Processes that are Most Likely to Change
Although Scrum is iterative, not all the processes are iterative, so there is no opportunity to change them within a project, although the learnings from the project can be taken and applied to any subsequent projects. The iterative processes can be subject to change and improvement as the project progresses. Let’s look at the high level process/value chain.
“Initiate” and “Release” are not iterative as they precede and follow the sprints. “Plan and Estimate”, “Implement” and “Review and Retrospect” are iterative and it is possible to improve these processes as the project progresses.
When Can a Process Change be Identified?
Agile, and Scrum as an Agile method, welcomes change, but at the right time. Changes to a product can be requested at any time by a stakeholder, but will only be considered at the end of a sprint. A similar approach should be taken with process change – it should only be applied before the next sprint starts. The exception here could be if there is a roadblock of some nature that is interrupting the process. This is something the Scrum Master mitigates immediately, so that the process flow can resume. This may not necessarily be a process change, but it could be. For instance, if the Product Owner is not available for the next sprint meeting, it cannot be held without him – some business rules could be applied to avoid this happening in future.
Although the need to tweak a process can be raised at any time, for instance during the daily standup meeting, there is an ideal forum for discussing and ratifying the change, and that is during the Sprint Retrospective. This is where all the activities that took place during the sprint are reviewed as to whether they went well or could be improved. Where an improvement is required, this is the meeting where the process change can be discussed an agreed. As mentioned before, the Scrum Master is the process owner, and while he should not impose a change, he can argue for the change on the basis of his Scrum knowledge. This is when he will need to be diplomatic and win over the team with a reasoned explanation as to why the change would be beneficial. Once a consensus is reached that a change to the process should be applied, this is documented in preparation for the next sprint.
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