
Welcome to this course, which is aimed at helping you run the Scrum events.
Most courses cover the foundational knowledge of Agile Scrum, but not the detailed steps to run the Scrum meetings. The topics in this course are focused on the Scrum events, and it will help you in your projects to effectively participate in these meetings.
This course expects that the learner understands the following aspects of Scrum/Agile.
The principle of continuous Inspect and Adapt cycles. Refer to the 3 Pillars of Scrum.
The Scrum Framework
Backlog prioritization techniques
Story estimation techniques
The first section of this course will cover these topics to establish a baseline understanding of these foundational concepts, making it easy to understand the rest of the topics.
Section 2 will cover the Sprint planning event and the steps to run the planning meeting
Section 3 will cover the Daily Scrum event and the steps to run the Daily Scrum meeting
Section 4 will cover the Sprint review event and the steps to run the Sprint review meeting
Section 5 will cover the Sprint retrospective event and the steps to run the Sprint retrospective meeting.
Let us address the prerequisites next.
Think of refinement as refining a shapeless gemstone into a beautiful jewel. Backlog Refinement is like beautifying it into the Sprint backlog.
If you see the list of events on the left side, backlog refinement is not listed. Backlog refinement is not a formal event in Scrum. It is done mid-sprint to prepare for the planning of the next sprint. For planning a sprint, the backlog stories should be in a shape where they can be reliably estimated for size and effort. A small story is easy to understand, can be estimated how big or small the work is, and can be completed in the same sprint.
Backlog refinement entails a few actions. Let's see them. Initially, when we create a backlog, we often write stories, features, or epics and put them in the backlog. These stories may not have enough information to be worked on when we select these stories for sprint planning. So they need to be refined. Refinement is breaking down the big or unclear stories into smaller, manageable chunks that can be easily understood and can be reliably estimated to determine how much time it will take to complete. We then write them clearly so that anyone understands them properly. If needed, new stories are also created. During this time, we sort the stories according to priority. The entire process is called backlog refinement.
Learn to run sprint planning with the product owner, scrum master, and development team. Estimate capacity, velocity, and stories using planning poker to finalize the sprint backlog and goal.
Review the past sprint to inspect and adapt, fostering continuous improvement with the development team, product owner, and scrum master, while assessing what went well and what went wrong.
The course is an advanced Scrum series that takes you into the details of running day-to-day Scrum events.
This series begins with an overview of the Scrum methodology to refresh the fundamentals and establish a baseline of Scrum knowledge. This section covers the history of Scrum, the 3 Pillars, Empiricism, Scrum values, Scrum roles, Scrum events, Refinement, Agile principles & manifesto, and situations in which Scrum should be applied over other methodologies. Refer to my training titled 'Product development using Agile-Scrum' for learning about Scrum.
Scrum consists of five events: Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, Sprint Retrospective, and the Sprint itself. These events are mainly driven by the Product Owner and the Developers, facilitated by the Scrum master to ensure that the team remains focused on event goals and that the event meets timebox guidelines.
A Sprint starts with planning a Sprint or an iteration. This is called a Sprint planning event. The outcome of this event is to arrive at a Sprint goal. It also involves a daily plan for the tasks each team member works on daily.
The Daily Scrum event is aimed at inspecting the daily progress to ensure the team is progressing towards achieving the Sprint goals. The team adapts quickly to tackle any challenges and get back on track.
At the end of an iteration or a Sprint, the team gets together to review the Sprint. The Developers demonstrate the features developed during the Sprint and get stakeholder feedback to understand if they have met the goals that the stakeholders had in mind. The team agrees to do course correction if required, determines the future direction, and prioritizes.
Finally, the Sprint Scrum team reflects on the work done in a Sprint through the Sprint retrospective event.