With an eye towards a better understanding of the role and its duties, here is a closer look at the Scrum Master.

The Glue that Holds a Scrum Project Together

As noted earlier, a Scrum Master shares some of the responsibilities as a project manager in a typical technology initiative. Development teams in an Agile project, on the other hand, largely manage their own assignments; they are essentially self-organizing. While the Scrum Master shares a measure of responsibility for the success of a project with the product owner, that latter person ultimately has more authority.

So what does a Scrum Master actually do during their workday? In short, they serve as the glue that holds the entire project together. Anything from leadership to inspiration and administration is part of their daily routine.

Typical Duties of a Scrum Master

Scrum Masters may not actively participate in daily Scrum meetings, but they handle all the legwork to facilitate those standups, including scheduling and notification. Helping the development team manage their burndown chart is another important duty. They also assist the team with the planning of each sprint, sometimes with input from the product owner.

Serving as a communication buffer for the team ensures they are able to stay heads-down throughout each sprint. The Scrum Master also handles the scheduling for sprint reviews and retrospectives. These kinds of administrative tasks are vital in improving the overall efficiency of the project effort.

Being able to translate technical information into something easier to understand is a necessary skill, as the Scrum Master works closely with the product owner and other business stakeholders to make sure everyone understands the more complex parts of a project. Fostering a collaborative environment among the entire team may be their most important duty.

Ultimately, making sure the process doesn’t interfere with the project timeline is the sign of a successful Scrum Master.

Work with a Top Software Solutions Company

If your organization needs additional assistance on its next development project, consider the talented team at SDE USA. As one of the top co-sourcing shops in the industry, we offer expertise on process and technology to ensure a successful outcome. Connect with us as soon as possible!

Here are a few ideas on how to leverage Agile for the benefit of your entire organization – not only your software development team. Soon, your company will truly be a 21^st century business.

Business Agile Outside of Software Development

Agile is definitely making inroads in areas unrelated to application development. According to the Harvard Business Review, NPR uses the methodology to help devise and schedule radio programming. John Deere and Saab leverage Agile techniques in their engineering and manufacturing processes.

Many other organizations in nearly all business sectors are now using Agile outside of IT. The bottom line is simple. Embracing Agile brings your company benefits that go beyond faster code development.

Steps to Implement Agile at Your Business

Analyze the areas within your company you feel would benefit from Agile process improvement. Research other businesses using these techniques in those same areas at their organization. Armed with this information, prioritize the departments within your business where implementing Agile makes sense.

Determine the expected costs to transform those departments’ operations to Agile in addition to the anticipated benefits. This gives your managers and staff a goal to aim towards during the implementation process. Consider a pilot project with one smaller department before transforming your entire organization.

Don’t forget to take advantage of the expertise of your IT team to help get the rest of the company “talking” Agile. Any Scrum Masters or project managers would be well-suited for this role.

Metrics Are Vital for Determining Success

Knowing the right metrics for each department is an important part of determining whether Agile is making the positive impact you expected. Ensure your entire management team has access to a reporting system so everyone can offer input on the process as it reaches other areas within your organization. This transparency is especially important with something as revolutionary as Agile.

Once your pilot project is determined to be a success, use what was learned as the rollout is repeated within other departments. Soon, your entire company will reap the benefits of higher productivity.

Work With a Leader in Software Solutions

If you need additional advice on Agile, talk to the experts at SDE USA. As one of the leading co-sourcing application development companies, we are experienced with Agile projects at businesses of all sizes. Connect with us as soon as possible.

Here is a list of a few common myths about the methodology to help ensure your organization has the right information before embarking on its first Agile undertaking. Leverage these insights as part of your team’s decision-making process.

“Agile Is Just a Fad!”

Even considering its over 15 years of use throughout the technology industry, Agile still gets labeled as a fad by some. Maybe some of those pundits feel the same way about rock music? As software products get more complex, combined with a competitive business world, Agile is necessary to ensure applications are completed successfully while still staying at or under budget.

“Agile is Unproven!”

The technology industry is filled with companies boasting a number of successful Agile projects. Organizational structures – such as DevOps – leveraged to support the methodology, are another sign of its maturity. It is obviously a proven way to make software and other projects succeed.

“Agile Is Only for Software Delivery Projects!”

While Agile was first developed for software projects, the methodology has been proven successful for other undertakings – technical or not. The same core principles apply whenever a project needs to worry about the cost-time-quality triple constraint. In short, most projects would benefit from Agile.

“Agile Projects Don’t Deliver Quality!”

Some technology professionals feel Agile only leads to fast, haphazard work of little quality. Actually, the methodology focuses on delivering quality throughout the software development lifecycle. Agile prioritizes the output of processes, guaranteeing the best possible solution is produced quickly.

“Agile Keeps Business Stakeholders out of the Loop!”

Compared to other software development methodologies, Agile helps business stakeholders stay informed while fully understanding a project’s completion date and how much it will ultimately cost. Its adaptive nature means the risk of cost overruns are minimized and delivery dates will be met.

In short, Agile is a proven methodology worthy of being used on software (and other) projects of all sizes.

Work With a Leader in Co-Sourced Software Solutions

When your organization needs additional insights on the software development process, consider speaking with the knowledgeable team at SDE USA. As one of the top application engineering organizations in the country, our co-sourced staffing model means projects are completed successfully and within budget. Schedule a meeting with us at your earliest convenience.

What follows is a look at some of the benefits derived from using staff augmentation to enhance your current technology team. Hopefully, these insights provide some food for thought as you make your staffing plans for the upcoming year.

Staffing Flexibility to Meet Your Needs

Leveraging a staff augmentation or co-sourcing human resources model gives your company the flexibility it needs to handle the ups and downs of a competitive business landscape. You are able to add talent as needed to help meet a project deadline, with those temporary workers simply moving on after a successful implementation. This helps ensure the organization’s expenses stay manageable during slower periods.

Startups Are Able to Hit the Ground Running

Staff augmentation is especially wise for startup businesses. This allows newer firms a chance to add technology talent to a core group of employees with minimal effort. Companies become productive more quickly without the extra work of hiring permanent team members to fill every role.

Contract Free Talent With Little Commitment

Since technology workers added through staff augmentation aren’t permanent employees, there aren’t the commitment or legal issues as with a permanent employee. Whenever their work is finished – or if their skills aren’t up to par – you simply terminate the contract. Once again, this additional flexibility lets you focus on running your core business without any unnecessary hassles and distractions.

Supplement Your Current Technical Strengths

Whenever you need the extra personnel and technical knowledge to finish a difficult project ahead of schedule, staff augmentation and/or co-sourcing is the way to go. You are able to supplement your current strengths while closing any skills gap preventing you from a timely project completion. Your permanent employees also gain the bonus of learning new techniques and technologies from the temp talent.

The benefits gained from staff augmentation IT employees are numerous. They just might give your team that extra push it needs to get your difficult work done on time and under budget.

When you are searching for additional technology workers for your organization, look no further than SDE. Our proven co-sourced technical talent will help deliver a successful project outcome. Schedule some time to talk with us soon.