Overview

What is Scrum?

Imagine you’re building a Lego castle. It’s a big project. It might be overwhelming if you tried to build it all at once.

Scrum is like having a plan to build your castle step by step. Instead of building the whole castle individually, you break it down into parts. First, you build the gate, then the walls, the towers, and so on.

Scrum Roles

In Scrum, there are three leading roles:

Product Owner: This person is the one who decides what the castle should look like. They know what the people who want the castle (the stakeholders) want and list what needs to be built.
Scrum Master: This person is like a coach who helps the team follow Scrum and do their best. They ensure everyone understands Scrum and removes anything stopping the team from working.
Development Team: These are the builders, like you and your family. They do the work to build the software or the Lego castle.

Scrum Artifacts and Concepts

Scrum artifacts are tools or things that help you manage the project. There are three main ones:

Product Backlog: This is the extensive list of everything that needs to be built in the castle. The Product Owner is in charge of this list. Each item on the list is like a piece of the castle you must build and is often called a “User Story.” Each User Story has “Story Points,” which are like a way of saying how big or hard it is to build that piece.
Sprint Backlog: This is the list of things the team plans to build in the current Sprint (or step). Sometimes, you must update or “groom” the backlog, like deciding to build a tower before a wall or changing how many points a story is worth.
Increment: This is part of the castle (or software) built at the end of each Sprint. It should be working and usable. You show this in the “Sprint Demo” or “Sprint Review.”

Scrum Events

Scrum has several important events:

Sprint Planning: This is where the team decides what they will work on during the next Sprint. They look at the Product Backlog and select the User Stories they think they can finish in one Sprint. These selected User Stories become the Sprint Backlog.
Daily Scrum or Stand-up: This is a short (usually 15 minutes) meeting every day during a Sprint. The team discusses what they did the previous day, what they plan to do today, and any obstacles they face.
Sprint Review or Demo: At the end of each Sprint, the team shows the work they completed during the Sprint. This is like showing off the part of the castle you built!
Sprint Retrospective: After the Sprint Review, the team gets together to discuss what went well and what could be improved for the next Sprint. This helps the team learn and improve.
Backlog Refinement or Grooming: This is an ongoing process where the Product Owner and the team review the items on the Product Backlog to ensure they are ready for future Sprints.

Benefits and Downsides of Scrum

Benefits

Regular Updates: Just like showing your parents the part of the castle you built, you show the people who want the software (the stakeholders) what you’ve built at the end of each Sprint. This helps them see progress and give feedback.
Adaptability: If you want to change something about the castle, it’s easier to do that when building in parts, right? The same is true with Scrum. If the stakeholders want to change something, it can be planned for the next Sprint.
Team Collaboration: When building the Lego castle with your family, everyone is involved and has a role. Scrum encourages the team to collaborate and communicate regularly, helping them build the software more effectively.

Downsides

Dependent on Team Discipline: Scrum works best when everyone follows the rules. If someone does their part, it can be suitable for the project. It’s as if someone in your family didn’t help with the castle as they promised.
Frequent Meetings: Daily meetings can sometimes feel too much, especially if there’s little news to report. It’s as if your family had to talk about the castle daily, even if little has changed.
Not Ideal for All Projects: Some projects might need to fit better with Scrum. For example, if you were asked to build a small Lego car, you probably wouldn’t need to divide it into parts and have meetings about it.