Analyzing Scrum Approach Effectiveness in Project Management
- Diego Saavedra Rojas
- Jun 24, 2019
- 7 min read
Updated: Jun 26, 2019
Agile Scrum approach is commonly used in software projects; although several authors recommend its application to any field, Project Managers might face issues while employing Scrum. This post reviews distinctive publications and real case studies regarding Scrum and Agile techniques in Project Management.
Keywords: Agile Project Management, Scrum, Pitfalls.
Project Management (PM) as a system-based discipline, represents a complex endeavor that implies unique efforts for accomplishing meaningful outcomes by optimizing resources. Nowadays, project management has become to be a universal discipline that integrates technological development (i.e. Artificial Intelligence), intensive soft skills employment, high competitiveness perspective, data analysis information, and blended methods (Project Management Institute, 2019). Organizations are embracing more than ever the fact that agile techniques ensure successful outcomes as a competitive advantage. According to the Project Management Institute [PMI] (2017), 71 percent of the organizations declared using agile approaches to effectively manage their programs or projects. Agile approaches are not brand-new practices, but they have been attracting special attention in modern days. Agile Project Management (APM) entails an approach that embraces continuous evolution as a part of the requirements of any project and creates deliverables iteratively fast. Rigby, Sutherland, and Takeuchi (2016) mentioned that agile approaches blends self-managed environments with customer-based multidisciplinary teams. White (2008) mentions six benefits regarding APM:
Close interaction with users
Less time expended in planning at the beginning
Smaller teams but utilizing extremely skilled members
Delayed decision making usage
Adaptive leadership
Elimination of waste
Some agile method integrates the employment of other procedures namely Scrum, Lean Development, and Kanban techniques. Scrum approach, derived from the “Agile Manifesto”, requires a team-based organization delivering value by working in short cycles named as sprints leaded by the Scrum Master, Product Owner, and the Scrum Team.
Despite the fact that there are several benefits behind employing these agile techniques in Project Management, SCRUM methodology might also lead to project failure since it requires team engagement and resources implementation, sometimes hard to manage wisely. This review aims to synthesize, critique, and answer in which stage of any project should be appropriate to employ Scrum.
From Traditional to Agile Project Management, Literature Review
Projects are distinguished due to its uniqueness of accomplishing a goal restricted to cost, time, and specific requirements (Nicholas & Steyn, 2017). Accordingly, Project Management (PM) is one discipline that provides integrative planning and control of endeavors through the project manager and project teams. PM benefits in identifying tasks, resources, and costs; second, helps prioritizing, planning, and updating schedules; third, it monitors and controls performance; and finally, it enhances performance measurement. Some PM phases comprise conception, definition, execution, and operation of projects; as well as a repetitive cycle, if required. Špundak (2014) suggested that indeed Project Management is broadly conceived as a methodology and each author defines it differently by the purpose, context, or specificity. However, it is necessary to take into consideration the definition provided by the PMI which comprises it as a set of methods, techniques, procedures, rules, and overall bests practices used for accomplishing the goal on a project (As quoted in Špundak, 2014, p. 940). In specific PM approaches might include traditional, agile, or a blend of both. The traditional approach considers projects as simple, predictable, and linear challenges with well established boundaries. These appropriations work satisfactorily for simple endeavors in which companies control variables, especially if projects run inside departments or companies (Špundak, 2014).
On the other hand, agile approaches appear as a flexible method to be used in competitive and realistic environments with tight collaboration and interaction. Agile means to be responsive to any change that affects product development and goal accomplishment. It also entails the effectiveness of people working together with goodwill (Highsmith & Cockburn, 2001). The “Manifesto for Agile Software Development” declared the dependency of four core principles. First, individuals and interactions are over processes and tools. Second, working software over comprehensive documentation. Third, customer collaboration is over contract negotiation. And finally, responding to change should be constantly over following a plan (Highsmith & Cockburn, 2001).
Agile methods fit in some project phases that require the design and development of highly valuable products. Scrum enhances team interaction and generates products with maximum value certified by customers in a iterative nor improvised way. Nowadays, companies such as Netflix, Spotify, Amazon, Google, or John Deere have embraced the approach having successful outcomes (Sinha, 2018). Additionally, the 2015’s State of Scrum Report found 95% of scrum users surveyed would apply the method further again (73% answered very likely and 23% somewhat likely), that report also includes experiences from companies such as Nokia, Toyota, Target, and IBM (Scrum Alliance, 2015).
Scrum Approach in Critique
Scrum considers three main components to its application: roles, processes, and artifacts. In terms of roles; Scrum Master (SM), Scrum Team (ST), and Product Owner (PO) conform the crew. The SM can be similar to the project manager, who is responsible for the overall goal and management by application of the scrum values. The ST entails a cross-functional team integrated by five to ten full-time employees. This operational team requires being self-organized and the team head changes over time, depending upon needs or the sprint (iteration). Finally, the PO is someone who understands the customers’ needs and knows how the progress should be sequenced (Cervone, 2011). In regard of processes, Scrum suggests: kickoff, planning meeting, the sprint, the daily scrum, and sprint review meetings. The planning meeting generates the product backlog and creates the sprint backlog (these items are explained later on this paragraph). Kickoff meeting means defining overall goals and high-level goals. A sprint is each iteration in which the viable product is generated. The daily scrum is a meeting that aims to define compromises and track the progress of assignments. Finally, the sprint review considers analyzing the progress generated with the product owner. In terms of artifacts, Scrum approach uses product backlogs, sprints backlogs, and burn down charts. Product backlog is a list of requirements ordered by priority. This log is only managed by the product owner. One sprint backlog is a daily list of tasks. Burn down charts are used for documenting the process in terms of time and duration.
Based on what has been mentioned of the method, one critique can be oriented in how Scrum needs product owners to be always available for reviewing each deliverable generated. When projects depend on a large variety of stakeholders, costs, and efforts to perform, sprints reviews might generate problems. This is one of the main reasons why personalized software, for example, fits very well with the procedure. Indeed, the scrum approach is the only method that belongs to agile classification and has been formalized as a pattern for software development organizations (Sutherland, 2001).
On the contrary, public projects whose stakeholders have big manipulation power, application of this method might drive to conflict. Scrum works well in products and projects in their early definition stages. Having the product owner (customer and stakeholders) participating among sprints implies great efforts. To sum up, the method assumes that people interacting frequently will generate team learning, so this would enhance team communication naturally. The reality is that learning curves among collaborators depend on diverse factors only when they set up favorably. Do not forget that among each sprint, the team leader might also change then different leadership styles or behaviors can also influence the way that the approach might generate, then factors such as productivity and goals achievement can be affected overrunning in time.
Consequently, there is a possibility of failure due to the continuous diffusion of progress and scope in design and development phases. One challenge detected among 52% of users represents the complexity of measuring or even identifying success of Scrum projects (Scrum Alliance, 2015). That consequently overruns costs, then the aim of delivering the maximum value for the customer in the shortest time possible fails. According to Adell (2013) one of the disadvantages of this approach is the risk of causing scope creep. This means that projects can lose or enlarge their extent because of the consecutive outputs generated in each sprint. In fact, one case study related to construction projects, both development and study phases were delayed with the aim of including scrum sprints (Streule et al., 2016). This adjustment cannot be made without consequences if projects are already running. Additionally, Scrum might lead to undisciplined hacking due to lack of documentation (Cervone, 2011). This might happen if communication delays the completion of tasks. The aim of Scrum is eliminating bureaucratic processes and waste. However, scope creep in public administration means return to initial stages, requesting permissions, redoing paperwork and issuing notifications that indeed represent waste.
Final thoughts
In summary, Agile approaches have become popular in modern times. It was explained how Scrum technique works depending upon customer-based work done by interaction and intensive communication. Some authors have discussed its benefits, but not many its pitfalls. Several other efforts were studied just in the software industry as well. Agile processes would fail if the focus is only based on high performance. It is substantial to adapt the methodology for each project, but not the opposite. The key is balancing both tactical and adaptive performance with collaboration. Most companies might be already using Scrum or similar processes informally without even knowing. It is advisable to keep the focus on the Maximum Viable Product (MVP), the customer, prevent waste, and always question if the process is indeed helping achieving the goal (McGregor & Doshi, 2018). In conclusion, it is critical to disseminate exemplary practices but also to consider the uniqueness of each project might not fit with the same successful practices. That occurs since constraints and different factors interact among each industry, culture, and organization.
References
Adell, L. (2013). Benefits & Pitfalls of using Scrum software development methodology. Retrieved from: https://www.belatrixsf.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/kalins-pdf/singles/benefits-pitfalls-of-using-scrum-software-development-methodology.pdf.
Cervone, H. F. (2011). Understanding agile project management methods using Scrum. OCLC Systems & Services: International digital library perspectives, 27(1), 18-22.
Highsmith, J., & Cockburn, A. (2001). Agile software development: The business of innovation. Computer, 34(9), 120-127.
Project Management Institute (2019). The Future of Work Leading the Way with PMTQ. PMI’s Pulse of the Profession. 11th Global Project Management Survey.
Project Management Institute (2017). Success Rates Rise, Transforming the High Cost of Low Performance. PMI’s Pulse of the Profession. 9th Global Project Management Survey.
McGregor, L., & Doshi, N. (2018, October 01). Why Agile Goes Awry and How to Fix It. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2018/10/why-agile-goes-awry-and-how-to-fix-it.
Nicholas, J. M., & Steyn, H. (2017). Project management for engineering, business and technology. Routledge.
Rigby, Sutherland, and Takeuchi (2016) Embracing Agile. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2016/05/embracing-agile.
Scrum Alliance. (2015). The 2015 State of Scrum report. Scrum Alliance, 3. Retrieved from: https://www.scrumalliance.org/ScrumRedesignDEVSite/media/scrumalliancemedia/files%20and%20pdfs/state%20of%20scrum/scrum-alliance-state-of-scrum-2015.pdf.
Sinha, S. S. (2018, April 26). Does Scrum Live Up To Its Hype? Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2017/05/10/does-scrum-live-up-to-its-hype/#472aae5252ae.
Špundak, M. (2014). Mixed agile/traditional project management methodology–reality or illusion? Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 119, 939-948.
Streule, T., Miserini, N., Bartlomé, O., Klippel, M., & De Soto, B. G. (2016). Implementation of scrum in the construction industry. Procedia engineering, 164, 269-276.
Sutherland, J. (2001). Inventing and Reinventing SCRUM in five Companies. Sur le site officiel de l'alliance agile.
White, K. R. J. (2008). Agile Project Management: A Mandate for the Changing Business Environment. Paper presented at PMI Global Congress 2008—North America, Denver, CO. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.
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