Agile scrum challenges overview
Originally Agile methodology was introduced to overcome long release cycle timings by delivering small individual features incrementally so that users get the benefits of using required piece of functionality well ahead compare to traditional development process. However, there has been few significant challenged has been observed by experts which needs to be immediately addressed to minimize the impacts. In this post, we will go through each of these and try and find the optimum solution for the same
The Cost challenge: Balancing Investment and Returns
One of the key challenges organizations face when implementing Scrum is the cost associated with adopting this agile framework. Introducing Scrum requires an upfront investment in terms of time, training, and resources. Project stakeholders need to ensure that the benefits derived from Scrum implementation outweigh the initial costs.
1) Development decision making ownership
Since there are no hierarchy of roles like junior developer, senior developer, technical lead, architect and so on in a scrum team, it pauses a significant risk of technical ownership of the project or task. Collective decision making removes the accountability part from individual's shoulder and this act turn into major technical road block in some cases. for example, since each team member has its own task there is no one who collectively own the module or a technical design aspect of the product. The same is true with the requirement gathering and system testing as well
2) Task delay and over budgeting
Actual intension of scrum is to minimize the overall development lifecycle but sometimes organizations missed to realize that actually they are overbudgeting the project or a product. In case of SDLC, since there is a strict sense of ownership and accountability for each phase, like for example requirements there is an official sign off, for design there is an technical design overview followed by sign off and also same is true with estimates. Here in case of scrum, sprint becomes so flexible in nature and hardly enforces any such rules. This brings casual approach at the cost of prompt deliveries.
Another noteworthy difference is that in waterfall approach there are well defined roles in the team like intern, developer, project lead and a manager, it is easy to identify root cause behind any issues in the project delivery followed by review meetings where as in scrum, since each team member is same irrespective of experience and knowledge, there are fair chances of having confusion in a team due to missing hierarchy.
3) Developer Dependency
Spring grooming and retrospective meetings are as important as delivery. In most of the cases, it is observed that product team hardly get business time and clarify the requirements on regular basis. This hamper's the sprint planning and execution part as developer need to work on the unclarified requirements resulting in mistakes. Ultimately developer team has to be a part of the business meeting to clarify requirements to develop and deliver individual tasks.
4) Missing a big picture
Scrum development happens in a shorter span considering that we want to deliver quick results. It is often observed that a good product development requires proper analysis in all aspects including long term vision, studying benefits and limitations of the existing software, drafting the non-functional requirements and much more. Improper planning may lead to developer overtime and apple banana issues.
5) Domain maturity in scrum team
A successful scrum team require a level of domain maturity in order to function independent without anyone's dependence. In reality, newly joined team member hardly get enough domain knowledge from other team mates to accomplish the task on time. Since the focus of the team is to achieve the sprint goal, people hardly care about domain maturity within a team. This is another critical aspect of carry overs of the tasks or incorrectly implemented story which fulfill the acceptance criteria at story level but breaks another flow of the system due to having lack of overall system knowledge.
Domain maturity is a costlier affair for organizations since those who have spent years to build a domain in the area have either some reluctance to easily share the knowledge with newly joined peers or there is a lack of interest.
6) Meetings
Those who have worked with elephant size project in big organization in any sector including banking finance, retail, digital marketing or any others, must have noticed
n-number of meeting through out the day causing requirement and development changes.
7) Ownership Conflict
Every team member is the owner of his own task till the time the work is delivered to the production environment in Agile working style. It is the responsibility of the individual to get if any doubt clarified with others. In cases of complex project with having inter dependent services and eternal system, one needs to be well aware of functioning of the entire eco system as a whole or else it would end up breaking dependent modules.
Team needs to be aware that Inability to identify whether the change was introduce as a part of business requirement change or it is a newly introduced bug due to having incorrect change implemented earlier. This one item cause a cascading effect of creating number of irrelevant stories and effort.
8) Non Sprint Tasks
There are always tasks identified during the spring which without proper knowledge scrum member hesitant to put it as a story. For example, new team member's setting up project workspace. Another example, understanding the dependent story from the other team member in order to complete his/her own story.
Overcoming Scrum Team Challenges: Best Practices and Strategies
While Scrum team challenges can be daunting, they are not insurmountable. Here are some best practices and strategies to overcome these obstacles and achieve project success:
Continuous Improvement: Embrace the Agile Mindset: Encourage a culture of continuous improvement within the Scrum team. Regularly review and adapt processes, solicit feedback from team members, and implement changes that optimize efficiency and productivity.
Strong Leadership and Support: Effective leadership plays a crucial role in guiding Scrum teams through challenges. A supportive and empowering leadership style fosters trust, open communication, and collaboration among team members, enabling them to tackle obstacles head-on.
Clear and Transparent Communication: Communication breakdowns can lead to misunderstandings and delays. Establish clear channels of communication, encourage open dialogue, and ensure that all team members have a shared understanding of project goals and requirements.
Skills and Competency Development: Invest in ongoing training and professional development for Scrum team members. By enhancing their skills and competencies, teams can tackle challenges more effectively, boost productivity, and deliver value to stakeholders.
Collaboration and Cross-functional Teams: Foster collaboration among team members from different functional areas. Cross-functional teams encourage diverse perspectives, promote knowledge sharing, and enable faster decision-making.
All and all leadership and top level management needs to take a call based on experience with scrum. It is always better to take data driven call instead of following the trend in the market. One really needs to understand the high level vision for the piece of work and whether Agile is adding any significant value over the period of time considering the maintenance and stability standpoint.
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