SCRUM for Dummies

This is a quick (and dirty?) guide on SCRUM for dummies like me. I don't claim it to be accurate. This post is not trying to answer all the questions you may have on Scrum. It instead leaves you with more questions to satisfy your curiosity.

Before knowing what SCRUM is, let's understand what it isn't:

• It is not Magic. Using it doesn't guarantee success of the project
• It is not a quick fix for a project which is already in soup.
• It is not the Spinach tonic that will turn a Popeye into a superhuman.

What it is then?
It is a project execution philosophy, an SDLC model, a mindset, a process model, an implementation of Agile philosophy. The most important aspect of Scrum for me is: "Fail fast".

Fail fast
SCRUM keeps you on top of things. It alerts exactly when your project starts Deviating from its target.
Why do projects fail? (miss the deadline, budget overrun, abortion, etc)

Very simply, SCRUM (like any other SDLC model) can be described as below simplified steps:

Before development starts (aka Sprint ZERO):

• Requirements understanding workshops
• Start with MVP and develop user stories
• Estimation - use Planning poker (to come to a common ground) to estimate efforts
• Task break-down
• Sprint planning - (Sprint size - How many weeks? What to be included?)

Daily ceremonies:

• Standup meetings (Geographically diversified teams? It's like Long distance relationships, but it can surely work!)
• Update Burn-down chart

Sprint after sprint, the scrum team becomes mature and the velocity of the team becomes more and more predictable.



P.S. This post was drafted years ago and I don't claim it to be either complete or perfect. Please feel free to add your thoughts and provide your constructive feedback.