Change in Scrum
To get work done with Scrum, there needs to be a balance between flexibility and stability in the change practice. While the Scrum process is extremely flexible, the change framework in Scrum must remain stable. When flexibility is too severe, processes can become blocked and ineffective. Scrum uses several concepts to ensure that the balance between stability and flexibility is never too rigid, never too flexible, but somewhere right in the middle. Scrum enables flexibility through transparency, inspection and adaptation.
Iterative Development
Scrum supports both an iterative and incremental development process. Changes can be incorporated at any time in the process, however stability is maintained by not permitting any changes to the Sprint backlog once an iteration begins. The Scrum Master ensures that the Scrum Team does not experience interferences while work is being done on the product increments. A trademark of Scrum is that it is very tolerant of change and adaptation. Project plans are never created and finalized in advance with Scrum. The framework is implemented with the idea that development work is predisposed to change. Change is embraced and successfully managed during the development of the product increments.
Time Boxing
Time boxing is another practice that supports flexibility in Scrum. All Scrum ceremonies must not exceed the maximum amount of established time. For example, the Daily Scrum meeting is time-boxed to 15 minutes, and the Sprints are time-boxed from 1-6 weeks (typically 2-4 weeks). At the end of the time-boxed period, the ceremony stops and is continued during the next time-boxed period.
Time-boxing provides stability towards the achievement of meeting deadlines and achieving high levels of throughput. Sprints provide stability and consistency within a changing development environment. Time-boxed Sprints also allow for frequent evaluation of the progress being made on a consistent basis. Issues and/or problems can easily be addressed very quickly. Time-boxing also allows for the Scrum team to revisit estimation practices so that the process can be improved upon in subsequent sprints. A Sprint allows the team to achieve their goals for the final product on an incremental basis.
Recommended Further Reading
The following materials may assist you in order to get the most out of this course:
Course Contents
Section 1: Agile Project Management
Section 2: Using the Agile Manifesto to Deliver Change
Section 3: The 12 Agile Principles
Section 4: The Agile Fundamentals
Section 5: The Declaration of Interdependence
Section 6: Agile Development Frameworks
Section 7: Introduction to Scrum
Section 8: Scrum Projects
Section 9: Scrum Project Roles
Section 10: Meet the Scrum Team
Section 11: Building the Scrum Team
Section 12: Scrum in Projects, Programs & Portfolios
Section 13: How to Manage an Agile Project
Section 14: Leadership Styles
Section 15: The Agile Project Life-cycle
Section 16: Business Justification with Agile
Section 17: Calculating the Benefits With Agile
Section 18: Quality in Agile
Section 19: Acceptance Criteria and the Prioritised Product Backlog
Section 20: Quality Management in Scrum
Section 21: Change in Scrum
Section 22: Integrating Change in Scrum
Section 23: Managing Change in Scrum
Section 24: Risk in Scrum
Section 25: Risk Assessment Techniques
Section 26: Initiating an Agile Project
Section 27: Forming the Scrum Team
Section 28: Epics and Personas
Section 29: Creating the Prioritised Product Backlog
Section 30: Conduct Release Planning
Section 31: The Project Business Case
Section 32: Planning in Scrum
Section 33: Scrum Boards
Section 34: Sprint Planning
Section 35: User Stories
Section 36: User Stories and Tasks
Section 37: The Sprint Backlog
Section 38: Implementation of Scrum
Section 39: The Daily Scrum
Section 40: The Product Backlog
Section 41: Scrum Charts
Section 42: Review and Retrospective
Section 43: Scrum of Scrums
Section 44: Validating a Sprint
Section 45: Retrospective Sprint
Section 46: Releasing the Product
Section 47: Project Retrospective
Section 48: The Communication Plan
Section 49: Formal Business Sign-off
Section 50: Scaling Scrum
Section 51: Stakeholders
Section 52: Programs and Portfolios