An Introduction to Scrum

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When it comes to Scrum, there are three essential artifacts: The Product Increment, the Product Backlog and the Sprint Backlog. These artifacts are there to ensure that the product runs smoothly and that everything goes according to plan. What's more, it helps to ensure that the team knows what they are creating and what they should be doing. These are all things that will make a big difference in the long term. The various roles of Scrum team members are important because it ensures that everyone knows what he/she should be doing. It ensures that the best product possible is made.

Each sprint will focus on one aspect of a product. During this sprint, the team will build and deliver that aspect of the product.

When it comes to the various roles of Scrum team members, the thing to understand is that there are three distinct different roles when it comes to this. Scrum is a framework people use to build a product using a more effective method. In general, the product will typically be built using incrementally short periods of time. These short periods are often referred to as sprints. A sprint refers to a fixed time period, and it will generally go up to four weeks, but usually, it is preferred if the increments are shorter than four weeks.

If you need to learn Scrum or in fact any technology based system you need to start from the basics. Lots of techs wont tell you that before Geek there was Non-Geek. I was and still am a Non-Geek and so I dedicate this book to the Non Geeks out there trying to learn Scrum Agile Development!

Most people have participated in a scrum style situation, even if they don't know it. Say that a client wants an app designed for her company. In order to put the project together the company would put together a number of specialists from a variety of disciplines, all of whom can come together to form a complete machine to produce the end product. The team will start each day with a face-to-face (or Skype, if in-person isn't possible) meeting where progress is discussed and the goals for the future are set up. Typically the team will also work in close proximity physically, and keep in contact electronically, so that any problems can be handled and fixed among the group. This helps speed up how quickly programs can be created, and it helps cut down on time for repairs and error correction.

The duration of the approved sprint will be set forth by the scrum master though. As the facilitator of the team, he/she works with the team to figure out how many days the sprints should be. Again, all future sprints have to be the same duration (30 days or less) in order to maintain consistency.

A user story is a software specification requirement. These are quick ways to manage end user requirements without having to draw up lots of formal documents. The stories can also quickly respond to changing requirements. User stories are used at the start of the project, although as iterations are performed the stories may be changed.
In software development, user stories define what should be built into the project. It describes the functionality that will be useful to the end-user, or the purchaser of a software system. Although, typically user stories chronicle a fast-moving process, they often are like short notes written on post-it cards.

The product backlog increases efficiencies by showing when and why the end user or customer may have updated a need. The business can balance this against the overall impact of the project. Managing customer expectations, while incorporating their changing wants is extremely important. The agile "mindset" allows you to be accommodating while maintain quality. Your customer is engaged throughout the process, and in many instances, is a very important part of the process. Note: you will be required to "groom" the backlog to keep it in working order. A bloated backlog of ideas no one is clear on, or committed to, is a sure way to frustrate everyone. Spend no more than 10% of your team's time grooming your backlog to remove the ideas you won't deliver. Use a template to move items around easily and keep track of everything.

Human Capital: Using Product Backlog To Enable And Organize A Development Team