An Agile/Scrum Primer

Jen Harris, CSM &Steve Curtis, CSM

Project Managers, CivicActions

Agile vs. Waterfall

Agile vs. Waterfall

What is traditional or “Waterfall” project management?

Agile vs. Waterfall

What is traditional or “Waterfall” project management?

The waterfall model is a sequential process, in which progress is expected to flow steadily downwards through various phases.

The waterfall model is a sequential process, in which progress is expected to flow steadily downwards through various phases.

What is Agile?

What is Agile?

What is Agile?

Agile project management is an iterative method of determining requirements for engineering and information technology development projects in a highly flexible and interactive manner.

What is Scrum?

What is Scrum?

Scrum is one version of the Agile process.

It was developed in 1993 and has at its foundation the principles and values set forth in the Agile Manifesto.

Why is it called Scrum?

Why is it called Scrum?

The term "scrum" was borrowed from an analogy put forth in a 1986 study published in the Harvard Business Review. In that study, the authors compare high-performing, cross-functional teams to the scrum formation used in Rugby.

3 Scrum Roles

Product Owner

Responsible for the business value of the product.

The PO is a subject-matter expert, end user advocate, customer advocate, business advocate, communicator, decision maker, risk assessor.

ScrumMaster

Ensures that the team isfunctional and productive.

Keeps the team focused.

SM is facilitator, assistant,Scrum coach/mentor, enforcerof time-boxing, mediator, riskassessor.

Scrum Team

Self-organizes to get the work done.

3 Scrum Artifacts

The artifacts are tangible itemsnecessary for communication and transparency.

Product Backlog

A wish-list of requirements/specifications for the product, prioritized according to business value by the Product Owner.

This list can be constantly re-prioritized and added to as new requirements and issues come to light.

Sprint Backlog

A subset of work from the Product Backlog that the Team agrees to complete during a Sprint.

Prioritized requirements are further broken into tasks during Sprint Planning.

BurndownA visual representation reflecting the “velocity” at which work is being completed.

Updated daily by the ScrumMaster to communicate how much work and time remains in the Sprint. Shows at a glance whether or not the Sprint is on schedule.

3 Scrum Ceremonies

Sprint PlanningA meeting at the beginning of the Sprint cycle during which the Team selects a subset from the top of the prioritized Product Backlog – a set of requirements that they feel they can commit to completing during the Sprint.

Sprint Planning

Based on this subset (aka the Sprint Backlog), the Team and theProduct Owner decide on goals for the Sprint.

The Team further breaks down requirements into tasks and estimates thework.

Daily Scrum

A brief (15-20 minute) meeting convened by the ScrumMaster, to report on progress, identify any blockersto productivity, and adjust work assignments based on what's happening.

Daily Scrum

What have I worked on since the last Scrum?

What will I be working on between now andthe next Scrum?

Do I have any blockers?

Sprint Demo

Work completed in the Sprint is often demoed by the person who completed it, which builds accountability and thoroughness.

Retrospective(bonus)

A meeting where Team members can share experiences and results from the Sprint in order to improve communication, productivity and workability during the next Sprint: a space for honest feedback.

Case Studies...

170 Million Americans

170 Million Americans

American Public Media (APM) approached CivicActions in November 2010 to quickly produce an enticing campaign site to highlight public media and its funding in the USA, attract partner public media stations (to date over 250 stations have signed up) and encourage users to show their support for public media.

170 Million Americans

CivicActions used an Agile/Scrum approach to implement the basic functions of the 170MillionAmericans.org website, demo the site to stakeholders, and rapidly respond to stakeholder input.

The website was started, completed and launched within 2 weeks of kickoff.

170 Million Americans

RESULTS

Within a few weeks, American Public Media had over 127,921 Facebook fans, and activists persuaded Congress to preserve the entirety of the $445 million in government funding that supports public broadcasting. To date the website has a conversion rate of over 52% for users completing the sign-up form.

Greenpeace UK Mobile

Greenpeace UK MobileGreenpeace UK approached CivicActions in the summerof 2012 to make their existingsite more accessible to theirmobile users. Reports hadshown that nearly half of theirpage views were from mobiledevices.

Greenpeace UK MobileCivicActions' work with GPUK was designed to be carried out during a short sprint with a small team: just two engineers over a two week period. With dozens of types of content and over two-hundred thousand individual pieces of content, Greenpeace understood that making their mobile site 100% friendly was not achievable.

Greenpeace UK MobileWith our Agile practices, we supported them in writing and prioritizing the most important user stories* for mobile visitors.

In this way, we developed a focus on functionality, and on sections of the site devoted to fundraising, subscriptions, campaign pages and blogs.

*User stories capture the 'who', 'what' and 'why' of a requirement in a simple, concise way.

Greenpeace UK MobileMain impact of implementing Scrum was our ability to continuously reassess priority vs. deliverability within a short timeline and on a limited budget.

Greenpeace UK MobileRESULTS

"The mobile site is really impressive, and I honestly think we're setting a new standard in the charity sector in the UK." - Jamie WoolleyHead of Digital Communications, Greenpeace UK

Every Beat Matters

Every Beat Matters

Ad Council and Save the Children approached CivicActions in the summer of 2012 to quickly assist with getting the Every Beat Matters campaign website and mobile site launch-ready.

The EBM site had been designed and built by a third party vendor (BBDO), but still had some tweaks and bugs to be resolved before launch.

Every Beat Matters

CivicActions was able to step in and used an Agile approach to complete and launch the Every Beat Matters website and mobile site within approximately two weeks.

The main impact of the Agile/Scrum approach was our ability to respond quickly to evolving business requirements in days prior to launch.

Every Beat Matters

RESULTS

To date, Every Beat Matters has over 3,000 Facebook fans and over 3,500 followers on Twitter, and ...

Resources & Training

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