Agile SCRUM

Agile Scrum is the process of speedy development of software which includes a series of iterations or sprints to produce the software required. It is a methodology which brings even the slowest of projects which appear to be going nowhere, onto the fast track.

Now if you are wondering where the name SCRUM came from, it actually came from a game called Rugby which is predominantly played in UK, France, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina. For those in the US it’s very similar to American Football but without the helmets and the special teams!

Key aspects of Rugby have been taken and implemented into Agile Scrum. Particularly the concept of sprints and the ability to work effectively as a team, which are important elements of agile methodology. Similarly, agile scrum in the software development life cycle may include several sprints. Each sprint comprises of 30 days. Certain tasks are assigned to each sprint which should be completed in the stipulated time. At the end of each sprint, the progress is assessed in a meeting. If any part of the task remains incomplete, it is carried over to next sprint. Hence each sprint leads to noticeable increase in the functionality of the software and reinforces the perception that the project is moving forward.

Requirements of Agile Scrum

• Tasks that are to be completed in a sprint must be quantified. The team must be given achievable targets.
• It should have a team of highly committed, experienced people.
• The responsibility of each task should be assigned separately to each individual.
• The agile scrum team should be of a small size. It should include the product owner, scrum master and the developers.
• Whilst there are different types of Scrum meetings, at a bare minimum brief meetings should be held daily. These will check the developments of the previous day as well as the assignment of the tasks for the current day. Attendance at the meeting should be mandatory for everyone in the scrum team.
• None of the programmers in the team can move to another project, even for a short duration of time.
• Codes are written, compiled and tested on a daily basis. Automated tools are used to develop the code. Testing should also be done in such a way that just enough software test automation is done.

Agile SCRUM - Tip

Agile scrum is suitable for a project where clear project management requirements cannot be defined at the beginning of the project since it provides the flexibility for these to be detailed throughout the process of software development as well as during agile testing.