Daily Scrum Update Using Scrumboard

The Daily Scrum is one of the most important aspects of the Scrum framework. Scrum’s transparency comes from openly viewable information tools such as the Scrumboard, which shows the progress of the team. The team uses a Scrumboard to plan and track progress during each Sprint.

The Scrumboard usually contains four to five columns to indicate the progress of the estimated tasks for the Sprint:

1. A ‘Stories’ column for the list of tasks (optional, usually a part of the Prioritized Product Backlog)
2. A ‘To Do’ column for tasks not yet started
3. An ‘In Progress’ column for the tasks started but not yet completed
4. A ‘Testing’ column for tasks completed but in the process of being tested, and
5. A ‘Done’ column for the tasks that have been completed and successfully tested.

At the beginning of a Sprint, all tasks for that Sprint are placed in the ‘To Do’ column and are subsequently moved forward according to their progress.

The Scrumboard should preferably be maintained manually on paper or a white board, but can also be maintained electronically in a spreadsheet.

The Scrum Team should change or add to the Scrumboard as required so that the board provides visual information and control about the work going on as agreed and committed by the team. Updating or referring to the Scrumboard during the Daily Scrum keeps the team focused on the tasks that remain and their priorities.

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Scrum Project Roles

Understanding defined roles and responsibilities is very important for ensuring the successful implementation of Scrum projects. There are three central roles in Scrum that are eventually responsible for meeting the project objectives. The core roles are the Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Scrum Team. Together they are referred to as the Scrum Core Team. It is important to note that, of these three roles, no role has authority over the others.

1.    Product Owner

The Product Owner is the person responsible for maximizing business value for the project. He/she is responsible for articulating customer requirements and maintaining business justification for the project. The Product Owner represents the Voice of the Customer.

Corresponding to a Product Owner role in a project, there could be a Program Product Owner for a program or a Portfolio Product Owner for a portfolio.

2.    Scrum Master

The Scrum Master is a facilitator who ensures that the Scrum Team is provided with an environment conducive to completing the product’s development successfully. The Scrum Master guides, facilitates, and teaches Scrum practices to everyone involved in the project; clears impediments for the team; and, ensures that Scrum processes are being followed.

Note that the Scrum Master role is very different from the role played by the Project Manager in a traditional Waterfall model of project management, in which the Project Manager works as a manager or leader for the project. The Scrum Master only works as a facilitator and he/she is at the same hierarchical level as anyone else in the Scrum Team—any person from the Scrum Team who learns how to facilitate Scrum projects can become the Scrum Master for a project or for a Sprint.

Corresponding to a Scrum Master role in a project, there could be a Program Scrum Master for a program or a Portfolio Scrum Master for a portfolio.

3.    Scrum Team

The Scrum Team is a group or team of people who are responsible for understanding the business requirements specified by the Product Owner, estimating User Stories, and final creation of the project Deliverables.

A Guide to the Scrum Body of Knowledge (SBOK^TM) suggests the following roles guide for the three core roles:

1. Product Owner—It is imperative for Product Owners to read the entire chapter 3 of the guide to SBOK.
2. Scrum Master—The Scrum Master should also be familiar with the entire chapter 3 with primary focus on sections 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, and 3.9 of the guide to SBOK.
3. Scrum Team— The Scrum Team should mainly focus on sections 3.6, 3.7, and 3.8 of the guide to SBOK.

Ancillary roles are other stakeholders who are involved in the scrum project, but who are not committed. Normally, ancillary roles comprise of customers, management and members of the executive team who are active participants and they collectively work towards the objectives of consulting, progress reporting and feedback collection to better work toward providing the highest value conceivable.

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Why Empirical Process Control is Important in SCRUM?

In today’s rapidly changing market trends, the customer may imagine an ‘apple’ and the finished product made by the project team may be an ‘orange’. This though is not the main problem. If the customer is aware of what’s cooking from the start he can steer the team to the ‘apple’ side. But in actuality the customer finds out about the ‘orange’ only too late. In other words if inputs and processes are in control and are reliable, we can get reliable outputs (which are generally the case with Waterfall model). The problem arises when inputs and processes cannot be controlled rigidly which generally means that the outputs would be unreliable (the Agile/Scrum scenario). In such circumstances we need to look beyond the waterfall model and focus on Empirical Process Control which simply means you need to look at the outputs more frequently and if it is not as per your liking you go back to inputs and processes and tweak it accordingly.

In Scrum, decisions are made based on observation and experimentation rather than on detailed upfront planning. Empirical process control relies on the three main ideas of transparency, inspection, and adaptation.

Transparency allows all facets of any Scrum process to be observed by anyone. This promotes an easy and transparent flow of information throughout the organization and creates an open work culture. In Scrum we have a Project Vision Statement which can be viewed by all stakeholders and the Scrum Team; an open Product Backlog with prioritized User Stories, both within and outside the Scrum Team; clearly visible Scrumboards, Burndown Charts, and other information radiators; Daily Standup Meetings conducted making sure everyone’s aware of everything; and Sprint Review Meetings in which the Scrum Team demonstrates the potentially shippable Deliverables.

The following figure summarizes the concept of transparency in Scrum

Inspection in Scrum is depicted through the use of a common Scrumboard; collection of feedback from the customer and other stakeholders; review and approval of the Deliverables by the Product Owner and the customer.

The following figure summarizes the concept of inspection in Scrum:

Adaptation happens as the Scrum Core Team and Stakeholders learn through transparency and inspection and then adapt by making improvements in the work they are doing. In Daily Standup Meetings, Scrum Team members openly discuss impediments to completing their tasks and seek help from other team members. Risk identification is performed and iterated throughout the project. Improvements can also result in Change Requests, which are discussed and approved. The Scrum Guidance Body interacts with Scrum Team members during many processes to offer guidance and also provide expertise as required. During the Sprint Retrospective, agreed actionable improvements are determined.

The following figure summarizes the concept of adaptation in Scrum:

These three pillars of Empirical Process Control ensure that the problems which projects face in the Traditional Waterfall way of doing things do not happen in Scrum Projects.

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