Agile Scrum: Driving Efficiency in the Modern Workplace

The success of a software development process depends majorly on delivering projects and meeting deadlines. Or so it was always believed. Working in such an environment resulted in the loss of quality of work, excessive reworks, and increased pressure on the software developers. In an attempt to solve this issue and to set up a much better working methodology, the agile way of working took form.

Let us understand more about the basics of agile scrum and its most popular methodologies.

The Origin of Agile

Twenty years ago, 17 people from around the world gathered at a ski resort in Utah and created what we know today as the Agile Software Development Manifesto. The core value of this new alternative to the traditional project management process was to place people and values at the core and work together to achieve results. The agile approach to software development focuses on completing the project with iterations and a constant focus on improvement and collaboration. The founding group that called themselves the Agile Alliance went on to create four central values of the Agile Software Development Manifesto:

Unlike the waterfall approach, agile methodology divides work into actionable items, called sprints, enlist feedback, and reprioritize work as per business needs and market changes.

What is Agile Scrum Methodology?

Agile Scrum is a popular way to make software. It's like teamwork on a short schedule, usually a few weeks. Teams work together on parts of the project during these short times, so they can keep checking and fixing things.

This method helps teams plan better, manage all the time, and give useful stuff to customers sooner. It's a great way for teams to work together, change things easily, and make customers happy with what they get.

How Does Agile Scrum Work?

Agile Scrum works by breaking down big projects into smaller parts, called "sprints," usually a few weeks long. Teams work together during each sprint to finish a piece of the project. They talk a lot to make sure they're on the right track and fix things as they go. At the end of each sprint, they show what they've done to others and get feedback.

This helps them improve as they keep working on the project. Agile Scrum is like a way to work fast, change plans easily, and make sure everyone knows what's happening.

What are the 4 Most Popular Agile Methodology?

The agile approach focuses on achieving the goal of breaking the project into iterative blocks of work that focus on continuous delivery. Below are the four major methodologies that highlight the agile way of working: 

1. Scrum

One of the most popular agile methodologies, the Scrum way of working aims at breaking the entire development cycle into smaller cycles called sprints, which have variable completion rates. These completion rates are determined by the sprint velocity, which is the average of the time taken to complete all the sprints involved in the development process.

Key Focus

The scrum methodology focuses on continuous development with insights into productivity across the sprints and also the blockers in the development process. The scrum process also fosters better collaboration between the teammates and consists of a scrum master who manages the stand-up meetings to understand the progress and issues in the development process. 

2. Kanban

This visual form of workflow management originated in the manufacturing sector and later found its application in the software development process. This methodology of the agile development process utilizes visual cues to provide visibility and track progress across the various stages of the development process.

Key focus

Like the predecessor, the Kanban methodology focuses on continuous delivery with insights into the upcoming tasks through the Kanban board, which consists of the process flows in column view to deliver the projects on time. Users can get real-time visibility into the development process at any given time along with a view of the development workflow.

3. Extreme Programming (XP)

Extreme Programming also emphasizes dividing the entire project into shorter development cycles and gathering customer feedback and requirements at the end of each iteration. This makes it easier to incorporate any changes or include new requirements without any hassle. 

Key Focus

This agile methodology has a keen focus on constant communication and customer satisfaction. This is achieved through continuous testing at the completion of each iteration, thus ensuring customer demands are met and there are no changes at the end of the development cycle. 

4. Crystal

The Crystal methodology of agile development methodologies comprises a family of functionalities that include Crystal Yellow, Crystal Clear, Crystal Red, Crystal Orange, and more. All of the above have a unique framework that is categorized by various factors such as the criticality of the project, the size of the team, and the different priorities in the project.

Key Focus

Like all the agile methodologies above, the Crystal approach focuses on the quick and continuous delivery of projects and customer satisfaction. 

According to the 16th Annual State of Agile Report, Scrum was voted the most popular agile way of working with 66% of the 4,182 respondents identifying it as the methodology they follow.

Benefits of Using Agile Scrum Methodologies

According to Project Management Institute, 71% of U.S. companies are using Agile methodologies to manage their software development cycle. So it is safe to say the agile way of working is the most common in software development. The benefits of the agile way of working are vast, from faster time to market and better visibility to improved customer satisfaction. The agile framework’s focus on collaboration and continuous improvement also makes it an efficient approach to modern software development. Here are other ways how it drives digital transformation with visibility into improvement through:

1. Flexibility

Breaking down the entire SDLC process into smaller cycles provides better control and flexibility as teams can observe one cycle, gather inference and gain insights into making the iteration process more efficient. 

2. Adaptability

The iterative framework enables teams to adapt to new requirements and processes better owing to the observations from the gathered data. This also helps in better resource allocation and adaptability across the development cycle. 

3. Process optimization

The agile way of working helps managers to optimize the process until the desired result is achieved at the desired time, cost, and quality. The optimization is possible due to the focus of the agile process on continuous delivery and improvement.

4. Risk mitigation

The insights generated after every iteration, equipped with traceability and collaboration of the teammates, help efficiently uncover the blocker in the development process. Managers can also track the pattern across the entire development cycle and zero in on issues and hindrances better. 

Agile and the New Work Normal

Ever since the onset of the pandemic the world has witnessed massive shifts in the way of working. And though the world has returned to normal to an acceptable extent, the workforce that witnessed a paradigm shift in the way of working has fully adapted to the hybrid and remote way of working. This new normal has been a revolutionary change in the global workforce that is beneficial to both the organization and the employees. This is the future of work and it is defined by the streamlined focus on digitization, data, and people. 

The new work environment enables employees to preserve their focus time and maintain a better work-life balance, thus reducing the chances of employee burnout. Coming to software development, the remote and hybrid way of working has cut down the manual efforts in everyday mundane tasks and updates, thanks to automation tools and software that enable them to focus on the tasks and their well-being. 

In fact, Agile adoption went up by 33% in the mid of 2020, which is the initial phase of the shift to remote working. According to the 15th State of Agile Report, which was recorded in 2022, 89% of teams are geographically distributed, and working hybrid, this clearly establishes remote working to be the new normal. To help manage this new era of working managers should adopt a data-rich platform that enables them to drive digital transformation in the software development process and generate data-enriched reports through high integrations. This empowers them to automate processes and focus on people.

However, this scenario is only feasible for organizations that have added an analytics tool to their software arsenal. 

Shaping the Future with Agile Scrum

It is clear that the Agile Software Development Cycle is the future of work. Organizations should take the first stride to adopt and maximize the functionalities of this popular and efficient framework. To make the process a success, organizations should also utilize other software metrics like sprint velocity, code churn, and other that helps optimize the agile framework and achieve the desired results. However, individually measuring these metrics can be difficult and have limited value. Hatica solves the issue by providing a platform that efficiently integrates with everyday software tools to gather data, analyze them, and provide actionable insights without disturbing the focus time of the teammates. Drive digital transformation in your software development process and place employees and organizational values at the core of your agile framework with Hatica. Learn how Hatica can help you scale agile development across environments. Request a demo →

FAQs

How does Agile Scrum contribute to improved workplace excellence?

Agile Scrum helps in continuous improvement, collaboration, and delivery of valuable increments. These factors collectively contribute to enhanced workplace excellence.

What is the difference between Agile and Scrum?

Scrum is a more rigid method with less flexibility for change, and it's ideal for those who need to produce results as quickly as possible. Agile is more suited for smaller teams and for those who prefer a more straightforward design and execution, while Scrum is used more for creative and experimental approaches.

How can organizations measure the success of Agile Scrum adoption?

Organizations can assess the success of Agile Scrum adoption through factors like improved project delivery time, enhanced customer satisfaction, and efficient team collaboration.