Using Agile Scrum For Web Development

Using Agile Scrum for web development is a tremendous hit!

And the reason is simple.

It helps you save on time, resources and budget!

Plus, it also helps eliminate chances of project management failure while encouraging better communication between the customer and the web development team.

Now, since you’re here, we’re assuming that you know what the Scrum framework is.

But even if you don’t, don’t feel out of place.

Because we have got your back!

This article will talk about Scrum and agile from the ground up.

What Is Agile Scrum?

We have often heard people using Agile and Scrum interchangeably. However, Scrum is a branch of the Agile framework!

Scrum is a framework that adapts Agile, within which people can solve complex problems and deliver high-quality products through an iterative and incremental approach.

The Agile Scrum Methodology

The Agile Scrum Methodology works to improve teamwork through ongoing learning using iterations. It includes

Agile Scrum Artifact

Scrum Artifacts optimize the flow of critical information, ensuring that everyone understands the artifact in the same fashion.

The Scrum Artifacts are:

Product Backlogs

The Product Backlog is a developing, priority-based list of Agile web and Agile software development (product).

Under this framework, the Agile Scrum team undertakes this single source of work.

The team members add information like product description, order size, etc., which is also a continuous Scrum framework’s process.

However, the characteristics of the product always differ following the domain of the job.

Sprint Backlog

This is a plan for and by the developers.

The Sprint Goals provide a clear picture of the developers’ work in real-time.

It houses:

• What—Product Backlog items picked for the Sprint
• Why—The Sprint Goal, and
• How—An actionable plan for delivering the Increment

Increment

An Increment is a stepping stone that helps the Scrum teams reach their Product Goal.

Each increment is linear to all prior increments, ensuring that they all work in harmony.

Agile Scrum Events

Scrum Events assist teams in staying on track with the team members and Sprint Goals.

Scrum Events are thoughtfully planned to boost developer productivity and avoid spontaneous meetings that can cause delays in product development and delivery.

The Scrum events take place in the following order

Organize The Backlog

Product owners groom the product backlog.

The primary responsibilities of the product owner are to lead the product toward its goal, monitor the market and the consumer continually.

The backlog has the following phases:

Scrum Sprint Planning

Everything starts with planning!

In this case, the agile web development team meets to plan the work needed during the current Sprint.

With the guidance of the Scrum Master, the team decides on the Sprint target.

The Sprint is then enhanced with specific use stories from the product backlog.

The team makes sure that these stories align with the Scrum teams’ goals, and everyone agrees.

After the planning meeting, each Scrum member should be clear on:

• What can they deliver in the Sprint?
• How can the Increment be delivered?

Scrum Sprint (Actual Sprint)

A Sprint is a period during which Scrum teams collaborate to complete an Increment.

A Sprint is usually two weeks long.

However, it’s entirely on the team to decide the sprint period varying from one week to a month depending on the complexity of project management.

Once the team decides the Sprint time, it should not change throughout the development period.

During this time frame, the product owner and development team revise the scope (if required).

Daily Scrum Meetings

Daily Scrum Meetings are super-short stand-up meetings that take place in the morning while standing.

The Sprint meeting ensures that everyone aligns with the Sprint objective and plans for the rest of the day.

The stand-up is also an opportunity to complain about the Sprint objective or overcome roadblocks.

Though Scrum teams try to wrap up the meeting in 15 minutes, this is only an estimated time. They can also last longer but not that long, which beats the purpose of this meeting.

A popular way of making a stand up has each team member respond to three questions on the Sprint goal:

• What work did I perform yesterday?
• What are my plans for today?
• Are there any roadblocks that need my immediate attention?

Scrum Sprint Review

Once the team organizes the actual Sprint, they gather informally to review the Increment.

In this meeting, the development team presents backlog items to stakeholders and colleagues for feedback.

Based on the results of the current sprint, the product owner updates the product backlog in this review meeting.

Scrum Sprint Retrospectives

The Scrum sprint retrospective is a meeting where team members document and review what worked and what didn’t throughout a Sprint or specific ceremonies.

It is beneficial for the team to focus on what went well rather than on inaccuracies.

Who Is In The Scrum Team?

The Scrum teams are self-organization and cross-functional teams.

These cross-functional teams have different functional expertise, which comes together for a common goal.

Ideally, the team size is 7 (plus-minus 2) members. The Scrum Team has

Scrum Product Owner

Product Owners set priorities for the Product Backlog.

The owner reviews the prioritized Product Backlog, selects the tasks with top priority, and commits to completing them within a sprint.

In exchange for their commitment to perform the assigned tasks, the product owner agrees not to pelt the team with additional requests throughout the Sprint.

Scrum Developers

Scrum developers are highly skilled professionals who are ultimately accountable for the product’s development.

They work towards understanding customer needs and how each activity contributes to delivering a time-boxed product.

Scrum Masters

The Scrum Masters are accountable for ensuring that a Scrum team sticks to Scrum values and practices.

They also safeguard the team by ensuring that they do not over-commit to sprint goals.

They carry out daily Scrums and take on the responsibility of resolving any issues that the team raises during such sessions.

How Does Scrum Work?

The Scrum lifecycle starts with the project requirement and ends with delivering the final output to the customer.

We have discussed each step in detail

Everything In Scrum And Agile Starts With The Requirements

Scrum framework in Agile refers to the process where developers come together to brainstorm ideas for a web development project.

It begins with a list of resources that the developers will incorporate into the project’s development.

During the meeting, they discuss the work they need to do and the estimated time.

After the Scrum project planning (the product backlog), the team then meets to review the requirements of the customer after the project planning (the product backlog).

Taking feedback from stakeholders into account, the product owner identifies the needs and prioritizes them according to their business value.

Afterward, they create a priority list of criteria.

If modifications happen throughout the project, the product owner changes this list.

Then the requirements break down into specific activities and get expressed in user stories.

Jump From One Sprint To Another Sprint

After evaluating the project’s requirements, the team moves on to the next stage, the Sprint.

A sprint is a four-week development cycle.

A fully functional product is released at the end of the sprint.

During a Sprint, everyone left the team alone to go ahead with the development process.

At the moment, the product owner cannot change the requirements.

Once the first product backlog is ready, the team and product owner collaborate to create it during Sprint planning.

They decide which targets to include in the next Sprint and which demands to carry out now.

The development team also estimates the work required to complete each demand or user story. They also provide needs for the next Sprint based on the effort and priority estimates provided by the product owner.

The developers then complete the first Sprint by implementing all the user stories in this backlog.

Each day, developers mark the remaining effort; thus, the remaining effort comes down to zero after the Sprint is over.

After the Sprint, the team gathers for a Sprint review, which does not last more than an hour in total.

The developers discuss their findings and determine if they produced the desired results. They also invite stakeholders to take part in this meeting and ask for their feedback.

Based on the feedback, the product owner manages the product backlog and plans for Sprint’s objectives and needs.

Following that, the team conducts a Sprint retrospective under the supervision of the Scrum Master to close the Sprint.

At last, the developers make one enhancement proposal for the Sprint.

Communicate In The Daily Scrums

Scrum focuses on active communication between stakeholders, the product owner, and members of the development team.

As a result, developers gather at the start of each weekday for a daily Scrum meeting.

In this meeting, the participants report on what they performed the previous day, what they expect to complete before the next daily Scrum, and any roadblocks they experience.

The team members report to one another post daily sprint, and if things get complicated, team members assist one another as required.

Even the product owner and Scrum master are frequently present, though not actively taking part.

After sprinting the project, the team delivers its discoveries to the product owners and stakeholders.

However, if there are many development teams, the supervisors hold the Scrum process of Scrum meetings.

In this meeting, the supervisors communicate with one another, considering the present state of their team.

Also, not all members participate; each team has one or two designated members who attend the meeting on their behalf and convey the same to the team.

Why Use Agile Scrum For Web Development?

We’ve seen how Scrum works in the real world. Now let’s discuss why it makes sense for a web design organization to adopt agile framework for web development methodologies.

Scrum Gives You A Head Start

It’s clear that if a business hires a website development company for web and mobile application development, they are still in the startup phase, even if they have a clear vision of what they want.

In the traditional web development world, the project start date is always late. Do you know why? Because the developers need to define the full-proof strategy even before actual development can begin.

On the contrary, Scrum methodology in the web industry enables the team to start the first Sprint with the client’s requirements and amplify them across the remaining website development Sprints.

Agile Scrum Helps You In Saving Time And Money

Typically, the non-iterative techniques delay the project to a great extent because the design and research phases happen simultaneously.

Since the teams are in a rush to start development, they do not have enough time to examine each technology thoroughly.

And this often results in selecting the wrong technology, which consequently ends up costing more.

With Scrum web development, research only takes place when required by the current Sprint.

It provides developers with a handful of time to research helpful information. Consequently, it enables them to make more informed decisions and minimizes the risk of subsequent challenges.

Scrum Is Adaptable

A Waterfall approach involves working on the entire project over an extended period (say, a year), after which the developers can deliver the product.

The project becomes apparent that it is outdated and incompatible with some of the most innovative technologies available today.

This is where Scrum comes into play!

Scrum focuses on training its team as and when the updates are released.

Moreover, after each Sprint, the agile web development team reviews the project scope and requirements with the customer and makes necessary revisions.

It helps the developers and consumers stay current with the project.

Scrum Methodology Develops Friendliness Within The Team

The Scrum team members develop a sense of camaraderie that we are all in this together. This collaborative spirit cultivates innovation and efficiency and helps the team head toward the same objective.

With this sense of togetherness in mind, even the most demanding projects become manageable.

What Things To Keep In Mind When Using Agile Scrum For Web Development?

A Scrum workflow consists of multiple steps. Here’s a breakdown of things that you must keep in mind while using the agile framework:

Organize Stakeholder Workshops To Discuss Product Backlog

Filling up the product backlog collectively with stakeholders is a friendly approach.

And the best part is it can take place even before signing the contract.

During product backlog discussions, the team gains a thorough knowledge of a stakeholder as they unite their vision with you and agree on the future product.

Allow Stakeholders To Attend Scrum Meetings

As a Scrum team, you must allow stakeholders and product owners to take part in Scrum meetings.

It will enable stakeholders to understand how meetings take place and the team talks on the inside.

Work With Current Teams, Don’t Tear Them Apart

Keep in mind not to break existing teams if they have been working on past projects for an extended period.

Regrouping an old team with a new team is not wise.

Throughout the time spent on the project, the teams are well aware of each other’s skills and can easily cooperate with them.

In short, it is ideal for keeping them together.

Never Underestimate The Importance Of Team Building

Team-building exercises are helpful on their own.

However, it’s worth it if you’re setting up a team from scratch for a new project.

Effective team-building strategies focus solely on professional tasks, ranging from talent sharing to using collaborative engineering practices.

Host Stand-Up Meetings Regularly 

You must gather the entire team involved in the product development for daily stand-up meetings.

While hosting such meetings, keep in mind to keep the session brief and discuss while standing.

Because when everyone sits comfortably and talks, the meeting can last hours.

As a result, such sessions sometimes last longer than necessary.

And you sure don’t want to waste time on something unnecessary.

Work With Remote Teams By Setting Communication Guidelines

Communication can be difficult.

Remote communication can be more demanding, and you may miss a lot of critical data in a Skype call or Slack message.

To simplify matters, attempt to establish communication protocols that guarantee remote team members exchange critical information efficiently.

If software development teams have employed specialized collaboration software, you can set alert messages and emails to notify you of new challenges.

Estimate Product Backlog Together With Stakeholder

Estimate product backlog items while a stakeholder is available.

This way, the team can immediately address any relevant concerns. It also helps stakeholders witness talks and observes whether the estimate is reasonable.

Though it will not entirely ward off the project from the poor estimate, it will help develop confidence and minimize the possibility of conflicts in the future.

When Product Backlog Has Enough Items, Plan New Sprint

Sprint planning may begin only when the product backlog has at least two Sprints’ worth of items.

Otherwise, the project may suffer from project delays and the uncontrolled expansion of a project’s scope.

Consequently, you cannot specify the next Sprint’s scope in the product backlog.

Determine Each Sprint’s Main Goal

Sprint goals help ensure the team’s goals align with the customer’s objectives.

The goals define what the team must achieve throughout the Sprint and assist in the prioritization of backlog items.

As an owner of the product, you must create a Sprint target before picking Sprint components.

It will help your team prioritize Sprint’s elements based on the goal.

Avoid Risks By Planning A 6-Hour Day

Trigger warning: You will face issues because of the continuous Sprint development.

But you can schedule a six-hour day and another two hours for risk mitigation.

Another strategy is to plan for a certain percentage of the team’s absences (some members might skip the Scrum meeting for unavoidable reasons).

Don’t Stretch Sprint Time

Sometimes, stories grow unusually big, or there are too many stories to work on simultaneously.

And there is an inclination to extend a Sprint time to complete them and meet the goal.

However, sacrificing a set rhythm may not only disturb your schedules; it may also establish an unpleasant practice of constantly failing to live up to set timeframes.

To overcome this issue, you must address timing issues during a retrospective meeting.

Don’t Cut Sprint Time

Cutting down Sprint time once all the stories are complete is not a good idea.

If you find yourself in this circumstance, it is preferable to write short stories and add them to the scope until the Sprint is complete.

Always Separate The Product And Sprint Backlog

A sprint backlog is static, and a product backlog updates regularly.

Keeping these documents separate allows you to plan, estimate, and predict your web development sprints efficiently.

Create IDs for Items

A significant but straightforward piece of advice is to always give unique IDs to your user stories and other backlog items.

It also facilitates intra-team communication, as it is easier to name a number than the actual user story.

Use Scrum Board

Using a Scrum board is a helpful strategy for enhancing Sprint visibility.

You can organize the board into four primary columns, which are:

Stories: User stories are in the very left column and develop from the Sprint backlog.

Not started: This section lists specific actions needed to complete a particular user story.

In progress: The column shows which tasks are currently in process.

Done: When the project is complete.

Visualize Sprint Burndown

Scrum’s best practice is to use burndown charts to track Sprint’s progress.

A chart compares the number of things done each day to the estimated pace of completion.

Its primary purpose is to guarantee that they complete the Sprint on time.

This strategy helps identify issues as they appear.

It thus allows you to discuss issues in daily stand-ups and concentrate on solving them immediately to keep going.

Use The Release Burndown Chart

A release burndown chart facilitates evaluating the number of Sprints required to complete a project on time.

It also helps to determine whether the team’s projected timeline needs to change.

Here you will get to see sprints and completed user stories on the X and Y-axis, respectively.

If you update the initial product backlog with new stories throughout development, release burndown is critical.

These changes invariably affect the release date.

Make Velocity Based Sprint Planning

Velocity in Scrum refers to the amount of work that a team can do throughout a Sprint.

You require velocity measurements to improve team commitment forecasting and highlight estimating difficulties in the long term.

With that said, you can easily calculate velocity after the Sprint by summing the points for all completed User Stories.

Typically, 3-5 sprints determine the team’s overall velocity and plan accordingly.

If your findings vary after five Sprints, it’s worth revisiting your user story planning strategy.

Don’t Separate Testing From Development

Agile Scrum principles require developers and quality assurance professionals to cooperate with features. It also encourages them to work together.

Engineers will know quality assurance needs, while testers will have a clear vision of the engineering process to develop quality assurance processes proactively.

Address The Bug Backlog In The Next Sprint

The following Sprint should resolve all issues identified in the previous Sprint to ensure commitment consistency and a constant work pace.

You can attempt to mend the loopholes within the current Sprint only if they break the original commitment.

It will improve the precision of your Sprint planning and the predictability of all tracks.

Implement Continuous Integration

Continuous integration is a component of the Agile framework and DevOps best practices. It involves frequently integrating code changes into the repository’s main branch and testing them as soon as possible.

Developers should ideally integrate their code every day, if not many times daily.

If the test verifies the feature, you can automatically add it to the daily build.

Discovering all the errors will help you keep the technical team informed about integration concerns in real-time.

The best part about continuous integration is you can use it with continuous delivery (CD).

The combination will deploy all features immediately rather than performing a build every Sprint.

However, it would be best to keep in mind that everyone uses both CD and CI in extreme programming (XP); they are not interchangeable.

Manage Projects With Scrum

Scrum is an excellent, popular Agile and project management framework.

However, it is not the only one that takes Agile principles forward.

Depending on your project, you can adopt a more structured and scaled Agile approach.

Agile may be an umbrella term for frameworks such as Scrum. Still, other approaches, even those with a more conventional structure like a Waterfall, can benefit from Agile Scrum Methodology.

You can mix and match your ideas (for example, using Scrum and Kanban or Scrum and Waterfall together) for different components or phases of the project.

If you’re interested in developing a hybrid approach, Scrum is the way to go!

You can always use Scrum, which makes sense for the project, and other methodologies that offer your web development service stability.

This is how adaptable Scrum is!

Want to know more? Contact us to set up a conversation!

FAQs on Agile Scrum for Web Development

Can I Use Scrum Without Agile?

You may have come across teams and organizations that use these terms interchangeably to explain web development activity. But, for once, a team can use Agile without Scrum and can never use Scrum without an Agile framework.

What Are The Six Principles Of Scrum?

The six principles of Scrum are as follows:

• Iterative and incremental development
• Control over the empirical process
• Team collaboration
• Time-boxed product
• Value-based prioritization
• Self-organization

What Is A User Story?

User Story is a technique to define product backlog requirements. The product owner determines the vision and helps the team to create user stories.

Are Sprints and Iterations the same?

Though both Sprint and Iteration deliver the same working product increment, they both differ in the following way:

• Both Sprint and Iteration have different lifecycle
• Sprint is time-boxed, while Iteration is not
• Increment duration is much longer as compared with Sprint duration

Are Product Owner and Scrum Master the same person?

No, the Product Owner and Scrum Master are not the same. They both differ based on ownership.

While the Product Owner takes care of the product backlog and prioritizes user stories, the Scrum Master looks after the team, including the product owner, for value creation and delivery.