15 minutes and are held standing up to remind people to keep the meeting short and to-the-point. Stand-up scrum meetings also help to find potential pitfalls experienced during ongoing sprints. It is important to know how the daily meetings are carried out, and what they should ideally consist of. On the basis of official scrum guide specified by Jeff Sutherland and Ken Schwaber, the originators of scrum methodology, the article tries to explain in details about the daily scrum meetings.

·       Who should attend the meeting?

Everyone associated with the scrum project should attend the meeting. It is important for the scrum master and the team members to remain present, while the product owner and stakeholders too can remain present if they desire to do so.

·       What should be discussed during the meeting?

It is very important to remain focused and only discus about those topics which are directly related and associated with the sprint activity. The attendees should try not to wander off the main topic and discus about other trivia which are not pertaining to the scrum activity. In fact, the guide is specific about discussing topics which are directly connected to the sprint to be carried out during the particular day, even other topics dealing with the project, or project related issues should be avoided during the stand-up meetings. There are special provisions like the sprint retrospective meeting to discuss about such issues.The main topics to be included during the meeting should consist of:

-        What tasks were accomplished during the sprint carried out the day before?

-        Which tasks are to be developed today?

-        Did the particular team member face any problems or impediments during the sprint implementation? If so, what were they?

  

·       In what order should the discussions be carried out?

There is a lot of flexibility while deciding about the order in which the discussions can be carried out during the meeting. Team members can take turns in discussing about what they have achieved, and what they plan to do on the particular day. Alternatively, the scrum master may decide who should speak first and which team member should follow the discussion. A popular method is to take up discussions regarding important tasks first, followed by the order of priority. The order of discussion can vary from project to project, and from need to need. 

·       Where and when should the meetings be held?

The stand up meetings should be ideally held at the place of work, and in front of the task board. While they can be conducted almost everywhere, including conference rooms, holding the meetings in the actual place of work can help the team members to remain more focused and target oriented. The meetings should be held before the daily sprint is initiated.

·       How to sustain the energy levels during the meetings?

The stand up meetings are also commonly referred to as “huddles” by many people, simply because each team member stands very close to the next one during the meeting. The scene is much similar to the scrum used in rugby. The proximity often encourages the team members to become proactively involved in the discussion. The energy levels start rising up as each team member briefly, and professionally, discusses and outlines his or her activity for that particular day. The meeting is to be held in such a manner that the “atmosphere” becomes charged up with anticipation, and each member focuses upon the goals he or she plans to achieve during the sprint carried out that day.

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Source:- http://storify.com/quickscrum/what-should-the-perfect-and-ideal-daily-stand-up-s

Is It Possible To Use Scrum For Developing Non IT Based Projects? If So, How?

Scrum for non-IT based projects?

Whenever people talk about scrum, they mean a methodology which is capable of adapting to changing development environments, and time bound delivery. Since a very long time, for as long as a decade, scrum has been synonymous with IT development. People tend to think about IT projects when ever scrum is mentioned. The old school of thought often failed to think about scrum as capable of dealing with projects other than IT development. The promoters of scrum rarely though about using scrum for production based or manufacturing related processes. This attitude created many hurdles in making scrum methodology popular in the initial years. Even now, scrum is more popularly associated with IT related development projects. Over the years, the question which has always kept on popping up is “Can scrum be used for projects other than IT?” It is a good question to answer, because a lot of confusion has been prevailing regarding scrum, and how it can be implemented for projects other than those which are information technology based.

Scrum framework versus waterfall methodology 

Whatever the product or manufacturing process may be, business owners and companies are always pressed to bring in products which are efficient, easy to produce, and which consume very little manufacturing time. One of the biggest concerns for the development team is catering to the changing market conditions and trends. More than often, the primary objectives and functionalists associated with a particular product to be manufactured may lose its importance and market value. This may happen if a newer version or product is launched which offers a better pricing and added feature, which is not present in the product being developed. Traditional waterfall methods fail miserably when the product definition is changed overnight. This is where scrum can score, since the framework is specially developed to incorporate changing development related conditions. Theoretically speaking, regardless of the type of development, scrum can be successfully implemented to produce any type of product or goods. It can be successfully implanted in various fields dealing with market segments such as government and education, including a wide range of industries encompassing automotive design, venture capitalism, and retail.   

Co-relating scrum with traditional development processes – Is scrum feasible?

Implementation of scrum requires a lot of imagination. Even though scrum methodology rules are simple and straightforward, they have to be implemented properly to be effective. No two development projects are alike. What works well in a particular project may not prove to be quite effective in another. This is where the imagination comes in. Scrum projects have to be molded in accordance to the project’s particular requirements. While project managers have been making minor changes to mould IT based projects to suit scrum, it should not prove to be very difficult to implement scrum in non-IT based projects. The basic rules of scrum remain the same, irrespective of what product is to be developed or manufactured. For non-IT projects, the product assembly list might be substituted with a product backlog while the actual assembly process could be carried out in the form of sprints. Instead of a supervisor or a production manger supervising the assembly process, the scrum master might overlook the implementation of scrum. The implementation can be carried out using a single sprint, or if required, multiple teams could carry out individual sprints to suit the manufacturing process. Implementing scrum for non-IT projects may not prove to be so difficult if you have the inclination and the foresight to correlate traditional manufacturing process with scrum methodology.     

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Source:- http://storify.com/quickscrum/is-it-possible-to-use-scrum-for-developing-non-it

How Product Owners Can Increase Their ROI And Boost Up Sales

Many discussions and talks have been carried out regarding the actual role of a product owner i.e. what makes the ideal product owner. Several suggestions have been put forward explaining the role of the product owner – both ideal ones and practical ones. However, the debate is far from over since client requirements often keep on changing, and there is always a confusion whether a client can assume the role of a product owner, and if so, would it be contradictory to scrum methodology? Actually, it would be more meaningful to consider what type of activities should be undertaken by the product owner, rather than follow the ideal role of being one. As far as real life scenarios are concerned, it is the client who is the most well versed person as regards the developmental requirements and what kinds of functionalities ought to be incorporated in the user stories. 

Know more about the Product Owner’s role at Quickscrum!

Suggested activities for a product owner

For the client and the product owner, it is very important to be familiar with the scrum methodology and its techniques. It is also important to know about the advantages of scrum, and what it has to offer over traditional development methods before tapping the full potential of it. The activities can ideally include:

·       Remain present and contribute information as well as knowledge during sprint reviews, sprint planning, and retrospective meetings

·       Order and create the product backlog based upon the importance of user stories and ROI

·       Be easily available to team members, and provide appropriate feedback whenever they face difficulties or issues during development.Know More on http://blog.quickscrum.com/post/2014/01/29/How-Product-Owners-Can-Increase-Their-ROI-And-Boost-Up-Sales.aspx

The Origin And Key Principles Of Scrum

Origin of scrum

The terminology "Scrum" was initially introduced by Takeuchi and Nonaka in 1986, in a study paper published in the Harvard Business Review. The paper explained that projects should ideally use small, cross functional teams having complete autonomy in whatever they do, and the teams were supposed to deliver a completely finished and shippable product at the end of the development cycle. In case the product cannot be completed at the end of the development cycle, it could be further extended in the form of another “sprint”. Each development cycle is known as a “sprint”, and typically lasts for two weeks to four weeks. This particular development methodology leads to highly reduced turnaround times, and increased productivity. The main advantage of the methodology is that it delivers a completely shippable product at the end of the development cycle, and the development activity takes very little time. This can lead to increased ROI and reduced overheads since redundant requirements or development activities can be curtailed well in time, and replaced by newer and far more important ones in their place. The word “Scrum” is actually derived from the scrum used in rugby football in which the game is restarted again with new or fresh objectives after it undergoes a minor infraction. The game is “reset” to run again with more effective and meaningful objectives after it experiences a setback. That is exactly what happens while using Scrum methodology. Development is carried out in short sprints, at the end of which the results are evaluated, and if required the sprint is extended with the same or newer aims and objectives.Know more on http://blog.quickscrum.com/post/2014/01/23/The-Origin-And-Key-Principles-Of-Scrum.aspx