4374 Lecture 8 Chapter 12 AGILE SCRUM IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Agile Scrum Overview

• Course: IT Project Management (MIS-4374)

• Instructor: Prof. Carl Scott

• Institution: C.T. Bauer College of Business

Ice Breaker

• Preference between fixed working hours vs. flexible working hours.

Scrum Approach

• "Rugby" approach emphasizes teamwork and flexibility over traditional "relay race" methods.

• Teams work together as a unit to achieve maximum speed.

What is Scrum?

• An agile process for delivering high business value quickly.

• Features include:

  • Rapid inspection of working software in 2-3 week sprints.

  • Product Owner negotiates priorities with the team.

  • Self-organizing teams determine how to deliver high-priority features.

Principles of Scrum

• Complete projects in small increments.

• Close collaboration with stakeholders.

• Flexibility in development process.

• Continuous customer involvement.

• Risk reduction.

• Transparency in framework and communication.

Characteristics of Scrum

• Requirements are captured in a "product backlog."

• Self-organizing teams work through sprints.

• Product development involves design, coding, and testing during each sprint.

• Enables an agile environment for delivering projects.

Sprint Overview

• Heart of Scrum with a timebox of one month or less.

• Fixed sprint length with a clear goal:

  • No changes threatening the Sprint Goal.

  • Quality goals maintained.

  • Scope can be renegotiated if needed.

• Sprints can be canceled due to market or technology changes.

Requirement Gathering in Scrum

1. Identify stakeholders.

2. Understand stakeholder needs.

3. Prioritize requirements.

4. Create a requirements document.

5. Obtain feedback on the requirements document.

6. Finalize and agree on requirements with stakeholders.

Scrum Framework Overview

Roles

• Product Owner: Defines product features, prioritizes based on market value.

• Scrum Master: Facilitates Scrum values, removes impediments, ensures team productivity.

• Scrum Team: Cross-functional group (5-9 people), self-organizing members.

Events

• Sprint Planning: Team selects items to commit to for the sprint.

• Sprint Review: Team presents completed sprint work.

• Sprint Retrospective: Reflect on what worked and what didn’t.

• Daily Scrum Meeting: Short stand-ups, focusing on progress and blockers.

Artifacts

• Product Backlog: Ordered list of user stories and requirements.

• Sprint Backlog: Commitments for the upcoming sprint based on highest priority.

• Increment: Sum of completed items during the sprint.

Burndown Chart

• Graphical representation of work remaining vs. time.

• Helps predict project completion time and measures progress on tasks.

Example Application of Scrum

• Organizing a wedding using Scrum principles:

  • Creating a wedding backlog and prioritizing tasks for successful event planning.

Advantages of Scrum

• High communication levels enhancing focus on problem resolution.

• Transparency in the process for all members involved.

• Continuous focus on quality reduces mistakes.

Disadvantages of Scrum

• Risk of scope creep without a definitive end date.

• High potential for project failure without team commitment.

• Larger teams may struggle with Scrum adoption.

• Loss of a key team member during a project can impact outcomes.