The agile method for software development is taking over with a 64% success rate compared to a 49% success rate of the traditional ‘waterfall’ method.
From increased productivity to accelerated software delivery and enhanced software quality, there are plenty of reasons why agile software development is the way of the future.
Scrum is a popular agile framework that can help to optimize your team and its processes. Check out the six Scrum principles to learn more.
1. Empirical Process Control
Scrum project management focuses on hard evidence, as opposed to theories and hypotheses. Empirical process control is the most important of the scrum values and consists of three fundamental elements:
- Transparency: complete visibility of the project
- Inspection: the time given to inspection at each stage
- Adaption: a methodology that is sensitive to change
Essentially, experimentation and observation are at the core of Scrum project management.
2. Self-Organization
There are very few people that work well under a microscope. Micromanagement is in anthesis to the Scrum framework.
A Scrum team encourages innovation and productivity by allowing members to self-organize. This is also extremely important for team members to be accountable for their projects and tasks.
There should be minimal input from managers, allowing members to prioritize tasks according to urgency.
3. Collaboration
Self-organization may sound like the opposite of collaboration, but it’s not! Collaboration is an important Scrum principle.
Team members should not work in exclusive silos, unaware of the other ongoing projects. Everyone should have a line of site to other members’ projects, and collective input and ideas are encouraged in Scrum theory.
4. Time-Boxing
As an agile project management method, strict time limits are an essential element of Scrum. Time-boxing is used to allocate a specific amount of time to different activities.
These time allocations are called ‘sprints’ and are usually cycles of between 1 to 4 weeks, depending on the task and the team.
Daily standup meetings and sprint planning should also be allocated a specific amount of time according to this Scrum principle.
5. Value-Based Prioritization
Any professional scrum master will passionately tout the importance of value-based prioritization. Rather than following a strict step-by-step to-do list, the Scrum framework prioritizes tasks based on their value.
Of course, we’re talking about business value here. What task will provide maximum value to the business, ideally in the shortest amount of time? These are the tasks that should be tackled first.
6. Iterative Development
As mentioned above, adaption is important in any project development process. Iterative development honors this importance by defining how to manage constant adjustment and revision for the best results.
This is an important principle for stakeholders as it encourages them to make changes midway through projects.
Applying Scrum Principles
There can be no half-in-half-out when it comes to the Scrum principles. These principles work best when your team commits to all of them. Adopt the Scrum agile framework and see your project management and development flourish.
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