Getting to know SCRUM: from basic definition to various applications
Values
Scrum has 5 values, that help teams amplify the power of this methodology. They allows the project teams to adopt better this way of working and deliver a great software or product to the final customer. The values are the following:
- Commitment: is essential in order to build an agile culture since the teams work together as a unit. The team members trust each other and must be committed to success, but at the same time than setting realistic goals. Moreover, they only agree to do the tasks they feel they would be able to do.
- Focus: means that the scrum team should only focus on a few things at a time, with clear goals and roles.
- Openness: everything in the project ought to be transparent and available for review and improvement.
- Respect: it is as simple as every team member has to respect the other member’s strengths and weaknesses. Only when a team works with respect, a working harmony can be created resulting in the best project.
- Courage: makes reference to how the team members should embrace change and the be brave to share their ideas since everything will be tested, routines will be broken…
Key Roles
Scrum development consist of one or more Scrum teams, each one of them made up of three roles:
- The product owner: this is the person responsible for defining the features that are needed in the product. The product owner has bright ideas that turn into products. He is responsible for the overall success of the solution being developed or maintained.
- The Scrum Master: is a servant leader to the team responsible for protecting the team in the process running the meetings and keeping things going. He helps the team resolving issues and making improvements to its use of Scrum. It is also responsible for protecting the team from outside interference. This person has no authority to exert control over the team, he functions as a leader, not as a manager.
- The development team: can be made up of developers, testers, writers, and anyone else that helps in building the product. This team self-organizes to determine the best way to accomplish the goal set out by the product owner. It is typically made of 5 to 9 members.
