What is the Scrum Model? Roles and Key Principles

In today’s software development and project models, you’ve likely heard of models like: Agile, Kanban, Waterfall, etc. Among them, the Scrum model is an effective method many businesses apply for project management and software development. So, what is Scrum, and why should you use the Scrum model for project management? Let’s find out in the article below.

1. What is the Scrum model?

The Scrum model is a framework used to organize and manage the moving parts of a project. Originally designed for use in software development, Scrum is now used by organizations and project managers across all fields.

This method works well for smaller teams tackling projects with changing deliverables, undefined solutions, and frequent interaction with customers or end-users.

2. Benefits of the Scrum model

Implementing a new project management method for your team comes with challenges, but Scrum offers many unique advantages that you can articulate to your team and stakeholders as you make the transition.

• Adaptability: Projects in the Agile model, Scrum involve regular check-ins and updates, so if a project needs to change, it won’t stagnate for weeks before someone notices. You’ll be able to identify a problem or a necessary change and pivot quickly without losing weeks of work. Plus, your project is continuously improved throughout its lifespan, rather than in a few major change phases.
• Visibility: Stakeholders have the option to view the project’s progress throughout its lifespan—not just at certain intervals around the beginning, middle, and end. They feel more involved, as does the entire team, giving everyone the opportunity to collaborate and watch the project move from start to finish.  
• Cost reduction: Adopting the Scrum method can be cost-effective for an organization, as it often requires less documentation and control.
• Increased customer satisfaction: When everyone on the team works to the best of their ability and continuously adjusts based on internal and external feedback, it can lead to products and solutions that customers love.

Read now: What is Kanban? How to apply Kanban in work management

3. Roles in the Scrum model

In this section, let’s learn about the positions and roles of the Scrum methodology. Here are some key roles in the Scrum project management model you should know:

3.1. Product Owner

The Product Owner is the customer’s advocate and should keep the stakeholders’ best interests in mind while executing sprints and prioritizing the backlog. The role of the product owner is to guide the team and encourage open communication across all positions. A successful product owner is organized and ready to answer questions and provide clarity throughout the project’s lifecycle.

3.2. Scrum Master

The Scrum Master removes obstacles and facilitates processes as needed to keep the sprint running smoothly. The main difference between a Scrum Master and a traditional project manager is that the Scrum Master does not give step-by-step direction to the team. At the beginning of a project, the Scrum Master and Product Owner meet to prioritize features and organize the sprint.

3.3. Development Team

The remaining participants in Scrum are members of the development team, who are tasked with executing the deliverables. Anyone who contributes to creating the product is on the development team, including programmers, designers, writers, and platform testers (also known as Quality Assurance (QA) specialists).

In Scrum, the development team is self-led, and all members work together to complete each sprint. The development team must decide for themselves how to best complete the deliverables. After the roles have been defined and staffed, the product owner and Scrum master will organize a series of planning meetings to define the project’s features.

4. Steps to build a project with the Scrum model

The Scrum methodology consists of a set of specific steps. By following them, you will start your project using the Scrum model, manage it correctly, and complete it on time. Let’s look at these steps.

Step 1. Build the Scrum Team

The structure of Scrum teams differs significantly from the structure of traditional development teams. You will not find any traditional roles in them. There are no architects or project managers in Scrum. Instead, the Scrum team consists of only three main roles: Product Owner, the Team, and the Scrum Master. Typically, they can be defined as:

• The client or their representative
• The team that executes and manages the project
• The person who tries to make the team’s work more effective

The main characteristic of all Scrum teams is that they are self-organizing. This means that such teams do not require a project manager or any other formal leader. They can perform their work without close supervision.

Step 2. Preparing to run a project

The project management process in the Scrum model requires a lot of preparation. First of all, it should be mentioned that all requirements for the final product in Scrum projects are built directly by the end-users. In the preparation phase, the Scrum team asks them to tell their stories. A user story is really how the user sees the final product. They are collected by the Product Owner and added to the product backlog.

Then, all user stories must be analyzed and prioritized in the product backlog according to their importance to the final product. The stories are then broken down into smaller parts that form the sprint backlogs. If your business is undertaking a business project, you cannot ignore the B2B sales process which helps increase sales efficiency quickly and easily.

Step 3. Planning and executing the Sprint

The sprint planning process begins when the initial product backlog has been formed. Unlike traditional software development methods, the Scrum method allows you to change the product backlog during the work process. After the sprint backlog is formed, the Scrum team turns it into a number of tasks for this sprint. This process is usually part of the sprint planning meeting held at the beginning of each sprint, which defines its main tasks and goals.

When all sprint goals are set and all tasks are defined, the Scrum team begins its work in the sprint. During this process, the team conducts daily meetings (Daily Scrums) to review work progress and identify the strengths and weaknesses of the work process. After all work on the sprint’s tasks and goals is completed, the Scrum team holds a final meeting to summarize all progress and discuss it with the Product Owner.

Step 4. Completing the work 

Finally, at the end of the sprint and after discussing the intermediate product with the Product Owner, the Scrum team must conduct a retrospective meeting. The main goal of these meetings is to identify what went right during the sprint and what needs improvement. After conducting a retrospective, the team starts a new sprint.

5. The 6 Principles of Scrum

The Scrum framework is based on six fundamental principles, which are guidelines that must be followed in every project. “Must” is the keyword, as Scrum followers are adamant that each principle remains intact and is adhered to, to prevent the team from losing focus or the project from encountering any failures. The six principles are:

5.1. Empirical Process Control

In Scrum, the empirical process is based on observation of evidence and hard experimentation rather than theory. There are three main ideas for empirical process control: transparency, inspection, and adaptation.

5.2. Self-organization

Since the Scrum process relies on multiple individuals, self-organization is essential. Every participant is empowered to work independently, and the principle of self-organization allows all parties to be more involved, while also making it easier to evaluate the contributions of each individual.

5.3. Collaboration

Scrum is a collaborative process, as evidenced by the many roles involved (more on that below). This principle also focuses on three aspects of collaboration: awareness, articulation, and appropriation.

5.4. Value-based Prioritization

This principle involves organizing and prioritizing tasks based on their value and how they need to be completed.

5.5. Time-boxing

With the Scrum project management model, tasks are completed in “sprints,” with a specific time period set for each task. Other elements, including “sprint planning” and daily meetings, are also given specific start and stop times. This time-boxing ensures that all participants know the amount of time allocated for each step, with the goal of eliminating wasted time and delays.

5.6. Iterative Development

This final principle speaks to the understanding that a project may need to be refined multiple times during its development. Iterative development allows the team to make adjustments and manage changes more easily.

6. Pros and Cons of the Scrum Project Management Model

6.1. Advantages of the Scrum Management Model

Scrum can help teams complete project delivery quickly and efficiently.

• Scrum can help teams complete project delivery quickly and efficiently
• Scrum ensures the efficient use of time and money
• Large projects are broken down into manageable sprint phases
• Development builds are coded and tested during the sprint review process
• Works well for fast-paced development projects
• The team gains clear visibility through scrum meetings
• Scrum is agile, incorporating feedback from customers and stakeholders
• Short sprints make changes based on feedback much easier
• The individual effort of each team member is visible in daily scrum meetings

6.2. Disadvantages of the Scrum Management Model

Like any other framework, Scrum also has a few disadvantages. Nothing is perfect, and the Scrum methodology is no exception. In some cases, combining Scrum with other project management techniques can help address some of the following drawbacks:

• Scrum often leads to scope creep, due to the lack of a defined end date
• The probability of project failure is high if individuals are not committed or cooperative
• Applying the Scrum framework in large teams is a challenge
• The framework can only be successful with experienced team members
• Daily meetings can sometimes be discouraging for team members
• If any team member leaves mid-project, it can have a huge negative impact on the project
• Quality can be difficult to implement until the team goes through an active testing process

In summary, this article has introduced the benefits and role of the Scrum model in project management. As you can see, applying the Scrum model will help us change our mindset and increase work productivity most effectively. Besides applying the Scrum model in project management, you can use 1Office project management software to help you track progress and evaluate project results effectively and professionally. For consultation, support, and usage, please leave your phone number, and a 1Office expert will contact and advise you today.

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