1. Introduction to Scrum in Adaptive Coding

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Scrum is a system of methods used in the project management industry. Scrum is a sub-branch of the Agile project management methodology. The purpose of Scrum revolves around the concept of adding value to a software product through a process of iteration. When software is being developed, this means repeating the process multiple times to filter through any potential issues before declaring the software to be complete or most bugs to be solved. If this is not successfully executed and if there are inexplicable bugs, the process is halted. The terminology used for the iterative processes are called sprints, and should conclude with a software that exhibits signs that it is ready to be released. The product being developed is prioritized in a product backlog, and with the beginning of each sprint, the development team solely focuses on a new iteration that is documented in the sprint backlog. The story is the Scrum’s primary unit of work. The product backlog consists of pending stories that are prioritized by importance or order of development, and each sprint is characterized by the stories that will be worked on during the iteration.

  • Product Backlog: The product backlog consisting of stories and components that need to be applied.
  • Sprint Backlog: Stories that are first on the priority list and have been added to the sprint backlog will need to be worked in according to priority.
  • Sprint: The average timeframe dedicated to a sprint is 1-4 weeks. Each day is optimized for production tasks that contribute towards completion of the stories in the sprint backlog.
  • Release: The product is updated after each sprint as more characteristics and functions are added to the product.

Scrum can be visualized as an assembly line or production line for a software product, with each functioning component of the final product being added on as it moves further down the line. Agile, which is the parent system of Scrum, recognizes that a project has the potential to change several times along the development process to finalization due to customer demands. Agile as a system was developed due to the proven inefficiency of more rigid and structured methodologies and approaches to software product development. For more information on this, the Agile Manifesto is a good starting point for those who want more clarification or comparative examples to go by. The Agile Manifesto itself was signed by 17 software developers, and has become such a popular method of approaching software development that experience in Agile and Scrum can be found in more and more places as being a required prerequisite to qualify for a job opening in software development. Scrum is a frequently used implementation of Agile.

Scrum combines articles of documentation, parts acted out by people that are both in the development team as well as fulfilling other roles, and rituals in the form of meetings comprised of the relevant parties. There are a lot of details to be learned as to what Scrum can offer the software development process in terms of a project management system.