How to Deliver High Value Software Features in a Short

Time Period using Agile Scrum Process

Last Updated:June 7, 2018
What is the agile scrum (Sprint) process?
Before getting into the details of this topic, it is important to us that we understand the basic
meaning of ‘Agile’, ‘Agile Development Process’, ‘Scrum’ and ‘Sprint’.

The meaning of the word Agile is ‘able to move quickly and easily’. This same applies when
it comes to software development. Agile is a method of project management (mainly
software development) that is characterized by the division of tasks into short phases of
work and frequent reassessment and adaptation of plans.

There is Agile manifesto which tells what approaches do and don’t work for software
development. Any development process which follows the concepts Agile manifesto is
referred as Agile development. Scrum is nothing but one such process only. It is a light
weight process framework for Agile development.
So, Scrum is a software development process based on Agile methodology. We can say
that it is a subset of Agile.
In today’s rapid world, stakeholders want an immediate return on their investments. They
don’t want to wait for long periods to get the full featured product. As a result, nowadays
new software development and testing framework are catching momentum i.e. Scrum
approach. In the scrum, projects are divided into small tasks that are to be developed and
tested in specific time-frames called as a sprint (small cycles).
Literally, the word sprint means ‘run at full speed over a short distance’. And, the same
concept is applied here. In the sprint, we aim for rapid completion and review of specific
planned tasks while maintaining the high quality at the same time. This agile scrum team is
handled by scrum master.
Scrum is an iterative, incremental framework for projects and products or application
development. Scrum has become more and more popular software development and
testing framework among organizations. Many small to large sized IT companies have
embraced Scrum framework as this creates excellent quality products in less time than
other traditional methodologies like waterfall processes.
This framework can save both companies’ time and money. It significantly increases the
productivity and reduces time to benefits relative as compared to other processes of
software development. It also allows the organizations to cope up better with the change.
 Source: ScrumAlliance
Having had the basic idea of Agile Scrum(Sprint) process now, let us move towards having
a look at the soft skills that can help you in delivering high-value software features in a short
time period.

What You Will Learn: [hide]

 Soft Skills for a Scrum Team:
 Team Spirit
 Communication
 Commitment
 Problem Solving
 Transparency
 Scrum Result
 Recommended Reading

Soft Skills for a Scrum Team:

What Soft Skills are required to be a Successful Scrum Team?
When we start our regular (Agile) sprints (Cycles of work), we usually find some of the
challenges with our team members. These challenges are not part of technical difficulties. It
usually occurs with team member’s mindset or their soft skills. Many successful Scrum
projects taught us that the success of scrum depends on how team members support whole
heartedly towards the Sprint.

Let us discuss some of the pre-requisite soft skills for a Scrum Team.
Team Spirit

Cross functional Team work is at the heart of Scrum. There is no “my work”, “I have
finished my work” and “your work”. In a Scrum team, we find people saying things like only
“Our work”, “we have completed our Sprint”.
Individuals will have helping tendency for sharing technical knowledge. Scrum Members are
always available to team members rather than locked away behind closed doors. Scrum
Master will always motivate the teams and create a Supporting learning environment.

The team will always be sprint-oriented and often discuss smooth run of the sprint. A scrum
team’s job is to self-organize around the challenges and management’s job is to remove
impediments to self-organization.

Communication

Good communication must exist among team members of the development team, testing
team, business analysts and stake holders. There must be a highly collaborative interaction
between client and the delivery teams. More client involvement implies more suggestions or
changes from the client. It implies more bandwidth for communication.

Commitment
Commitment is one of the core scrum values.
Agile Teams needs periodic re-energizing to renew their commitments to their purpose and
to each other. Scrum Masters can help by ensuring that the team embraces the concept of
whole-team responsibility and whole-team commitment to deliver working software at the
end of each sprint. With the whole-team commitment, the team member who has completed
his tasks will help the one who has not yet completed so that hopefully each team finishes
the assigned tasks on time.

Problem Solving
Scrum does not simply focus on developing just any type of end product. Instead, the
Scrum method allows the team to focus on creating a product that fulfills the customer’s
highest value priorities which are defined by product owners.

Transparency
Transparency or openness among team members and management gives a real
momentum to the scrum team. Scrum Master encourages people to ask for help, surface
roadblocks, and give recognition to those who help others and solve problems. At the same
time, Scrum Master also understands the time wasted and impact on the team when
individuals sit ideally or ignore problems.

Scrum Result
If scrum team follows the above said soft skills, team velocity will increase significantly. In
turn, customers will appreciate the results or updates – and also can react quickly to any
potential problems. The team can deliver high-value software features in a short time
period and the team can contribute towards changing business conditions.
Useful Reads
 Kanban vs Scrum vs Agile: A Detailed Comparison to Find Differences
 Getting Started with Agile Scrum Methodology: The Complete Guide for
Software Developers and Testers