Because this is only a short overview of Scrum, it is expected that the reader may leave with several unanswered questions. In this section, we will look at the top three questions most often asked by those new to agile and Scrum, then leave you with some final words on where to find more information.
Gantt charts are not typically used on Scrum projects. Burndown charts (both sprint burndowns and release burndowns), task boards, backlogs, sprint plans, release plans, and other metrics charts are used instead to communicate progress, status, and forecasts. A variety of agile project management tools exist to provide this type of dashboard reporting, including plug-ins for Microsoft Project.
The only artifacts Scrum requires are the product backlog, sprint backlog, release burndown, and sprint burndown. All other forms of documentation are left up to the team to decide. The agile rule of thumb is that if the artifact adds value and the customer is willing to pay for it, then the artifact should be created. Artifacts created because “it's on the checklist” or “we’ve always done this” are items that should be considered for elimination. Documents required for governance issues (audits, accounting, etc.) must still be created, but often can be streamlined.
The project manager often becomes the ScrumMaster. This is not always the case and there are many different transformation permutations. For example, a project manager who has been serving as a domain or subject matter expert might be better positioned as the Product Owner. Or a project manager heading up a team of 50+ people may remain in that role and focus on overall project tasks such as procurement and contract negotiation, while the Scrum teams on the project (remember, a Scrum team is 7 +/- 2 people, so a 50-person project will be made up of 6-10 Scrum teams) each have their own ScrumMaster. In this scenario the project manager assists the ScrumMasters in coordinating, strategizing, and removing roadblocks.
Traditional estimating and planning uses a bottom-up method, where all requirements must be fully defined, with tasks then created and estimated based on this fixed scope. Agile estimating and planning instead uses a top-down method to forecast. Gross level estimating at the feature level is often done using a technique called planning poker, with estimates given in points using the Fibonacci sequence. Teams determine their velocity in points, i.e. how many points on average can the team complete in a sprint. Cost per point is determined by calculating the loaded salaries of the team for period x, then dividing that by the number of points completed in period x. Once you have your team's average velocity and a gross-estimated product backlog, you can forecast project milestones and completion dates, as well as the cost per point and thus forecast project cost.
One paragraph cannot do this topic justice, as entire books have been written on this topic. An excellent book with practical advice on how to do estimating using planning poker and forecasting using velocity and points is Agile Estimating and Planning by Mike Cohn.
Scrum is an agile project management framework that helps teams to deliver valued products iteratively and incrementally, while continually inspecting and adapting the process. Project Management Institute members will find they can implement Scrum and still be in keeping with the A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)—Fourth Edition, as both advocate a plan-do-check-act approach to project management.