toolbox
Agile & SCRUM
The current volatile and complex business environment also means that in project management we can revert less and less to planning and fixed “baselines”. From this Agile mindset developed in the eighties, SCRUM gives us a methodology that makes an iterative, incremental project progress possible in close consultation with the customer.
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Johan Versieck
Johan Versieck
Project, Program & Portfolio – Process Excellence – Organisation design
johan.versieck@stanwick.be
Stanwick supports organisations to (learn to) work with SCRUM and has certified SCRUM Masters.
Building on the Agile principles, SCRUM forces the project workers in a particular rhythm to achieve the project commission.
Characteristics of the SCRUM approach:
- An iterative & incremental development (“rugby” approach compared to the earlier “relay race” or waterfall method). There is a clear concept, minimum conditions and a deadline but the planning is progressive as the plan will probably still change and often only offers false security.
- A 100% “dedicated” team that is self-managing and has a conclusive mandate. The analogy with rugby from which the term scrum has been derived is striking: the team works together closely like a rugby team to move the ball across the field toward the opponent's half. It is important that all players are geared properly to each other, have the same intention and a specific aim in mind.
- It works with so-called “sprints” which each comprise one PDCA cycle.
- Clear roles: 1 product owner, 1 scrum master and a fixed development team.
- A well-defined process with a sprint planning, daily scrums and sprint reviews. The meeting time is kept within reasonable limits (20% meetings versus 80% execution, etc. often it is the other way around).
- A rigid reporting system whereby an accurate follow-up is guaranteed. In this way the priorities are all handled one by one which guarantees a good insight in the progress and adjustments are possible in plenty of time.