Scrum in 10 Minutes: a brief introduction

By Nathan Donaldson

Tags: Agile

Get a short introduction to Scrum, featuring a Scrum in 10 minutes video, explanations of key Scrum terms, tips from our Scrum Masters and further resources.

One of the topics we most frequently talk about here on the Boost blog is Scrum and Agile development.

Much of the information is for people who are already familiar with Scrum and Agile. However we are well aware there are many people out there to whom Scrum is something to do with rugby, and being Agile is to do with being flexible (which I suppose is actually true either way).

As a relative newcomer to the worlds of Agile and Scrum, I’m realise there is quite a learning curve, and throughout my learning process I’ve come across a number of different resources that have helped my understanding immensely.

One of the more useful resources I have come across is the following video (and of course, the great free ‘Introduction to Agile’ workshop we run here at Boost), which quite succinctly explains Scrum in 10 minutes.

Of course, there is more to Scrum than this, and a number of different ideas and terms that you’ll have to remember and understand. But it’s a great way to get started.

Scrum in 10 Minutes

Did you catch all of that? There is a lot of information being covered in a short period of time. I’d recommend watching the video a couple of times to try and listen and understand all the information that is being shared.

However, a couple of our Scrum Masters here do have a couple of thoughts to add to the video:

• Scrum Masters and Project managers aren’t the same thing
• We like to user story points for estimation as opposed to hours
• We do a burn-down of hours and a burn-up of story points
• Daily stand-ups are essential, regardless of team experience

Of course you are more than welcome to ask any questions you have about the video in the comment section below, or ask us on Twitter @Boost NZ or on our Facebook page. We’ve also included some of the key terms from the video below to help with your learning.

Key Scrum Terms

There are a few key terms in there that are pretty crucial to understanding Scrum, and for your benefit (and mine), here is a quick recap of some key Scrum terms using definitions from the video. Feel free to chime in with your own definitions if you have something to add:

Product Backlog: A wishlist of features you’d like to implement for your site/service/product, generally ordered in terms of business value.

Product Owner: Represents the users and owners of the site/service/product to ensure the right features make it through to the Product Backlog. They set the direction of the site/service/product.

Scrum Master: Makes sure the project is progressing smoothly, and that every team member has the tools they need to get the job done. They also remove any impediments to progress for the team.

The Team: A multifaceted group that gets the job done; includes developers, testers, and other talents as required.

Sprint: A short duration milestone that gets elements of a site/service/product to a ship ready state, taking prioritised tasks from the Product Backlog.

Burndown Chart: A chart that shows a day by day measure of the amount of work remaining in each sprint or release. Often has a Burndown Velocity line showing the trend of the project to help you understand if the project is going to be finished, early, on time or later than expected.

The Daily Scrum: A daily stand-up meeting (aka. The daily stand-up) with the team that asks ‘What did you get done yesterday?’, ‘What will you work on today?’ and ‘Are there any obstacles in your way?’.

Further Resources

• Scrumology — has a great blog, and email series called the Scrum Addendum that is well worth signing up for
• Mountain Goat Software — full of fantastic resources about all things Scrum
• The History of Scrum — Scrum founder on how and why Scrum is structured the way it is
• 10 Great Scrum Practitioners to Follow on Twitter — keep in the loop with the latest on Scrum
• Scrum, a beginner’s experience — lessons from the first days using Scrum
• Business Analysts and Scrum — what BAs can expect when working in a Scrum team

The Scrum Product Owner primer

1. What is Scrum? — Scrum roles, rules and tools, along with how Scrum was developed, how it relates to Agile, how it works best — and why
2. Six signs of a successful Scrum Team  — what you can do as a Product Owner to deliver maximum value and make a bigger impact
3. Making multiple Product Owners work in Scrum: A case study — what you can do when the product is too big for one Product Owner
4. Working with stakeholders in Scrum — how to set expectations, plan how you work together and get the support you need to succeed
5. Product discovery for Scrum Product Owners — a step-by-step guide including developing your product vision, strategy and testing prototypes
6. User stories in Scrum — a user story template, guide to good user stories, and tips on how to write them with your team
7. How to succeed as a Scrum Product Owner — a summary of what Product Owners need to know to maximise their impact

That’s a wrap

Simple, huh? Of course, that’s a very introductory overview, but hopefully the Scrum in 10 minutes video makes you realise that it’s not impossible to learn, and shows you a few of the ways that Scrum can improve your development practices.

If you’ve got any questions about Scrum, let us know in the comments below, and we’ll do our best to help you. Don’t forget to subscribe to our RSS feed to keep up with our latest news and adventures, and to help you continue on your Scrum learning way.

Thanks for dropping by.