Section 5 · Project Management in Agile
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Agile iterations
Software is developed in iterations of typically 1–2 weeks; certain user stories are implemented in each iteration, and user stories are prioritized for the next iteration. The team works closely with customers, demonstrates working functionality and refines requirements.
Scrum team and roles
Scrum is one framework for organising development in the team. At its heart is the sprint — a short, time-boxed period when a Scrum team works to complete a set amount of work; the product is built in a series of sprints.
Team size roughly 4 to 9 people (varies by company).
| Role | Responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Development Team | Whoever is required to complete the work in that sprint (designers, developers, testers). |
| Product Owner | Interfaces between the client and the development team; ensures the team delivers the most value to the client; takes into account other stakeholders and constraints (developers', technology) and communicates them to the client; prioritizes the work to be done in a particular sprint using inputs from clients and the team. |
| Scrum Master | Ensures all Scrum activities are done well; helps the product owner define value and the development team deliver it; serves the organization by helping it understand Scrum and creating an environment that supports it. |
Product backlog and sprint planning
A prioritized list of work for the development team, derived from user stories and requirements; the most important items are at the top. Who prioritizes it? Not the product owner alone — in the sprint planning meeting all team members collectively decide which items will be worked on in the sprint.
| # | Work |
|---|---|
| 1 | Catalogue: a add, b edit, c delete |
| 2 | Inventory: a add, b edit, c delete |
| 3 | Order tracking |
| 4 | Payment tracking |
| 5 | Sales tracking |
| 6 | Customer feedback |
EXAMPLE Product Owner: the client wants catalogue and inventory management. Developers: it is not possible to complete both. The team agrees on 1a (Add catalogue item) and 2a (Add inventory item).
Tools like JIRA let you create a backlog, create sprints, move items into a sprint, set a timeline and assign stories to people.
Sprint planning: what work, and how
Sprint Planning is a collaborative meeting involving the Product Owner, Scrum Master and Development Team. What work can get done in this sprint? How will the chosen work get done? About 2 hours per week of iteration.
Daily scrum
Participants: development team, scrum master and product manager. Three questions: What did I work on yesterday? What am I working on today? What issues are blocking me? It strengthens the team because everyone shares their progress.
Sprint review and retrospective
Sprint review: the team demonstrates what it completed; items move from To-Do/In Progress to Done.
Sprint retrospective: evaluate team dynamics, processes and tools; what went well, what did not and why; create and implement a plan to improve.
Story points and velocity
The lecture first estimates 10 user stories at 2 stories per sprint: 5 sprints, or 10 weeks with two-week sprints. This assumes comparable effort per story; unequal story difficulty makes counting stories alone unreliable.
Rate each user story by difficulty: 1 straightforward, 2 medium, 3 very complex. Counting stories alone does not account for differences in difficulty.
Velocity = number of points completed per iteration/sprint. Add catalogue (2 points) + Add inventory item (2 points) completed in sprint 1 → velocity = 4. In the next iteration the team can take four 1-point stories, because it can complete 4 points per sprint.
Plan and Document versus Agile scheduling
| Plan and Document | Agile |
|---|---|
| Early in the project | User stories |
| Break down into tasks | Points |
| Gantt charts and milestones | Velocity |