Scrum PSM I

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Scrum PSM I

After getting scrum.org the PSM I I wanted to capture the relevant content.

The complete guido can be downloaded here: scrumguides.org

1. What is Scrum?

Scrum is a framework for developing and sustaining complex products. A framework in which complex adaptive problems can be addressed. It is lightweight, simple to understand and yet difficult to master. To simplify, Scrum is not a process or a technique - it is a framework within which you can use different processes and techniques. It has roles, events, artefacts and rules that bind them together. Each component has a specific purpose. Scrum takes an iterative and incremental approach - optimizing predictability and control risk.

Scrum has its foundation based on the Empirical Process Theory - where knowledge comes from experience and decisions are made based on what is known.

There are three pillars that uphold every implementation of empirical process control.
- Transparency
- Inspection
- Adaptation

1.1. Scrum Values

The five core values that are reflective in the work of a Scrum Team.

  • People personally commit to achieving the goal of the Scrum team.
  • Scrum member have the Courage to do the right thing.
  • Everyone’s focus is on the sprint and Scrum team goals.
  • Everyone agrees to be Open about all the work and challenges.
  • Scrum team members Respect each other of being capable and independent.

2. Scrum Team

A self-organised and cross functional team - designed to optimize flexibility, creativity and productivity.

Role Description Rules
Product Owner
  • Maximize the value of product and work of the Development Team.
  • Sole person responsible for managing the product Backlog.
  • Product Owner is one person, not a committee.
  • Only the Product Owner can make changes to product Backlog item’s priority.
  • Only the Product Owner can cancel a sprint under the influence of stakeholders, Scrum Master and the Development Team.
Scrum Master
  • Responsible for making sure everyone understands Scrum and adheres.
  • Facilitate Scrum events.
  • Coach the team.
  • Remove impediments.
  • Help the organisation to adopt Scrum.
  • Scrum Master ensures that only helpful interactions are taking place with the Development Team and anyone outside.
  • Scrum Master is a Servant-Leader.
Development Team
  • Self-organised and accountable.
  • No one tells the Development Team how to turn the Backlog item into increments of realisable product.
  • Cross-functional team with all skills to create a Product Increment.
  • Development Team should not act on anyone else’s request.
  • Team size should be between 3 and 9.
  • Everyone’s title is Developer and there should not be any sub-teams.
  • No one can instruct the Development Team to work on different set of requirements.
  • The number of items from the Backlog for the sprint is solely up to the Development Team.

3. Scrum Events

All events in Scrum are time boxed.
Sprint duration cannot change once it's started. However, it can be cancelled before the time box is over. Only a Product Owner can cancel a Sprint if the organisation changes direction or the market or the technology conditions change.
Events enable transparency and create an opportunity to inspect and adapt.

The Sprint is the heart of Scrum, a time box of one month or less during which a DONE, usable, and potential releasable product increment is created.

Events Time Box* Agenda Required
Sprint Planning 08 Hours
  • What items can be done?
  • How will the work get done?
    		 The Scrum
    Daily Stand-ups 15 Minutes
    • What I did yesterday
    • What will I do today
    • Any Impediments
      		 The Development team
      Sprint Review 04 Hours
      • Product Owner starts with what items are done from the Backlog.
      • Development team talks about what went well, what problem it ran into, how the problems were solved.
      • Development team demonstrates the work it has DONE.
      • Product Owner projects the likely completion dates.
      • Collaborate on what to do next.
      		 The Scrum Team and the Stakeholders
      Sprint Retrospective 03 Hours
      • How did the last Sprint go with respect to - people, relationships, process and tools.
      • Major items that went well and potential improvements.
      • Plan to implement improvements in the next sprint.
      		 The Scrum Team

      *Time box mentioned above is for one month sprint. For short sprint, it’s usually shorter. Scrum activities - Backlog refining or grooming.

      This is an on-going activity and should not take more than 10 % of the Development Team’s time where product Backlogs are groomed or refined. The Product Owner is responsible for prioritizing the product Backlog items and the Development Team is responsible for estimating them.

      4. Scrum Artefacts

      Scrum's artefacts reflect the three pillars of the Empirical Theory Process in the work or value to increase transparency and opportunities for inspection and an enhanced scope for adaptation.
      Artefact Description Owner
      Product Backlog
      • Product Backlog is an ordered list of everything that's needed to complete a product. It is the single source of a living list of requirement.
      • Product Owner is responsible to maintain and prioritize the Backlog items.
      • Product Backlog is dynamic and never complete.
      • Sprint can start as soon as there are enough items in the Backlog.
      • There is always only one product Backlog.
      		 Product Owner
      Sprint Backlog
      • Product Backlog is an ordered list of everything that's needed to complete a product. It is the single source of a living list of requirement.
      • Product Owner is responsible to maintain and prioritize the Backlog items.
      • Product Backlog is dynamic and never complete.
      • Sprint can start as soon as there are enough items in the Backlog.
      • There is always only one product Backlog.
      		 Development Team
      Increment
      • An Increment is a sum of all completed product Backlog items and the items of the increments of all previous sprints.
      e.g.
      Increment 1 = Sprint 1 Increment 2 = Sprint 1 + Sprint 2
      Increment 3 = Sprint 1 + Sprint 2 + Sprint 3.       		Development Team
      Monitoring progress towards a Goal (delivering the product)
      • The total work remaining to reach the goal can be summed.
      • The product Owner compares the amount of work remaining against the previous sprint reviews to assess the progress.
      Most commonly used techniques are burn-down and burn-up charts.       		Product Owner
      Monitoring Sprint Progress
      • The sum of remaining work to deliver an increment which is reviewed at the daily scrum.
      • The sprint progress information can be represented by a burn-down chart.
      		 Development Team

      5. Progress Tracking Tools

      Burn-down charts: Burn-down chart shows the progress the Development Team is making and is a powerful tool for visualising progress and work remaining. Burn-down charts may be used for financial tracking, resource tracking etc. In respect to a sprint, a burn-down chart is represented as -

      1. vertical Axis - remaining work (total estimated hours) for the sprint or product Backlog
      2. horizontal Axis - time, in days or sprints

      A burn-down chart enables everyone to view the status of a sprint at any time.

      6. Estimation Techniques

      There are number of estimation techniques used in Agile. Most widely used in planning is the poker technique to estimate items. Participants use cards to estimate an item. This exercise is repeated in iterations until everyone’s estimates are unanimous. Units used are hours, days or story points. Other techniques in practice are:

      1. The Bucket System
      2. Big/Uncertain/Small
      3. Dot voting
      4. T-shirt sizes
      5. Affinity mapping and more

      7. Definitions

      Done
      A product Backlog item or an increment that is releasable is called DONE. Everyone in the Scrum team should have common understanding of DONE.
      DONE should include all the development practices before the item is released into production.
      Velocity
      Average of items done per Sprint to deliver a product.
      e.g. It took 5 sprints to deliver a product.

      Sprint1 - 10 Units
      Sprint2 - 12 Units
      Sprint3 - 9 Units
      Sprint4 - 11 Units
      Sprint5 - 13 Units

      Velocity of the team in this example is 11 ((10 + 12 + 9 + 11 + 13)/5) units per Sprint.
      Time box
      Fixed time-period, it is an agreed previous agreed duration which the team has been consistently delivering a task or completing a goal.
      Sprint Goal
      Description of what the Development Team agrees to achieve in a sprint.

      8. Reference:

      https://www.scrum.org/resources/scrum-guide

      What I also found quite interesting are the number of people that took the certifications: https://www.scrum.org/professional-scrum-certifications/count