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An Explanation of Scrum
A classic, and in my opinion flawed, software development approach is to defineall
functional
requirements up front and then deliver an all-inclusive release. Requirementschanges can mean additional development, documentation and approval time, thus delaying the entire release.
What’s more, studies show that many initial requirements prove to be of no value to users and just create additional development and maintenance costs.
A contrasting approach is a development methodology known as Scrum. Scrum recognizes the changing nature of requirements and adapts elegantly to them.
By delivering working software in smallpieces, it allows users to start interacting with the software and to provide valuable feedback that radically improves the quality of the final product.
Scrum is actually a rugby term that refers to the heads-down formation of players aroundthe ball. In terms of software development, Scrum falls under the rapid product deploymentmethodology known as “agile” development, which also includes Lean Development andExtreme Programming. Scrum breaks requirements into subsets that are the focus of shortdevelopment iterations which produce deployable, functioning subsets of the overall end result.The first iterations deliver software that the business can use immediately upon deployment.Thus, the business begins to realize ROI relatively quickly and continues to do soincrementally, rather than at the entire project’s end. An added benefit occurs in thatrequirements changes, which tend to occur as the business reviews deliverables, can be made toplanned iterations without hindering the iteration currently being delivered.This guide is a brief introduction to how the Scrum methodology works to producehigher-quality software faster and more efficiently.Scrum is not limited to software development, however. I’ve just advised a localphilanthropist who wants to organize groups of volunteers from around the world to erectstatues of Wojtek the bear (that’s another story) in several countries including Poland, Iran,and Israel to use Scrum to organize the effort. This is simply a common sense approach toidentifying goals, setting priorities, organizing work, measuring progress, and keeping a teamfocused and on track regardless of the type of project.
A Quick Guide to Scrumand why is it right for me?
By Paul Klipp
A G I L E A C T I V I S T
w w w . p a u l k l i p p . c o m
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