2010

CUNIX Infotech Pvt. Ltd.

Manish Manekar

[WHAT IS AGILE/SCRUM? ]
Agile has gained huge popularity and is fast spreading out in the software
development community. Scrum focus on Agile management and it is like Getting It
Done. This brief is first step to the introduction of Agile/Scrum.
 Table of Contents

What is Ag ile/ Scrum? .............................................................................. 3

Various Ro les in Scrum Dev elopment ..................................................... 4
Pig & C hic ken Ana lo gy .......................................................................... 4
Product Owner ...................................................................................... 4
Team Member ....................................................................................... 5
Scrum Master ....................................................................................... 5
Other Stakeho lders ............................................................................... 5
Backlog .................................................................................................... 5
User Stories .......................................................................................... 5
Product Backlog .................................................................................... 5
Sprint Back log ...................................................................................... 5
Scrum Meet ings ....................................................................................... 6
Release P lanning .................................................................................. 6
Sprint P lann ing ..................................................................................... 6
Daily Scrum .......................................................................................... 6
Rev iew .................................................................................................. 6
Retrospect ive ........................................................................................ 6
The Sprint Plann ing ................................................................................. 7
Scrum Metrics ......................................................................................... 8
Velocity ................................................................................................. 8
Story Po int ........................................................................................... 8
Burndown Chart .................................................................................... 8
Test Cases and Def ects ........................................................................ 9
Next St eps ............................................................................................... 9
Appendix A: How it Works in Agile? ...................................................... 10
Minut es of M eet ing ............................................................................. 10
Configurat ion Management ................................................................. 10
Handling Change R eques t ................................................................... 10
Test ing Procedures ............................................................................. 10
Appendix B: Agile Coding Guidelin es .................................................... 11
Modeling/Des ign ................................................................................. 11
Coding ................................................................................................ 11
What is A gile /Scrum?

Di ct i on ary meani n g of A gi l e i s “abl e t o move qu i ckl y an d wi t h su ppl en ess,

ski ll , an d con t rol ”. I t i s syn on ymou s wi th Li vel y, A l ert , & Respon si ve. A gil e i s
a qu i ck & well coordi n at ed movemen t . I t i s adapt i ve an d peopl e ori ent ed.

[W i ki pedi a ] A gi l e soft ware devel opmen t refers t o a grou p of soft ware

devel opmen t met h odol ogi es based on i t erat i ve devel opmen t , wh ere
requ i remen t s an d solu ti on s evolve th rou gh coll aborat i on bet ween sel f -
organ i zi n g cross -fu n ct i on al t eams. Th e t erm was coi n ed i n th e year 2 00 1
wh en th e A gi l e Man i fest o an d t h e Twel ve Prin ci pl es were formu l at ed.
[www.agi l eman i fest o.org]

Th e t erms meth odol ogy, framework, met h od, pract i ce, t ech n i qu e in referen ce
t o A gi l e are u sed depen din g on i t s con t ext , bu t h ere we wi l l u se most of
t h ose l oosel y t o refer t o Scru m. Pl ease n ot e, t hi s documen t i s i nt en ded for
A gi l e n ovi ce au di en ce t o i n t rodu ce S cru m i n a mann er t h at i s bri ef an d
si mpl e. W hi l e th ere are several A gi l e meth ods, for t h e pu rpose of t hi s
docu men t , all th e referen ces are i n respect t o S cru m.

H ere i s pi ct ori al represent at i on depi cti ng t h e A gi l e S crum met h odol ogy:

Agile/Scrum – A Brief By Manish Manekar Page 3 of 11

A gi l e met h odol ogy i s based on it erat ive devel opmen t , wh ere requ i rement s
an d sol u ti on s evol ve th rou gh coll aborat i on bet ween sel f -organ i zi n g cross -
fu n ct i on al t eams. It valu es In di vi du al s an d i nt eract i ons over p rocesses an d
t ool s, worki n g soft ware over compr eh en si ve docu ment at i on , c u st omer
col l aborat i on over con t ract n egot i ati on an d respon din g t o ch an ge over
fol l owi n g a pl an . I t erat i on refers t o short cycl e, t ypi call y 2 weeks an d al so
referred t o as a spri n t . S el f -organ i zi n g t eam i s a cl ose grou p of mot i vat ed
i n di vi du al s commit t ed t o A gi l e val u es & pri n ci pl es wh o h ave been empowered
t o t ake in i ti at ives & deci si on s.

S cru m i s a t eam -based i t erati ve, i n cremen t al framework t h at all ows t eams t o
del i ver a pot ent i all y s h i ppabl e set of funct i on ali t y per i t erat i on , provi din g t h e
agi l i t y n eeded t o respon d t o rapi dl y ch an gi n g requ i remen t s. I t s pri n ci pl es are
cu st omer sat isfacti on , respon di n g t o ch an ge, worki n g soft ware, an d
con t i nu ou s i mprovement , t eamwork of sel f organ i zed in di vi du al s, su st en an ce,
si mpli ci ty, t rust , an d conversat i on .

A l ot emph asis i s pu t on maxi mi zi n g i n divi du al s‟ i nt eract i on – amou n t as well

as frequ en cy. Let u s n ow see wh o al l t hese i n di vi du al s are…

Various Roles in S crum Development

Pig & Chic ken A nalo gy

A pi g an d a ch i cken are wal kin g down t h e road. Th e ch i cken l ooks at t h e pi g
an d says, “H ey Pi g, wh y don ‟t we st art a rest au rant ?” Th e pi g l ooks at t h e
ch i cken an d says, “Th at ‟s a great i dea, bu t wh at do we cal l i t ?” Th e ch icken
repl i es, “W h y don ‟t we ca l l i t „H am an d E ggs‟?” Th e pi g t h i n ks abou t i t an d
says, “I don ‟t t hi n k so. I ‟d be commi tt ed bu t you ‟d on ly be in vol ved.”

I n di vi du al s in a scru m t eam assu mes eith er of t wo rol es – i n t h e Pi g rol e are

t h ose wh o commit t ed t o scrum an d in th e Ch i cken rol e ar e rest of t h ose wh o
are i n vol ved oth erwi se.

Produc t O wner
Th e Produ ct Own er i s a cu st omer advocat e wh o kn ow wh at cu st omer wan t s,
al on g wi t h it s val u e t o t h e cu st omer. Th is person h ol ds t h e fin al au th ori ty for
set t in g an d mai n t ai ni n g t h e backl og as wel l as t h e pri ori t i es t h rou gh out t h e
rel ease, det ermi ni n g th e val u e of product del i vered, an d t ermi n ati n g a spri nt
wh en n ecessary. H e dri ves rel ease pl ann i n g, parti ci pat es in scru m meet in gs,
el aborat es on st ori es for t h e t eam, an d accept s/reject s st ori es demon st r at ed.

Produ ct Own er i s t h e rol e wh ose commit ment great l y in flu en ces th e su ccess
or fai l u re of t h e project . A gre at Produ ct Own er i s on e wh o i s kn owl edgeabl e ,
avai l abl e, deci si ve an d agil e.

W e wi ll vi sit th e t ech ni cal it i es referred here i n t h e n ext t opi c.

Agile/Scrum – A Brief By Manish Manekar Page 4 of 11

T eam Member
Th e t eam member i s an oth er commit t ed i n di vi du al wh o di rect ly con t ri bu t es
t o t h e del ivery of worki n g soft ware. Th i s in di vi du al i s archi t ect , desi gn er,
devel oper, t est er, u sabi l it y, bu il d engi n eer an d wh oever works on t h e
produ ce. A t ypi cal scru m t eam i s about 7 members (+/ - 2 ). A great agi l e
t eam i s on e t h at h as assi mi l at ed agi l e val u es an d pri nci pl es, an d can h an dl e
t h e power an d respon si bi li t y t h at comes wi t h i t .

Sc rum Master
Th e Scru m Mast er i s t h e servant l eader commit t ed t o en su re t h e h i gh e st
pri ori t y n eeds of t h e t eam are bei n g served. A great S cru m Mast er i s on e
wh o i s a good l i st en er , coach , hu mbl e, commi tt ed, col l aborat i ve, an d
kn owl edgeabl e. Th at h e/sh e removes an y i mpedi ment s ou t of t eam‟s way on
a dai l y basi s yet refrai n from mi cro -man age t he t eam. S cru m Mast er i s th e
l eader wi t h n o au th ori ty.

O ther Stakeholders
Th e rest of t he part i es in vol ved in th e project are t h e cu st omer, ven dor, u ser
an d man agemen t . Th ese st akeh ol ders part i ci pat e at vari ed degree an d at
di fferent st ages i n t h e fl ow as an d wh en n ecessary.

W e ju st met t h e en ti re scru m t eam; n ow l et u s see wh at work th ey do…

Backlog
Th e work t h at is compri sed of requ i remen t s, scope an d speci fi cati on s i s
capt u red in th e form of st ori es. A story i s a t empl at e t o gat h er en ou gh
i n formati on abou t th e featu re or requ iremen t t o gi ve th e t eam a h i gh l evel
i dea abou t i t . Si n ce i t i s a st or y of u ser requ i remen t , it i s popul arl y kn own as
User St ory. W e wil l kn ow more on i ts u se i n n ext t opi c.

User Stories
Produ ct Own er wh o own s t h e vi si on of f i n al deli verabl e based on i n put from
cu st omers, en d u sers, fi el d peopl e, in dust ry experts an d ot h er st akeh ol ders.
Th ese requ i rement s are t ran sformed int o User S t ori es so as t o i n form t h e
t eam wh at i s requ i red t o produ ce an d del i ver i n smal l i ncrement s.

P roduc t Bac klog

A Produ ct Backl og i s Produ ct Own er‟s wi sh l ist in t h e form of User St ori es.
Th e Produ ct Own er set pri ori t y t o each st ory i n t h e backl og based on t h e
associ at ed bu si n ess val u e an d ri sk. The t eam i s commi tt ed t o del i ver t he
h i gh est pri orit y i t e ms fi rst .

Sprint Bac klog

A S prin t Backl og i s a smal l su bset of Produ ct Backl og th at t h e t eam commi t s
t o del i ver at th e en d of cu rrent cycl e of devel opmen t (i t erati on or sprin t ) .

H avi n g set t h e Produ ct Backl og i n place, l et u s get st art ed wit h S cru m

Meet i n gs!

Agile/Scrum – A Brief By Manish Manekar Page 5 of 11

Scrum Meetings
S i n ce we valu e i n divi du al s an d in t eracti on s wh il e di scou nt in g on
compreh en sive docu men t ati on an d cl aim t o respon d t o ch an ge, meet i n gs are
cri t ical t o su ccess. Keep i n min d t h at every scru m meeti n g i s face -t o-face
meet in g an d th e t eam i s expect ed t o part i ci pat e at all l evel s.

Release Planning
W h at : Brai n st ormi n g h i gh l evel scope/th eme of en t ire project /rel ease
W h o: Dri ven by Produ ct Own er; At t en dan ce man dat ory t o al l
W h en : A t th e b egin ni n g of th e project /rel ease ; l ast s for a day or t wo
Ou t come: Produ ct Backl og

Sprint Planning
W h at : Focu s on h i gh est pri ori t y backl og it ems
W h o: Dri ven by Produ ct Own er; At t en dan ce man dat ory t o t eam
W h en : A t th e begin ni n g of every S prin t ; a few h ou rs in a day
Ou t come : S pri nt Backl og

Daily Sc rum
W h at : E very t e am member sh are wh at di d I do yest erday, wh at ‟s for
t oday an d an yth in g st oppi n g me from get t in g th ere
W h o: Dri ven by an d man dat ory t o t eam members
W h en : E very W orki n g Day ; n ot more th an 1 0 -15 min
Ou t come : I mpedi men t Backl og (l i st of issu es t h at S cru m Mast e r wi l l work
t o resol ve)

Review
W h at : Revi ew of work compl et ed du ri n g t h e S pri n t
W h o: Dri ven by Produ ct Own er; At t en dan ce man dat ory t o t eam
W h en : A t th e en d of every S pri nt ; a cou pl e of hou rs
Ou t come : A ccept /Reject ed U ser S t ori es

Retrospec tive
W h at : Revi ew wh at wen t wel l , wh at di d n ot work for t h e t eam i n t h e
recen t S pri nt an d deci de wh at t h e t eam wou l d l i ke t o do di fferent
W h o: Dri ven by an d man dat ory t o t eam members
W h en : A ft er Review meet in g an d before begi nn in g of n ext S pri nt ; cou pl e
of h ou rs at most
Ou t come : Best Practi ces t o foll ow i n comi n g S pri nts

A l l S cru m meeti n gs are ti me boxed an d faci li t at ed an d moderat ed by S crum

Mast er. Th e agen da an d format of e ach meet in g i s fi xed an d t h e ti me
con su min g det ail ed ori en t ed acti vit i es t akes pl ace ou t of t h ese meet in gs –
wh i ch are again faci l it at ed an d en su red by S crum Mast er.

Agile/Scrum – A Brief By Manish Manekar Page 6 of 11

The Sprint Planning
A gi l e is i t erat i ve approach t o deli ver worki n g soft ware i n i n cremen ts. Th i s
i t erati on i s of a sh ort peri od t ypical l y devel opmen t cycl e of 2 -4 weeks. S u ch
a cycl e i s cal l ed a S pri nt . S eri es of S prin t s con clu de as a Rel ease. Len gt h of
a S pri nt i s gen erall y con st an t t h rou gh out t he Rel ease.

Before t h e S pri nt Pl an ni n g meeti n g, t h e t eam members are expect ed t o do a

l i tt l e h omework. Produ ct Own er en su res t h at th e Produ ct B ackl og i s u p t o
dat e wi t h pri orit i es. Al l members annou n ce th ei r avail abi li t y (al so call ed
V el oci t y) du rin g t hi s S pri nt . Respon sibl e members t ake a l ook at t h ei r
respect i ve U ser S t ori es wit h n ext hi ghest pri ori t y in th e Produ ct Backl og.
W h ere possi bl e, it i s broken down in t o smal l acti vit i es kn own as t asks al on g
wi t h est imat es. Th ere are vari ou s ways of est i mat in g User St ori es; h owever,
t h e t eam h as t o fol l ow on e agreed method.

Du ri n g th e S pri n t Pl an ni n g Meeti n g, Produ ct Own er sh ares h i s vi si on of th e

Rel e ase agai n an d al on g wi th th e t eam defi n es th e S pri nt G oal . I f t h e t eam
n eeds an y cl ari fi cat i on on respect i ve User S t ori es, Produ ct Own er provi des
t h e n ecessary det ai l s t h at h el p t h e t eam est imat e it . A t t h e en d of th i s
meet in g, t h ere i s a mu tu all y agreed S prin t Backl og.

Post S pri n t Pl ann in g Meet in g, t h e t eam makes su re th at esti mat ed t asks are
added t o al l it ems i n th e S pri n t Backl og an d respecti ve t ask own ers are
i den ti fi ed.

A l l t h ese act ivi ti es are recorded on a storyboard – wh i ch i s eit h er gen erat ed

u si n g some project man agemen t soft ware t ool or a ph ysi cal board wi t h st i cky
n ot es on i t . H ere i s h ow i t l ooks l i ke – i n t h e mi ddl e of a S pri n t - wh i l e we
keep t h e det ai l s ou t of t h is docu men t …

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Scrum Metrics
W e can measu re th e success u sin g a vari et y o f met ri cs. S ome of th e popu l ar
an d u sefu l on es are l ist ed h ere:

Veloc ity
V el oci t y i s th e avai l abil it y of a t eam member an d i s recorded ei t h er as h ou rs,
days or percen t age. Team vel oci t y i s the t ot al of al l t eam members. Thi s i s
measu red an d t racked S prin t over S print . A s a gen eral gu i del in e, you cann ot
accompl i sh t ot al est i mat ed h ou rs great er t h an th e t eam vel ocit y i n an y
part i cul ar S prin t .

Story Point
S t ory Poi n t i s th e measu re of compl exi ty of a User S t ory – on a predefi n ed
scal e. Pl an n i n g Poker i s on e of t h e most popu l ar met h ods of est i mat in g U ser
S t ori es. Th e met ri cs we may derive u sin g t hi s measu re are th e S t ory Poi nt s
sch edu led, compl et ed per S pri n t an d S pri nt over S pri n t . I t can al so be
measu red agai n st V el oci t y.

Burndown Chart
Bu rn down ch art i s th e g raph of est imat ed h ou rs remain in g t o compl et e
pl ot t ed agai n st days in S pri nt . A ft er t h e S prin t Pl ann in g, we h ave t ot al
est i mat ed h ou rs for al l t h e t asks coveri n g t h e S pri nt Backl og. I deal l y th e
t eam i s expect ed t o bu rn down th ese man y h ou rs by en d of th e S pri nt an d
t h at draws th e basel in e. A s t eam report s t h e dail y progress, t h e actu al
bu rn down li n e t el ls h ow th e t eam i s progressi n g.

Agile/Scrum – A Brief By Manish Manekar Page 8 of 11

T est Cases and Def ec ts
W e can al ways col l ect th e u su al met ri cs arou n d Test Cases an d Defect s.

Next Steps
1. Learn & A ssi mi l at e A gil e V alu es & Prin cipl es
2. Learn t h e Basi cs of A gi l e/S crum
3. Learn & I den t ify Ch all en ges i n A gil e A dopt i on
4. Pi l ot A gil e Devel opment
5. Coach t h e Team an d G o A gi l e

Agile/Scrum – A Brief By Manish Manekar Page 9 of 11

Appendix A: H ow it Works in Agile?

Minutes of Meeting
A gi l e valu es i nt eracti on s an d i n si st s t h at everybody i n t h e t eam i n cl u din g t h e
st akeh ol ders an d en ti re organ i zat i on , wh ere desi red , sh ou l d h ave access t o
t h e progress, i mpedimen ts an d th e deci si on s/resu lt s of al l t h e meet in gs.
W hi l e most of t h e t eams use st oryboards as t h e t ool for al l t h i s i n formati on ,
t h ere i s n o n eed for separat e mi n utes of meet i n g. Thi s i nformat i on i s
recor ded on t h e st oryboard an d everybody h as access t o i t . I f you st il l fin d
val u e i n mai nt ai ni n g an d/or di st ri bu ti n g i t separat el y, th ere is n o st oppi n g .
You may prepare an d u se some t empl at e th at deli vers val u e t o t h e
reci pi ent s.

Conf iguration Management

S t reamli n ed process an d A ut omat i on are t h e keys t o Con fi gu rat i on
Man agemen t i n A gi l e envi ron men t . Wh ile t h ere are some pat t ern s you may
u se, th e best practi ces su ch as S ou rce Con t rol , Au t omat ed Bui l d-Mi grat e -
Depl oy, Test Au t omati on an d Con t in u ous I nt egrat i on i s t h e way t o go abou t
i t . Remember t h e A gil e t eams are cl osely i n t eract i n g an d commit t ed t o fol l ow
t h e process . Besi des, t h e dai l y scru m meet i n g exposes an y con fi gu rati on
probl em wi t h in a day – wh i ch makes i t di ffi cul t for t h e t eam t o breach t h e
process repeat edl y .

Handling Change Request

A gi l e vou ch for respon di n g t o ch an ge. W h il e S cru m does n ot recommen d
di st racti n g t eam du ri n g t h e spri nt , t he Produ ct Own er can al ways make
n ecessary ch an ges t o t h e produ ct backlog t h at wi l l be con si dered du rin g t h e
fol l owi n g spri n t . S in ce t h e sprin t du ration i s t ypi cal l y 2 weeks, most of th e
ch an ge requ est s t h ose can wai t for 2 weeks are seaml essl y accommodat ed.
I n extreme sit u at i on , th e Produ ct Own er may al so deci de an d t ermi n ate
on goi n g spri nt an d cal l on S prin t Pl an n ing for t h e n ew spri nt .

T esting Proc edures

Th ere i s n o man dat e th at A gil e speci f i es for Test i n g, h owever, i t i s n ecessary
t o au t omat e t est in g wh ere possi ble an d t o t h e ext ent possi bl e. Test
au t omat i on h el ps t eam t o k eep pace wi t h con t in u ous devel opmen t an d
i n t egrati on . Test er s are very mu ch part of t h e S cru m t eam an d are i n volved
at every st age of devel opmen t . W h en the code i s wri t ten , th e t est s are bein g
au t omat ed. A U ser S t ory i s n ot compl et e un l ess i t passes t h e t est s.
Typi cal ly, code ch an ges are bu i l t , i n tegrat ed an d d epl oyed for t est i n g wit h in
days, i f n ot dail y, en abli n g t est er t o gi v e qu i ck feedback . A gai n , di rect
i n t eract i on an d dai l y scrum make t h is happen real qu i ck an d smoot h amon g
t h e sel f organ i zed t eam .

Agile/Scrum – A Brief By Manish Manekar Page 10 of 11

Appendix B: Agile Coding Guidelines

W hi l e th ere i s n o man dat e as A gi l e Codi n g S t an dards, con si deri n g th at we

del i ver soft ware i n i ncrement s an d respo n d t o ch an ge, th ere cert ain l y are
some best pract i ces th ose serve as gu i del i n es. Here i s a part i al l i st for you r
i n formati on .

Modeling/Design

 S i mpl e, fl exi bl e an d scal abl e

 Model i n small in cremen t s
 A ppl y pat t ern s gen t ly
 Updat e on l y wh en i t h u rt s
 Col l ect i ve own ersh i p
 Use simpl e t ool s

Coding
You r u su al codin g st an dards sti l l h ol ds th e grou n d an d make su re it
addresses fol l owi n g:

 S t an dardi ze on Con sen sus

 Col l ect i ve Code Own ersh i p
 Codi n g Di sci pli n e
 Refact ori n g

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