Back in 2021 I was asked to Market the scrum Framework to a company that rents scooters in the downtown core of Paris. The company wanted to create an application for easy rentals. I scheduled a meeting with stakeholders in which I presented how the Scrum framework will be of enormous benefit to the company. I started by introducing the scrum framework to the group.
I started by informing the group that Scrum was a framework for developing , delivering and sustaining complex products. It is a collection of roles , events ,artifacts and rules that help teams work together more effectively and harmoniously
I further explained that the Scrum framework enables teams to work together in developing a product , try it out . reflect on the experience and adjust in real time.
With scrum , teams can :
- Learn from experiences and observations.
- Self organize as they work on problems
- Reflect on successes
- And improve on impediments
I proceeded to present to them the artifact and roles that will build the product involved in the scrum process.
I showed them how it will benefit what they are trying to achieve.
Scrum always starts with a vision
In order to convince the group of what the scrum framework will produce the user outcomes, I explained how the team will start with a prioritized list that the team will be ready to work on. The team will be able to complete about 90% of what they plan on doing. The team will feel confident ,committing to the sprint goal which will be written in such a way that ,they can be accomplished even if not all items are completed.
I further explained to the group, the product backlog is simply the prioritized list of work that the team intends to work on from now to the immediate future. Product backlog contains every piece of work the team plans to work on. I informed them, we as a team will introduce a list , which will be prioritized and ordered.
Work that is planned for the immediate future will be full of details, work that is planned in the next couple of months will be highlights of what we hope to accomplish. I introduced an example of a product backlog for visibility
In order to convince the group of what the scrum framework will produce the user outcomes, I explained how the team will start with a prioritized list that the team will be ready to work on. The team will be able to complete about 90% of what they plan on doing. The team will feel confident ,committing to the sprint goal which will be written in such a way that ,they can be accomplished even if not all items are completed.
I further explained that all items are prioritized and ordered according to importance .High risk or high-volume items will be at the top of the backlog
My next step was to introduce the people responsible for producing the outcomes ;
Our product owner- who is responsible for what we are building and why we are building.
I informed the group our product owner will decide on what is more important and his/her decisions will be based on risk and value.
Our Development team will determine how we will meet the desired outcomes and when it will be released- quality is essential.
Our scrum master will coach the product owner and development team for effective scrum- reinforcing scrum values, principles and practices- keeping everything in balance. They are the servant leader for the team ,the product owner and broader organization.
I also stressed on the fact that the team will get together to decide which items are of highest value and places them at the top of the list.
Towards the end I demonstrated to the team how we will get work ready. I explain that once or twice a week our cross functional team will get together to review and refine the product backlog. We call this an event .The product owner will hold a clarifying conversation with the team to improve the quality of each user story.
The goal is to have one or two user stories ready before we move into the next sprint
I defined what a sprint is to the team, making mention that a sprint is a regular repeatable work cycle of product development .It is simply a period our team will complete a certain amount of work. Our team will be committed to 2week sprints. At the end of the sprint, we will produce results in a new and functional iteration or repeated process of the product
The sprint begins with sprint planning
During our sprint planning we will outline what can be delivered in the next sprint and produce a high- level plan and road map on how the work will be accomplished. The development team will decide what it can accomplish over the next sprint. They will do this by considering the work completed or incomplete over the prior sprint, the teams capacity of this sprint and the teams historical performance.
I went on to explain that we will have 90-120 minutes per week in each sprint and that the team will discuss how they will execute the plan. After the sprint planning ,the team will be committed to the plan, Since we have the same cadence which is 2 weeks per sprint. If we plan for 565 points on our backlog and our current velocity is 46 it will take about 13 sprints to complete the App. 13 sprints * 2 weeks per sprint = 26 weeks and we plan on releasing the product every Friday. I assured the group I can say with 99% confidence the product will be released at the end of the 13th sprint.
The group was also presented with the fact that the scrum master will support the team with effective coaching. After the team kicks off the sprint , we will check with each other everyday in an event called the daily scrum– A 15minute time box event that allows our development team to synchronize their work and plan for the next 24 hours. It will be held at the same time and place everyday. During the daily scrum, our Scrum master will check on:
- What we did the previous day to help the team goal
- What we will do the next day
- Check on any impediments or blockers that will prevent me or the team from meeting our sprint goals
I brought to the group’s attention the fact that at the end of the sprint , we will demonstrate the App to their customers and stake holders in an event called the sprint review. The team will demonstrate completed work, solicit feedback and answer questions. We will also discuss the product backlog and recent developments and change. Furthermore, we will inspect work in our Sprint retrospective and create an improvement plan for the next sprint which occurs after the sprint review before the next Sprint planning event.
The group was informed at the end of the sprint, we will present the demo, discuss findings. The product owner will seal the final approval.
We will inspect how the sprint went in terms of team culture, structure, processes and tools. From there the team can identify major opportunities- what went well- and change what did not go well. The team will produce plans for continued self improvement, usually through actions , experiments or changes in team behavior.
In our sprint retrospective we will have a 45 minutes every week in the sprint to discuss what went well, what went wrong and what we can improve.
It was straight forward 15 minute presentation that earned us a contract to develop an application for the company.