How Does the Scrum Methodology Improve Agile Development?
The Scrum methodology is a flavor of Agile focused on the close control of work assignments. This helps ensure all time on a project is spent wisely, while allowing developers a measure of autonomy when it comes to their daily management. As such, it is appropriate for development efforts leveraging offshore resources, since business stakeholders are able to comfortably keep tabs on the project from a remote location.
If you are considering the use of a co-sourcing shop on your next software project, let’s take a closer look at Scrum to see if it makes sense as your Agile methodology of choice.
The Nomenclature of Scrum
In Scrum terminology, the person known as a Scrum Master serves a somewhat similar role as the traditional project manager. Instead of the management of each programmer’s task list, however, they operate more as a facilitator; conducting daily meetings and serving as a conduit between the development team and the prime business stakeholder, called the Product Owner. This latter role determines the project’s requirements, their priority, and whether or not each requirement is successfully completed.
The Self-Management of Developers
This Scrum project team structure puts the onus on the development team to manage their workload in addition to any programming tasks. Daily meetings with the Scrum Master confirm sufficient progress is being made, while ensuring any issues or problems are communicated with the Product Owner.
The Scrum Master and Product Owner being on a different continent doesn’t hamper the overall efficiency of the project, provided communication flows openly among all members of the team.
Detailed Planning Is Vital
As with any software development methodology, careful planning when using Scrum helps lead to success. A time interval in an Agile and Scrum project is known as “sprint,” with its project plan being called a Sprint Backlog.
The Product Owner and Scrum Master must work with the development team when planning each sprint to make sure all goals are realistic and achievable – this needs to happen before the current sprint is completed, when possible. The Scrum Master helps ensure no changes are made to the Sprint Backlog while the sprint is in progress.
Communication and Time Management
In addition to daily video or phone conferences with the Scrum Master, the development team benefits from interacting with each other throughout the day. Text messaging helps facilitate the collaboration necessary for a successful project.
Additionally, it is important for each developer to manage their personal time wisely – keeping a consistent effort level is vital in Agile. Trying to complete too much as the end of the sprint approaches usually leads to poor work.
If your organization is interested in leveraging Scrum on your next co-sourced project, talk to the software solutions experts at SDE. Our offshore development team is known for its quality and efficiency. Schedule a meeting with us as soon as possible!
