Scrum results
Now that Scrum is implemented properly I'm starting to see some positive results from the change.
The sprint review sessions have been very encouraging. The stakeholders like what they are seeing because they can see the product taking measurable steps forward, and are also able to provide feedback into what can happen next. Even though in the past the product was improving, there was no clear presentation of the progress people were unsure of what was happening or what the improvements were.
By using the review meeting we are able to show a discrete before-and-after improvement in the product and people get a good feel for how much has been done.
From the teams viewpoint the Sprint gives a clarity and direction to what they are doing and enables them to plan their time better. Previously you could turn up at work unsure of what the day would hold, or how long you would work on something before being pulled off onto something else. By ensuring the team is left alone and not pushed and pulled we get better throughput and better quality of code.
The team is still learning to approach and work through the sprint cycle. For example, in the last sprint the team didn't leave enough time for system testing and a number of bugs slipped through that meant the backlog for the next sprint included fixes for issues that should have never made it to a potentially releasable product. To help remind the team that time is required for system testing this is included as a specific backlog item now, instead of being an implicit task.
This not only acts as a reminder to system test, but also adds clarity to the tasks that need to be performed and keeps the idea of quality delivery in the forefront of peoples thinking.
Also, previous sprint reviews were being conducted on Monday mornings and then we'd roll straight into the next sprint planning meeting. The team found this difficult and wanted to move the review meeting to Friday afternoon. This is better as it provides a clean wrap up to the working week, it also means that you can finish a week on a high note and that there is a nice segue into the Friday night drinks socialising session :-)
From my point of view things seem to be working really well, the product is progressing forward well, the staff are taking more ownership in what they are doing and the teamwork is improving nicely.
The sprint review sessions have been very encouraging. The stakeholders like what they are seeing because they can see the product taking measurable steps forward, and are also able to provide feedback into what can happen next. Even though in the past the product was improving, there was no clear presentation of the progress people were unsure of what was happening or what the improvements were.
By using the review meeting we are able to show a discrete before-and-after improvement in the product and people get a good feel for how much has been done.
From the teams viewpoint the Sprint gives a clarity and direction to what they are doing and enables them to plan their time better. Previously you could turn up at work unsure of what the day would hold, or how long you would work on something before being pulled off onto something else. By ensuring the team is left alone and not pushed and pulled we get better throughput and better quality of code.
The team is still learning to approach and work through the sprint cycle. For example, in the last sprint the team didn't leave enough time for system testing and a number of bugs slipped through that meant the backlog for the next sprint included fixes for issues that should have never made it to a potentially releasable product. To help remind the team that time is required for system testing this is included as a specific backlog item now, instead of being an implicit task.
This not only acts as a reminder to system test, but also adds clarity to the tasks that need to be performed and keeps the idea of quality delivery in the forefront of peoples thinking.
Also, previous sprint reviews were being conducted on Monday mornings and then we'd roll straight into the next sprint planning meeting. The team found this difficult and wanted to move the review meeting to Friday afternoon. This is better as it provides a clean wrap up to the working week, it also means that you can finish a week on a high note and that there is a nice segue into the Friday night drinks socialising session :-)
From my point of view things seem to be working really well, the product is progressing forward well, the staff are taking more ownership in what they are doing and the teamwork is improving nicely.