Projectmanagement with scrum part 1

For over 10 years, we have been implementing complex web projects using the Scrum project management method. Since then, we have successfully planned, communicated and delivered projects on time together with industrial companies, retailers, associations, universities and other institutions. Thanks to Scrum, this is possible.

Part 2: The role of the product owner on the client side   

Part 3: Tips for a successful product owner

Scrum is a project management method that enables the rapid and cost-effective development of high-quality products. In contrast to classic project management, in which the most precise work instructions possible are defined in advance in a plan (requirements specification), Scrum is empirical, incremental and iterative. Although there is a clear target, the concept and the associated work steps are only developed during the ongoing project and are constantly re-evaluated and prioritised. This makes it possible to react very early to changes and experiences and is thus able to develop a product with high business value.

In agile development according to Scrum, interdisciplinary teams work together and in a highly focused manner on a project over a continuous period of time. This demonstrably not only improves the quality of the end product, but also achieves a higher development speed, since all disruptive factors are largely kept away from the team or minimised during the development time.

Together with an agile project manager (product owner), the main requirements (epics) are developed with the customer (product owner on the customer side). In the next step, these epics are refined into detailed requirements (user stories) and the product backlog (prioritised list of requirements) is created. User stories are usually formulated for only one sprint in order to maintain agility.

In the technical implementation of these user stories, the entire Scrum team, consisting of product owner, UX designer, Scrum master and software developers, comes together for a fixed period of time to work in an agile manner. Such a period, called a "sprint", usually lasts 1-2 weeks, during which the entire team works in a focused and undisturbed manner on the user stories jointly determined in sprint planning. At the end of each sprint, an executable result (increment) is delivered and presented in the sprint review. At the end of each sprint, a so-called retrospective takes place in the team, in which manoeuvre criticism can be expressed and improvements can be initiated.

Usual team size at +Pluswerk AG for a Scrum Sprint:

• 1 product owner on the client side
• 1 Product Owner as specialist on the agency side
• 1 Agile Coach / Scrum Master
• 4-6 developers (2-3 frontend / 2-3 backend)
• 1 UX designer

Specialists can temporarily supplement the team as external experts if required, e.g. sys admins, SEO specialists, system architects etc.

Agile project management with Scrum from the customer's point of view

Part 2: The role of the product owner on the client side   Part 3: Tips for a successful product owner