Sprint-Scrum Process

Quick reference

• 00:03 Hi, this is Ray Sheen.
• 00:06 I've been talking in the abstract about the Agile Scrum process,
• 00:10 it's now time to get more specific and describe the process.
• 00:14 Whenever I'm discussing project management,
• 00:17 it seems that the first question is always about schedule.
• 00:20 So let me explain how an Agile/Scrum project
• 00:23 is organized from a schedule perspective.
• 00:26 An Agile/Scrum project uses a series of time-boxed Sprints.
• 00:31 The Sprints are usually two to four weeks in duration, and
• 00:35 each has a set of deliverables associated with it.
• 00:38 If you're not familiar with the term time-box,
• 00:41 it is a scheduling approach that sets a finite amount of time for an activity.
• 00:46 When the time is up, the activity stops, whatever state it is in.
• 00:50 So in this case, the scope for that portion of the project is not fixed.
• 00:53 Rather, it expands or contracts to fit within the time-box.
• 00:58 So an Agile/Scrum project is chartered with an overall time-box.
• 01:02 The project end date is fixed before the scope and resources are clarified.
• 01:07 Often the project will be divided into a set of releases.
• 01:11 Each release has a minimally viable definition that the team will strive for.
• 01:16 That means that an early release will not have all the bells and whistles or
• 01:20 finishing touches, but it will be something that works,
• 01:23 at least with respect to the features involved in that release.
• 01:27 Theoretically it could be released or
• 01:29 commercialized to get feedback from customers and users.
• 01:33 Many times the early releases are provided to a small subset of users,
• 01:37 with the understanding that the project is not yet finished, but in order
• 01:41 to get feedback on the performance of what has been developed to that time.
• 01:46 On a small project there may only be one release.
• 01:49 Releases are organized into a series of Sprints.
• 01:53 The Sprints are the primary planning and
• 01:56 execution block of work in an Agile/Scrum project.
• 01:59 It is time-boxed usually for two to four weeks.
• 02:02 Most releases will have several Sprints.
• 02:06 the Sprints are managed through the daily Scrum meetings and activities.
• 02:10 Each day at the Scrum meeting the work that has been completed is summarized and
• 02:15 acknowledged.
• 02:16 So that was how the overall schedule looks.
• 02:18 Now let's look at the steps in the process of managing an Agile/Scrum project.
• 02:23 The numbering for the steps that I'm using is consistent with that that is used
• 02:27 by the Scrum Alliance.
• 02:29 However, I believe we need this preliminary step, which I call step 0.
• 02:34 This is the vision for the future state of the product or
• 02:37 process that the team will be working on.
• 02:39 It provides an alignment direction for their activities.
• 02:42 It's not a detailed requirements document,
• 02:44 it's more like a statement of business impact or intent.
• 02:47 Step 1 is to create the product backlog.
• 02:50 I'll spend a lot more time talking about the product backlog in the next course
• 02:55 that addresses project planning.
• 02:57 But for now consider it to be the list of wants and
• 03:00 needs that are expressed in a prioritized list of deliverables.
• 03:05 Step 2 is to assign the Scrum Team.
• 03:07 If you're doing multiple Sprints, the team often stays in place from Sprint to
• 03:12 Sprint, but sometimes an individual will be swapped out or added to the team.
• 03:17 Ideally, this team is dedicated to only working on the Sprint during the time of
• 03:22 the Sprint.
• 03:23 So they need to be identified and
• 03:25 notified in enough time that they can clear their schedule.
• 03:29 Step 3 is Sprint planning.
• 03:31 Just as with any other type of project management methodology, the Agile/Scrum
• 03:36 project should be organized and estimates created for the work that is done.
• 03:40 We don't use all of the standard project planning techniques when we do this.
• 03:43 There's a number of new ones that are unique to the Agile/Scrum process.
• 03:47 Step 4 is to execute the Sprint.
• 03:49 Again, we'll spend several sessions in another course talking about how to handle
• 03:54 this and how we assess our progress during the Sprint.
• 03:57 Step 5 is the Sprint Demo.
• 04:00 This is the time when the Scrum Team demonstrates the deliverables they have
• 04:04 created.
• 04:04 It can often take hours and involve many people.
• 04:07 It's the only major external review of the Sprint activities.
• 04:11 Step 6 is the Sprint refinement.
• 04:14 Each Sprint only does a subset of the overall project deliverables.
• 04:19 But after the completion of the Sprint and Sprint Demo, there are often changes to
• 04:23 the product backlog, based upon both the customer stakeholder feedback and
• 04:28 the experience gained during the Sprint.
• 04:30 During this refinement, the definition of some items and
• 04:34 the prioritization of the remaining items in the backlog are revised and updated.
• 04:39 The final step, step 7, is the Sprint Retrospective.
• 04:42 This is the meeting by the Scrum Team to determine what went well and
• 04:47 what needs to be improved for the next Sprint,
• 04:49 essentially the lessons learned or after action report from that Sprint.
• 04:54 The organization of a project into Releases and Sprints, and
• 04:58 the steps for conducting a Sprint, provide the framework for how to plan and
• 05:02 control an Agile/Scrum project.

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