How to Make Your First Pilot Scrum Project Succeed
The Scrum method is the easiest to implement when we are trying to apply agile development . But if agile development is to continue, the first pilot Scrum project should be as successful as possible, which will get more support from management. Here are some specifics of what we do in practice:
a. Select a pilot project
1 ) This project has a certain impact on the business of the company (but not the most impactful), so on the one hand, it can get the support of the management, if it is successful, it will have a strong demonstration effect, and at the same time, due to the initial adoption of the new method, there will be various problems. All kinds of problems, there is the risk of failure or delay, and the pilot team will not return to the familiar development method to complete the task due to the pressure of Business .
2 ) The suggested project cycle is 5-6 months. This ensures that there are about 6 iteration cycles. The pilot team can learn and try from the first 2 iterations, and then adapt to the 2 iterations. The last 2 iterations will see good results. If the cycle is too short, the team can't really understand Scrum . If the cycle is too long, the stakeholders will lose patience, and the team will lose enthusiasm.
b. Selection of Pilot Scrum Teams
1) Scrum team members are first and foremost open to new ideas. Scrum has greatly changed the traditional development method, and members who are willing to accept new things are more suitable for pilot Scrum teams
2) The pilot Scrum team members are relatively senior, and the team member structure is cross-functional ( cross - functional )
3) There must be a ScrumMaster with practical experience , and it is best to have a management person who can participate in the pilot process
4) Pilot Scrum team members are to work together and be full-time in this pilot project
c. Pilot strategy
1) The purpose of the pilot is not to make Scrum perfect (in fact, it cannot be done during the pilot cycle), but to demonstrate the changes Scrum brings to the team and the company through the pilot. The suggested bottom-line goals for the pilot team are:
1.1 Submit working and tested software within 4 weeks;
1.2 The submitted function is the most commercially valuable;
1.3 The process is continuously improving
2) Since it is a piloting of a new method, various project stakeholders have hope and doubts about it. Therefore, during the pilot process, the project must be transparent, including the progress, problems, solutions, improvements in the next iteration, and goals achieved in this iteration. Timely and effective communication will reduce a lot of distractions and increase a lot of support.
3) Don't overestimate what you can really deliver during iterations. Because iteration in Scrum is a time - boxed cycle, 95% of the task is not considered a " Done " state. If the team doesn't adapt to the change, it's easy to lose trust by not delivering on time in the first few iterations.
4) Don't think "eat a fat man in one bite". There are generally two entry points: one is the biggest problem encountered at present, and the solution to this problem is used as the initial entry; the other is the easiest starting point, such as daily meetings, Sprint Planning , retrospective meetings, etc.
5) Appropriately combined with other agile methods, especially in engineering practices, such as pairing, continuous integration, etc.