Human memory is fallible – people who rely a lot
upon their memories tend to make mistakes when they have a lot of things to
remember. Even though a person might be God gifted to remember things, human
beings are subjected to limitations dictated by nature, and there is a limit to
how much the human brain can absorb and retain. This is why people, especially
those who are appointed to work at senior levels, have a habit of making notes.
Notes can be extremely useful, and depending upon the nature of your work and
profession, they can prove to be indispensible. Note “making” can be simple in
nature. An individual can jot down a few reminders on a piece of paper, refer
to it from time to time, and accomplish the tasks given to him or her.
For
project managers, who have to professionally deal with work which requires a
lot many things to remember, a simple “note making” process may not suffice, or
prove to be insufficient. To overcome this difficulty, many “C” level
individuals make use of digital pocket diaries and organizers to assist them in
their note making activities.
Importance of
lists and the need to create them in scrum
Scrum project managers too have a lot many things
to remember. The most important thing
for them is the product backlog. A product backlog is nothing but an organised
list of development related requirements, referred to as “user stories” in
scrum terminology. Within Agile framework, a specific process is defined to
create the list of user stories which together form the product backlog. As per
the scrum manifesto, the product owner, who represents the stakeholder’s
interests, prepares a detailed list of requirements which are absolutely
necessary to develop a particular product. Actually, the entire product is
initially broken down into small functionable parts (user stories) which can be
developed independently. Each functionable part is further segregated into its
sub components which are known as “tasks”. The development team is assigned
these tasks depending upon their levels of expertise. Each team member takes up
a list of tasks which he or she is supposed to complete during the product
development cycle known as a “sprint”.
Scrum
management and the need to organize information and user lists
If you look at scrum from a subjective point of
view, the framework is all about planning, implementation, self-evaluation, and
repeating the same process all over again until the product is eventually
developed. There is a lot of list making to do during the implementation of scrum framework. With so many types of lists required to implement scrum, it is
almost impossible to remember each and every list item, and recall them at a
moment’s notice. So the question arises – how can a scrum project manager or
development team members remember things? The answer is – they cannot do so.
They need an organised system which can retain and store the lists in an
organised manner. Moreover, such a system should also be capable of retrieving
the list items as per the user’s requirements. A dump of all the list items may
prove to be cumbersome, since individual scrum tem members only require
information that is useful to them in their work. A simple, or even a
sophisticated digital diary, or a pocket organiser will not suffice. What is
actually needed is to harness the computing power and memory retention
capabilities of computers. A good quality software which can take care of all
the lists, filter them out as per the user’s requirements, and even assist them
in their daily work, can go a long way in implementing scrum successfully.
How can a computerized scrum management system help in scrum implementation?
A computer based scrum management system can be
very valuable while implementing scrum. Besides saving time and making the
implementation easy, it offers many other advantages too.
- Product backlog
A product
backlog is an organised, and an ordered list of everything needed to develop,
or to manufacture a particular product. It is used for:
o
Storing the requests or requirements, known as
user stories, needed to develop or modify a particular product. It can include
new features, or may also consist of features required to modify, or update
additional functionalities associated with the product.
o
Organising the user stories in accordance to
their priorities or importance. A small portion of the list is
"extracted" and transferred to the sprint backlog to carry out the
sprint. The user stories in sprint backlog are taken up by team members for
development purposes.
Computerised product backlog
The product
owner can create an effective product backlog and organise the user stories
depending upon their importance. Typically, user stories are prioritised
depending upon how much important they are, and their importance to the
stakeholders i.e. how much they are worth in terms of revenue generation and
product development. Computerized systems can offer a dynamic way of generating
product backlogs, which can also be modified or updated, rearranged and prioritized as per need. A lot of time is saved by the product owner.
- Sprint backlog
The sprint
backlog is a list of carefully selected product backlog items or user stories
which are to be developed, or processed during the sprint by the development
team. It also reflects the team's objectives and the forecast of the planned
sprint results.
o
When the sprint backlog is specified for
inclusion by the product owner, it is further broken down into individual tasks
by the team members during the second part of the sprint planning meeting.
o
Once individual tasks are created, they are to be
allotted to team members.
Computerized sprint backlog
The product
backlog created by the product owner is stored within the system. The
computerised system makes the entire list of product backlog items available to
the product manager, and he or she can easily select, or “pick up” user stories
from the list and transfer it to the sprint backlog. Team members can avail the
sprint backlog from the system, and further break it down into tasks with the
help of the system. The scrum management system also aids the team members in
transferring the tasks using drag-and-drop features, which make the entire
activity effortless.
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