Scrum, as a software development process, is an effort to encourage development teams to self-organize around software deliverable’s, delivering in ‘sprints’, under a Product Owner. These deliveries in Sprints are designed to be minimally viable functioning pieces of code. Of the many benefits, is the ability to quickly pivot when market demands change, customer needs change or technology changes. You are never too far down the road to adjust. It also affords the organization to deliver faster, incrementally with faster feedback loops.
This of course is an alternative to the classic ‘Waterfall’ method where one large development cycle was planned (12-18 months or longer), and the entire project delivered in mass. The ability to pivot is much harder and more expensive. What is delivered may in fact have missed the mark given the changes in customer needs or technology.
I have seen two organizations through the Scrum transformation. One, in an exceptionally large organization with many scrum teams, with centrally located team members, and one very small organization with just a couple scrum teams but housed in our development center in India. Both experiences were incredibly challenging, often breaking old molds to the new and shiny thing, getting buy in that it isn’t just a new and shiny thing. Another challenge is breaking the classic project management roles, allowing the team to self-organize, and the scrum master dropping the habits of the classic project manager. You are never done. Its always being refined, revisited, tweaked to make it better.
The transition to Scrum can be a slow, painful but rewarding process, depending on where the organization is starting from, whether its waterfall, agile or some version of agile. Scrum can be adopted in its wholly intended form, or a hybrid, depending on the organizations needs. Most importantly it’s cultural mind change and that can be the hardest part of the transition.
What was your experience with transitioning to Scrum? What were your greatest challenges? How successful were you? Have you reaped the benefits?