What are the Agile Scrum Ceremonies and how are they applied within the project? The democratic composition of a Team in Agile Development causes a dilemma for Companies new to Agile. They may be used to the Traditional Command-and-Control regime of Project Management. This makes transitioning to the Agile values and principles difficult. There is no Project Manager Scoping the Project, or handing out Work and reporting progress. We will use a typical Scrum Team Organisation to look at how effective Project Management can be achieved. Here we will discuss the Roles that participate, the ceremonies and what needs to be Delivered

Discovering the Right Balance

Even in a Small Project, there is a need to monitor progress and Risk. This is required in order to Manage Change and take appropriate action where needed. This monitoring enables the team to report back to and Communicate with Stakeholders. While the Role of the Project Manager seems to fall away, there is still a need to perform all the activities associated with the Role. This can Work well where a Project is Nuclear. Where the project consists of several Teams, it gets gradually more difficult to Manage the Project to the expected level. . There are several reasons for this, including:-

-‘Company Structure and Culture’. If a Company still has a strong “Command-and-Control” ethos and is very hierarchical, the appropriate authority required to drive the Project may not have been granted.
-‘Clash of Objectives’. The Scrum’s main objective is to provide a Valuable Product, not perform Project Management activities, even if they do contribute to the success of the Project. As Scrums are Time-boxed, Project Management needs to come second to Product shipment.
-‘Team Cohesion’. Where a Team does not mix, and Collaboration is not occurring, it might be required to Change the Team structure. While this Task falls under the Scrum Master’s aegis, they might not have the needed authority and HR may have to intervene.
-‘ Management by Committee’. If one has five Scrum Teams, say, one can not expect the exact same level or consistency in Project Management throughout Teams. There is No De Facto Project Manager.

Agile Scrum Ceremonies: Designating the Work.

The Product Owner (the Voice of the Customer) has the most accountability and the strongest Voice. They are the steward of the Product design and requirements. These are housed in the Product Backlog, they have the most Control over what is Delivered. They are also an external spokesperson for the Scrum Team.

The Scrum Master is often mistakenly considered a Project Manager. They are a Coach, Facilitator and Scrum subject matter specialist. Their Role is primarily internal to the Project, Mentoring and assisting the Development Team.

The Development Team are specified as “Self-Managing”. They choose which Work to undertake, in consultation with the Product Owner. Any Project Work that they are expected to fulfil can either be carried out by somebody experienced in the Team or shared out, depending on the overall Team skill set.

Even in a simple Scrum project, it can be seen that Project Management is a prickly subject.
Here is a summary of Project Management-Related activities and ceremonies during a Scrum and who is involved.

Agile Scrum Ceremonies: Project Initiation.

Activity: Create the Project Vision and appoint Scrum Team.
Roleplayers: The Stakeholders and Program Management; Project Product Owner.
Description: The Stakeholders and resources at Programme Level (Program Product Owner and Program Scrum Master) develop a Vision for the Project and determine the Project Product Owner. Together with the Scrum Project Product Owner, the Team is identified and the Vision is communicated to the new Team.

Activity: Create the Product Backlog and Develop Epics. Prioritise the Product Backlog.
Roleplayers: Product Owner, helped by the rest of the Team.
Description: The Product Owner produces the Product Backlog and populates it with Epics. These are broad-brush User Stories about the Product components, prioritised in order of criticality. The Backlog can be equated to the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) in Plan-Driven Projects.

Activity: Perform Release Planning.
Roleplayers: The Product Owner, Scrum team, and Stakeholders.
Description: The Planned release date is tabled and the favored length of a Sprint is agreed (e.g. 2 weeks).

Agile Scrum Ceremonies: Planning and Estimation.

Activity: Create User Stories.
Roleplayers: Product Owner, Scrum team (optional).
Description: A User story is an atomic element of an Epic which can not be divided into smaller Stories. While the onus is on the Product Owner to produce the Stories, there is a benefit in getting the Team included – it improves their Product understanding and produces a connection with the Users. The Product Owner will identify the Acceptance Criteria that should be satisfied to confirm that each User Story is Completed (or “Done”).

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Activity: Plan Sprint.
Roleplayers: Product Owner, Scrum Master, Scrum Team.
Description: A Sprint Planning Meeting is held where the Work to be Done during the Sprint is discussed and committed to by the Team. The Scrum Master Facilitates the Estimation by the Team and Time-Boxes the Meeting.

Agile Scrum Ceremonies: Project Progress.

Activity: Create Deliverables.
Roleplayers: Scrum Team.
Description: The Team Develops and Tests the User Stories according to the Minimum Viable Product, potentially utilizing a method like Test-Driven Development. There is a Daily 15-minute Project Meeting, called the Daily Standup, where progress and Plans for the next day’s Work are Reviewed. A graph, called the Burndown Chart, gives Stakeholders a visual impression of where the Sprint is at any time, and is updated by the Team members.

Agile Scrum Ceremonies: Feedback and Managing Risk.

Activity: Review and Retrospect.
Roleplayers: Product Owner, Scrum Master, Scrum Team, Stakeholders.
The Product Owner determines whether the Acceptance Criteria have been met for each piece of Work. A Sprint Review Meeting is convened by the Scrum Master, where the Team Demonstrates to the Stakeholders what has been achieved, preferably with a prototype, however possibly also through a Demonstration. This is where additional Artefacts, such as an Earned Value Analysis (EVA), and/or a Cumulative Flow Diagram (CFD) are produced for Review by Stakeholders.

Agile Scrum Ceremonies: Deployment.

Activity: Release the Product.
Roleplayers: Product Owner.
Description: The Product Owner determines whether the Product is ready for Release, based on whether the Work is “Done”. The Release is carried out in accordance with the Release Plan.
Project Close-out.

Activity: Terminate the Scrum.
Roleplayers: Product Owner, Scrum Master, Scrum Team.
Description: A final Retrospective is held and the Scrum Team is either dissolved or redeployed.

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Is there Justification for Including a Project Manager?

If you visualise the above activities being replicated by each Scrum Team for say, 5 or 10 Teams, it is obvious that this is not the optimal way of Managing a Project. There could be a Chief Product Owner Managing the Scrum of Scrums; alternatively the responsibility could fall on the Programme Product Owner. However, even if one provided templates and standards for reporting, there will be variances in the Quality and completeness of reporting across the Teams. Perhaps there is a case for an experienced Project Administrator who Works across the Teams, gathering the information required to give an overall view of the Project. If there is a Mature PMO, they could be co-opted into administrative Project Duties, thus freeing the Scrum Team to focus purely on Development.