What Does Scrum Mean?
Landing under the Agile development methodology, Scrum is a project management framework adopted by development teams that clearly defines the team’s structure, values, and practices. The Agile software development life cycle uses a flexible approach to projects, allowing development teams to make adjustments and improvements throughout the project’s lifecycle.
The origin of Scrum comes from a rugby term referring to an entire team working together to achieve a common goal. This development process urges teams to learn from their experiences, take time to organize while problem-solving, and perform a retrospective analysis of completed projects to determine areas for improvement.
The foundation of Scrum is based on continuous learning opportunities and being flexible when faced with changes. It recognizes that teams don’t have to understand every aspect of the project before starting and anticipates requirements may change throughout the project’s lifecycle. Scrum ensures that all members of a development team can easily adjust to changes and makes it simple to re-prioritize the build schedule due to the short release cycles known as sprints.
The Core Principles of Scrum
There are six core principles of Scrum that are used to structure development teams. Let’s take a look at these principles are how they impact the team.
Empirical Process Control
This principle is typically regarded as the most important and is made up of three key components: transparency, inspection, and adaption. To properly structure a development team, there must be transparency in the project’s elements, the ability to spend time inspecting the project’s phases, and be prepared to adapt the team to any changes in the project.
Self-Organization
A team that is self-organized will have the ability to complete its work in a timely manner without requiring constant input from team leads. By giving team members ownership over their work, they are more invested in building software with a quality user experience and submitting their work on time.
Timeboxing
Timeboxing is used in Scrum, with development cycles lasting two to four weeks, known as sprints. These sprints allow development teams to focus on different pieces of the software and make it easier for changes to be made throughout the software’s development.
Value-Based Prioritization
Building the development timeline to ensure the software solution is developed in a logical manner plays a key role in the project’s success. Teams must also be able to prioritize tasks within a sprint based on how valuable they are to the team’s success and in a way that derives the most value from time spent working.
Iterative Development
Working in iterative cycles by breaking the project work into smaller pieces to complete during sprints makes it easier for development teams to deliver components of the software product. Completing work in iterative sprints makes it easier to show stakeholders how the solution is coming along and implement any changes before the final product is complete.
Collaboration
Scrum is a development process structured around teamwork, making collaboration a core pillar of the framework. The project’s scrum team must be able to work together to build a high-quality software solution in the time range provided by the client. Many project teams will create a virtual board that displays the status of everyone’s work within the sprint cycle and upcoming tasks.
Pillars of Scrum in Software Development
We mentioned the Empirical Process Control and its three components earlier, which also make up the pillars of Scrum in software development. Let’s take a deeper dive into those components and how they impact the software development process.
Ensuring Transparency
Transparency in Scrum software development refers to all team members being involved and aware of the solution’s status. Development teams work on pieces of the software during sprints, but understanding the project as a whole, including the goals and purposes, will allow them to complete high-quality work. Having a high level of transparency also means developers can support each other with their tasks because they have insight into all aspects of the project.
Having daily meetings for the project team to go over their tasks and seek advice on roadblocks will encourage transparency. These will allow team members to be updated on the project’s status and gain insight into everyone’s daily workload. This allows the project to run smoothly and allows team members to see how their work contributes to the team’s goal and completion of the product.
Emphasizing Inspection
In order for the inspection of the software to be possible in the Scrum method, there must be transparency. Inspection is regularly completed while developing the software, including the product, team members, and the development process.
Inspection allows teams to determine what works for the team and project and where improvement is needed. Inspection is also done at the end of each sprint when stakeholders can provide feedback on the work, and the Scrum team can take that user feedback and incorporate it into future sprints.
Encouraging Adaptation
As Scrum is a project management framework built from the same mindset of Agile development, adaptation is naturally a key pillar. Adaptation is supported by transparency and inspection by notifying development teams of where they need to adapt processes. Adaptation allows projects to be flexible and make updates throughout the development process to ensure the final product meets the client’s needs and expectations.
Adaptation is also a pillar that separates Scrum from falling under the Waterfall methodology. By making adaptation a part of the Scrum method, project teams can set their team up for success by making space for changes to be made to the product.
What Are The Advantages of Scrum?
After reviewing the principles and pillars of Scrum, we’ve learned how Scrum sets development teams up for success. Let’s take a look at three advantages that teams can experience while using the Scrum framework to create software.
Defined Deadlines
Having defined deadlines throughout a project allows team members to have a clear timeline for when their work needs to be completed. Having clear deadlines for all members throughout the entire project ensures everyone has their work in on time, and no one is left scrambling to complete their tasks. Defined deadlines also reduce the risk of scope creep, a common cause of late deliveries and additional costs.
Suited for Large Projects
The Scrum approach works well for larger projects since the work will be broken down into smaller, more manageable sprints.
Changes to the requirements are common for large projects because there are so many factors to the software that might not have been considered during the planning phase. By working in sprints, development teams can provide clients with pieces of software throughout the project’s lifecycle, allowing client feedback and changes throughout development.
Ideal for Smaller Teams
Scrum is an ideal framework for smaller teams because of how important communication is to process. When a Scrum team is larger, daily meetings will run longer, communication can be difficult with so many players, and ensuring details of the project are documented can be difficult to organize.
Implementing the Scrum Framework in Telehealth Software Development
Healthcare software allows healthcare professionals to consult with patients remotely using mobile apps. Medical software and telemedicine solutions are becoming increasingly prevalent in the healthcare industry as more patients seek out virtual care. This care can be provided with a mobile telehealth app through video conferencing, instant messaging, or audio calls.
There are a few key factors that a telemedicine software development company must keep in mind while building a medical software solution. Data security is a high priority for healthcare organizations, as they are legally required to protect sensitive patient data according to compliance regulations. Many healthcare organizations will build a user interface design that clearly protects sensitive patient data, which an experienced team in telemedicine app development will be familiar with.
Healthcare providers can utilize telemedicine apps to reach patients who are outside of their direct local area, increasing the number of patients they can visit in a typical workday. Health systems that disregard the benefits of telemedicine app development are missing out on the next generation of patients who find it easier to communicate through telemedicine software than by scheduling in-person appointments.
Healthcare software solutions are large and intricate projects, making the Scrum approach an ideal software development methodology. Being able to develop telemedicine software in pieces will ensure critical elements are not excluded from the final product, and healthcare organizations can be confident in the solution before introducing it to providers and patients.
What Are The Specific Roles in This Process?
We’ve been referring to the development teams who would benefit from Scrum. Now, let’s review the three main roles that comprise a Scrum development team.
Product Owner
The Product Owner of a Scrum team is typically the key stakeholder or lead user of the solution. The Product Owner will have extensive knowledge and understanding of the product, its users, and its competitors. As the primary source of knowledge and encouragement for the project, the Product Owner will plan out sprints, determine the team’s goals, and field any questions about the solution.
The Product Owner is responsible for defining the project’s goals, evaluating the progress of the project, and prioritizing the backlog items. While managing these aspects for the development team, they are also responsible for handling most of the communication between the client and the software development company. This ensures that no aspects of the project are left out and there were no changes to the project scope without their approval.
Scrum Master
The Scrum Master of a team is the individual who makes sure the Scrum team is following the principles and core pillars of the methodology. The Scrum Master will facilitate daily status meetings and help developers unblock anything keeping them from completing their work. As the name states, the Scrum Master will have an extensive understanding of the Scrum method and how to support their team throughout the project’s lifecycle.
Developers
Ideally, software developers on a Scrum team will have a wide and varied skill set that allows them to contribute and provide support to all aspects of a project. Developers should be capable of writing and testing code to ensure there are no bugs and the software meets the client’s needs.
As mentioned earlier, developers should be capable of organizing their work and taking the initiative to complete their daily tasks with minimal oversight. The product owner will typically work with the client to determine what work must be completed, but it’s up to the team of developers to split up the work and complete it on time.
When Should You Use Scrum?
Scrum development is best used for large projects where the client would like the flexibility to make changes throughout development. Due to the fast-paced environment that accompanies sprints, this method is ideal for projects on an accelerated timeline.
Development teams should consider a Scrum approach for projects when the client inhabits a rapidly changing industry, making the software solution more susceptible to change mid-project. If the development team is full of organized self-starters, Scrum is an ideal framework that would allow developers to thrive.
If your healthcare organization is looking for a software development company that is well-versed in Agile development, contact Geneca today! Our team of experts is ready to discuss your ideal healthcare software solution and bring it to life.