When a newcomer enters the field of project management, it may seem intimidating to make their way through the unfamiliar terminology and processes that they may encounter in this challenging and specialized industry. A project manager is, in fact, tasked as a member of the project management team to manage various aspects of the project, representing a variety of tasks and responsibilities. Throughout the course of managing their projects, it is incumbent upon the project managers to develop a systematic approach to the planning and execution of the projects they oversee, including all of the required ancillary plans. Choosing the right project management methodology is crucial to guiding your efforts and ensuring your project’s success. There are a number of methodologies out there that can be used within project management, but Agile and Scrum are two of the most common ones.
Both methodologies have many similarities, but they also have some key differences, and if you are considering a career as a developer, project manager, or both, it would be advantageous to learn about them. Essentially, Scrum is an agile methodology for facilitating project development, while Agile is a project management philosophy based on a set of core principles and values. In this article, we will provide an overview of what Agile and Scrum are, why they are unique, as well as the key differences between Agile and Scrum.
First and foremost, let’s understand the significance of the terms Agile and Scrum.
What is Agile?
An Agile technique is a collaborative and flexible strategy that teams generally use to perform tasks more effectively management goals. As a result, rather than a single major revelation or release, an Agile comprises smaller chunks of activities that can be completed in shorter periods and provided regularly. As a result, it becomes simpler for project managers to adapt to shifting priorities, respond to challenges as they emerge, and reduce costs, time, and inefficiencies resulting from these improvements.
When implementing Agile concepts into a firm or project, it is necessary to employ a structure or a specific technique for the project. In contrast to other software development techniques, the development and testing operations are carried out simultaneously in this methodology. It also promotes collaboration and face-to-face communication among employees.
Agile is the major category of many subsets such as Scrum. As the scrum method is the subset of Agile methodology, similarly Kanban, Crystal Method, and Extreme programming are also subsets of the Agile method.
Features of the Agile
- Sprints: A sprint is a defined period in Agile product development during which particular work must be performed and fully prepared for the review of the project requirement. Each sprint commences with a strategy meeting or sprint planning. It is up to the scrum master, who is also the team’s organizer and administrator of the Scrum framework, to decide how long a sprint will last.
- Scrum Meetings: Scrum Meetings are part of the Agile method where a team comes together and collaboratively works on a project despite having managers. In this feature of the agile method, the team discusses how they will move further on a project and approach the problems.
- Agile development results in a ‘inspect and adapt’ strategy (which is a crucial event held at the conclusion of each Program Increment (PI) in which the train displays and evaluates the present status of the solution) with various stakeholder groups, as seen by the frequent evaluation and revision of products and services that are part of the process.
- The transparent method may be implemented via online Agile Project Management tools such as Team Foundation Service, Jira, Trello, Kanbanzie, and others due to open contact with investors and other stakeholders and the project management process.
What is Scrum?
What does a Scrum environment look like? Scrum technique, interestingly, is an Agile framework for software development and testing that promotes cooperation and efficiency. Scrum-based development projects are divided into sprints, which are made up of three parts: product backlogs, sprint backlogs, and sprint goals. Each sprint focuses on defining, developing, and testing a single function
Each sprint lasts two to three weeks, depending on the project’s complexity. If any business requirements change that necessitates a code change, it’s faster and easier to discover it in the sprint backlog than it is to repeat the whole software development lifecycle, as in a Waterfall technique.
With this structure in place, the Scrum Master is responsible for ensuring the project’s success. He or she is responsible for keeping the whole team on track, addressing and resolving any issues that occur, ensuring that the team follows Scrum methods, and enforcing deadlines.
Scrum is perhaps the most widely utilized Agile methodology in the world today. As of 2020, according to the State of Agile study, about 78 percent of Agile users utilize Scrum or a mix of Scrum methodologies to manage their projects. Scrumban and Scrum/XP are two examples of hybrid Scrum techniques that are often used.
Features of the Scrum
1. Sprint Sessions — When planning a project, we often include a timeframe for a project to get complete. Studies demonstrate that humans frequently overestimate or underestimate the time needed most of the time. Also, planners and executors usually have different mindsets. Thus, the planners’ plan should be implemented by the executions. This is why Scrum proposes sprint sessions. This technique divides the team into smaller groups of 3-9 individuals who work together for a week or two. After the week, they review the project’s progress and plan the following sprint’s progress. Because the planners are also the executors, and because the plan is revised on a regular basis, the team is driven to keep working on the project.
2. Show progress — A large-scale project involves multiple teams working on various parts of the project. Communication between teams might be difficult in such a circumstance. However, seeing the success of other teams may also be a fantastic energy booster. Scrum features creating a chart to make everyone’s effort apparent. This can encourage sluggish workers to work quicker and energetic workers to keep up their pace.
3. Burndown Chart – Most organizations use standard progress charts/graphs to show how much work particular teams have done. They believe that showing an employee’s progress on a chart will raise their morale and motivate them to work more. Scrum indicates the opposite. Every week, Scrum methods require a ‘Burndown’ chart. The chart should show the available working days and the quantity of work awaiting along the chart’s axes. In addition, the graphic should clearly show how much work remains and how many weeks the staff must labor to complete the assignment.
4. Precise Meetings – Meetings conducted on a daily basis in the business sector. The majority of these sessions last for hours and have a little beneficial impact on the project’s development. Scrum features that daily meetings be conducted at short intervals to cope with this problem. These gatherings should last no more than 10-15 minutes. Only three questions should be asked and answered at the meeting, rather than detailing the whole project and various plans to accomplish the objective over and over again. These are the following:
- What occurred yesterday? – briefly explain what each team accomplished the day before.
- What will happen today? – talk about the tasks that each team will do that day.
- What will happen the next day? – Try to figure out what difficulties may arise in the future and how to overcome them.
Agile Vs Scrum: Know The Full Difference
We have mentioned all the differences between Scrum and agile here in the tabular form to better understand.
| Agile | Scrum |
| Agile development is a technique that takes an incremental and iterative approach. | Scrum is among the methodologies used to achieve agile development. In this scenario, the client receives incremental builds every two to three weeks. |
| Agile involves delivering everything at the end of the project. | The Scrum process is structured into short sprints with smaller deliverables each. |
| Agile software development is often regarded as being particularly well suited to situations with a small but highly skilled project development team. | Scrum is particularly well suited for projects where the requirements of projects are constantly changing. |
| Leadership is very important in the Agile process. There are a number of cross-functional teams that are involved in the Agile process. | Scrum encourages a cross-functional, self-organizing team. There are specific roles within the Scrum team, such as a Product Owner or a Scrum Master. |
| Comparatively speaking, Agile is a more rigorous technique than Scrum. As a result, there is limited room for frequent adjustments | The most significant feature of Scrum is its adaptability, which allows it to respond quickly to changes. |
| Various cross-functional teams collaborate with one another and communicate face to face with one another as part of the Agile process. | Collaboration is done in Scrum through the use of daily stand-up meetings, in which a set role is allocated to the team leader, production manager, and team members. |
| Agile development processes and organizational transformation can be time-consuming and expensive upfront. | When adopting the scrum method, there aren’t many modifications that need to be made. |
| The agile technique necessitates normal delivery to the end customer to obtain their input on the product. | After each sprint in the Scrum methodology, a build is provided to the customers for their consideration. |
| This technique requires that each phase of development (requirements, analysis, and design) be continuously monitored throughout the product’s lifespan. | At the conclusion of each sprint, a presentation of the capability is presented. So that regular input may be gathered before the next sprint can be conducted. |
| In the agile methodology, the project manager is in charge of all tasks. | Because there is no team leader, the difficulties or problems are addressed by the entire team. |
| The design and implementation should be kept as basic as possible in the agile methodology. | Innovative and experimental design and execution are possible in the scrum methodology. |
Conclusion
As soon as you have a good grasp of what Agile and Scrum are and how they interact with one another, you can start thinking about how you can use these techniques in your own projects. Again, because of the differences between agile and Scrum, it should not be a matter of whether to use an Agile or a Scrum methodology.
When you determine that an Agile approach is appropriate for a specific project, the next issue is: which Agile model should you employ? Scrum, for example, or any of the other Agile methods available might be the answer.
FAQs
Q1: Is scrum part of agile?
Ans: Scrum is a component of the Agile methodology. The process’ overhead is maintained as low as possible to optimize the amount of productive time available for doing meaningful work, and it’s the most frequently utilized one.
Q2: Why is Scrum not agile?
Ans: Scrum’s emphasis on practical management is a logical extension of traditional management principles. Scrum is primarily concerned with project management, not with software. As a result, Scrum is not an “agile” software-development technique in the traditional sense—in fact, it is not a web application approach at all.
Q3: Which comes first, agile or Scrum?
Ans: Scrum has been there for a long time. Scrum was created in 1993. However, the word “agile” was originally used for Scrum and related methods in early 2001.
Q4: Can you use Scrum without agile?
Ans: You have come across many teams or organizations which use these terms to explain their activity regarding software development. But a team can use Agile without using Scrum methodology, but a team can never use Scrum without using Agile methodology.
Q5: What are the 6 scrum principles?
Ans: The 6 scrum principles are:
- Control over the empirical process
- Self-organization
- Collaboration
- Value-based prioritization
- Timeboxing
- Iterative Development
