Explore Courses
course iconScrum AllianceCertified ScrumMaster (CSM) Certification
  • 16 Hours
Best seller
course iconScrum AllianceCertified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) Certification
  • 16 Hours
Best seller
course iconScaled AgileLeading SAFe 6.0 Certification
  • 16 Hours
Trending
course iconScrum.orgProfessional Scrum Master (PSM) Certification
  • 16 Hours
course iconScaled AgileSAFe 6.0 Scrum Master (SSM) Certification
  • 16 Hours
course iconScaled Agile, Inc.Implementing SAFe 6.0 (SPC) Certification
  • 32 Hours
Recommended
course iconScaled Agile, Inc.SAFe 6.0 Release Train Engineer (RTE) Certification
  • 24 Hours
course iconScaled Agile, Inc.SAFe® 6.0 Product Owner/Product Manager (POPM)
  • 16 Hours
Trending
course iconKanban UniversityKMP I: Kanban System Design Course
  • 16 Hours
course iconIC AgileICP Agile Certified Coaching (ICP-ACC)
  • 24 Hours
course iconScrum.orgProfessional Scrum Product Owner I (PSPO I) Training
  • 16 Hours
course iconAgile Management Master's Program
  • 32 Hours
Trending
course iconAgile Excellence Master's Program
  • 32 Hours
Agile and ScrumScrum MasterProduct OwnerSAFe AgilistAgile CoachFull Stack Developer BootcampData Science BootcampCloud Masters BootcampReactNode JsKubernetesCertified Ethical HackingAWS Solutions Artchitct AssociateAzure Data Engineercourse iconPMIProject Management Professional (PMP) Certification
  • 36 Hours
Best seller
course iconAxelosPRINCE2 Foundation & Practitioner Certificationn
  • 32 Hours
course iconAxelosPRINCE2 Foundation Certification
  • 16 Hours
course iconAxelosPRINCE2 Practitioner Certification
  • 16 Hours
Change ManagementProject Management TechniquesCertified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) CertificationOracle Primavera P6 CertificationMicrosoft Projectcourse iconJob OrientedProject Management Master's Program
  • 45 Hours
Trending
course iconProject Management Master's Program
  • 45 Hours
Trending
PRINCE2 Practitioner CoursePRINCE2 Foundation CoursePMP® Exam PrepProject ManagerProgram Management ProfessionalPortfolio Management Professionalcourse iconAWSAWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate
  • 32 Hours
Best seller
course iconAWSAWS Cloud Practitioner Certification
  • 32 Hours
course iconAWSAWS DevOps Certification
  • 24 Hours
course iconMicrosoftAzure Fundamentals Certification
  • 16 Hours
course iconMicrosoftAzure Administrator Certification
  • 24 Hours
Best seller
course iconMicrosoftAzure Data Engineer Certification
  • 45 Hours
Recommended
course iconMicrosoftAzure Solution Architect Certification
  • 32 Hours
course iconMicrosoftAzure Devops Certification
  • 40 Hours
course iconAWSSystems Operations on AWS Certification Training
  • 24 Hours
course iconAWSArchitecting on AWS
  • 32 Hours
course iconAWSDeveloping on AWS
  • 24 Hours
course iconJob OrientedAWS Cloud Architect Masters Program
  • 48 Hours
New
course iconCareer KickstarterCloud Engineer Bootcamp
  • 100 Hours
Trending
Cloud EngineerCloud ArchitectAWS Certified Developer Associate - Complete GuideAWS Certified DevOps EngineerAWS Certified Solutions Architect AssociateMicrosoft Certified Azure Data Engineer AssociateMicrosoft Azure Administrator (AZ-104) CourseAWS Certified SysOps Administrator AssociateMicrosoft Certified Azure Developer AssociateAWS Certified Cloud Practitionercourse iconAxelosITIL 4 Foundation Certification
  • 16 Hours
Best seller
course iconAxelosITIL Practitioner Certification
  • 16 Hours
course iconPeopleCertISO 14001 Foundation Certification
  • 16 Hours
course iconPeopleCertISO 20000 Certification
  • 16 Hours
course iconPeopleCertISO 27000 Foundation Certification
  • 24 Hours
course iconAxelosITIL 4 Specialist: Create, Deliver and Support Training
  • 24 Hours
course iconAxelosITIL 4 Specialist: Drive Stakeholder Value Training
  • 24 Hours
course iconAxelosITIL 4 Strategist Direct, Plan and Improve Training
  • 16 Hours
ITIL 4 Specialist: Create, Deliver and Support ExamITIL 4 Specialist: Drive Stakeholder Value (DSV) CourseITIL 4 Strategist: Direct, Plan, and ImproveITIL 4 Foundationcourse iconJob OrientedData Science Bootcamp
  • 6 Months
Trending
course iconJob OrientedData Engineer Bootcamp
  • 289 Hours
course iconJob OrientedData Analyst Bootcamp
  • 6 Months
course iconJob OrientedAI Engineer Bootcamp
  • 288 Hours
New
Data Science with PythonMachine Learning with PythonData Science with RMachine Learning with RPython for Data ScienceDeep Learning Certification TrainingNatural Language Processing (NLP)TensorflowSQL For Data Analyticscourse iconIIIT BangaloreExecutive PG Program in Data Science from IIIT-Bangalore
  • 12 Months
course iconMaryland UniversityExecutive PG Program in DS & ML
  • 12 Months
course iconMaryland UniversityCertificate Program in DS and BA
  • 31 Weeks
course iconIIIT BangaloreAdvanced Certificate Program in Data Science
  • 8+ Months
course iconLiverpool John Moores UniversityMaster of Science in ML and AI
  • 750+ Hours
course iconIIIT BangaloreExecutive PGP in ML and AI
  • 600+ Hours
Data ScientistData AnalystData EngineerAI EngineerData Analysis Using ExcelDeep Learning with Keras and TensorFlowDeployment of Machine Learning ModelsFundamentals of Reinforcement LearningIntroduction to Cutting-Edge AI with TransformersMachine Learning with PythonMaster Python: Advance Data Analysis with PythonMaths and Stats FoundationNatural Language Processing (NLP) with PythonPython for Data ScienceSQL for Data Analytics CoursesAI Advanced: Computer Vision for AI ProfessionalsMaster Applied Machine LearningMaster Time Series Forecasting Using Pythoncourse iconDevOps InstituteDevOps Foundation Certification
  • 16 Hours
Best seller
course iconCNCFCertified Kubernetes Administrator
  • 32 Hours
New
course iconDevops InstituteDevops Leader
  • 16 Hours
KubernetesDocker with KubernetesDockerJenkinsOpenstackAnsibleChefPuppetDevOps EngineerDevOps ExpertCI/CD with Jenkins XDevOps Using JenkinsCI-CD and DevOpsDocker & KubernetesDevOps Fundamentals Crash CourseMicrosoft Certified DevOps Engineer ExperteAnsible for Beginners: The Complete Crash CourseContainer Orchestration Using KubernetesContainerization Using DockerMaster Infrastructure Provisioning with Terraformcourse iconTableau Certification
  • 24 Hours
Recommended
course iconData Visualisation with Tableau Certification
  • 24 Hours
course iconMicrosoftMicrosoft Power BI Certification
  • 24 Hours
Best seller
course iconTIBCO Spotfire Training
  • 36 Hours
course iconData Visualization with QlikView Certification
  • 30 Hours
course iconSisense BI Certification
  • 16 Hours
Data Visualization Using Tableau TrainingData Analysis Using Excelcourse iconEC-CouncilCertified Ethical Hacker (CEH v12) Certification
  • 40 Hours
course iconISACACertified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) Certification
  • 22 Hours
course iconISACACertified Information Security Manager (CISM) Certification
  • 40 Hours
course icon(ISC)²Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
  • 40 Hours
course icon(ISC)²Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP) Certification
  • 40 Hours
course iconCertified Information Privacy Professional - Europe (CIPP-E) Certification
  • 16 Hours
course iconISACACOBIT5 Foundation
  • 16 Hours
course iconPayment Card Industry Security Standards (PCI-DSS) Certification
  • 16 Hours
course iconIntroduction to Forensic
  • 40 Hours
course iconPurdue UniversityCybersecurity Certificate Program
  • 8 Months
CISSPcourse iconCareer KickstarterFull-Stack Developer Bootcamp
  • 6 Months
Best seller
course iconJob OrientedUI/UX Design Bootcamp
  • 3 Months
Best seller
course iconEnterprise RecommendedJava Full Stack Developer Bootcamp
  • 6 Months
course iconCareer KickstarterFront-End Development Bootcamp
  • 490+ Hours
course iconCareer AcceleratorBackend Development Bootcamp (Node JS)
  • 4 Months
ReactNode JSAngularJavascriptPHP and MySQLcourse iconPurdue UniversityCloud Back-End Development Certificate Program
  • 8 Months
course iconPurdue UniversityFull Stack Development Certificate Program
  • 9 Months
course iconIIIT BangaloreExecutive Post Graduate Program in Software Development - Specialisation in FSD
  • 13 Months
Angular TrainingBasics of Spring Core and MVCFront-End Development BootcampReact JS TrainingSpring Boot and Spring CloudMongoDB Developer Coursecourse iconBlockchain Professional Certification
  • 40 Hours
course iconBlockchain Solutions Architect Certification
  • 32 Hours
course iconBlockchain Security Engineer Certification
  • 32 Hours
course iconBlockchain Quality Engineer Certification
  • 24 Hours
course iconBlockchain 101 Certification
  • 5+ Hours
NFT Essentials 101: A Beginner's GuideIntroduction to DeFiPython CertificationAdvanced Python CourseR Programming LanguageAdvanced R CourseJavaJava Deep DiveScalaAdvanced ScalaC# TrainingMicrosoft .Net Frameworkcourse iconSalary Hike GuaranteedSoftware Engineer Interview Prep
  • 3 Months
Data Structures and Algorithms with JavaScriptData Structures and Algorithms with Java: The Practical GuideLinux Essentials for Developers: The Complete MasterclassMaster Git and GitHubMaster Java Programming LanguageProgramming Essentials for BeginnersComplete Python Programming CourseSoftware Engineering Fundamentals and Lifecycle (SEFLC) CourseTest-Driven Development for Java ProgrammersTypeScript: Beginner to Advanced

What is Agile? What is Scrum?

By Deepti Sinha

Updated on Oct 24, 2024 | 10 min read

Share:

Over the decades, companies across the globe have been adopting different project management frameworks and methodologies they feel are best suited to the nature of work they do. Be it IT, healthcare, fast-moving consumer goods, electronics, or automobile, organizations across domains adopt frameworks that enable them to achieve their organizational goals and best fulfil their customers’ needs.  

Much before the birth of the term ‘Agile’, several project management practices like Waterfall, Kanban and XP were being followed. However, there was a wide dissatisfaction with the rigidity of some of these practices. Over the years, academicians and leaders in the industry began to discuss the need for processes that would give them more flexibility and enable them to ship software on time.  

After much planning, seventeen innovative industry leaders, many of them from the software community, gathered in February of 2001 at the famous Snowbird Ski Retreat at the Wasatch mountains of Utah, US. This small, three-day retreat ended up shaping much of software is imagined, created, and delivered - and probably even how the world works.

What is the Agile Methodology all about? 

Agile is a mindset, a methodology that provides different frameworks working in an iterative and incremental manner to arrive at a solution. The Agile methodology focuses on creating a red-carpet, a smooth path for teams to work and deliver exceptional results to satisfy customer needs. Over the last two decades, the Agile methodology has dominated the IT industry in a big way. 

Not only is the Agile methodology customer focused, but it also helps teams to scale up, learn and grow. There was a time when organizations thought about Agile as a fairy-tale wand, something that could magically fix all their problems. Thankfully, with much help from the Agile front-liners, the enchanted fairy dust has now evaporated. People now understand that it indeed takes a lot of effort, awareness, coaching, and dedication to fix problems through Agile. Like any other method, Agile too takes time, but if applied in its true sense, the results can be very fulfilling. 

The Magic Potion: Agile Values and Principles 

With the coining of the term ‘Agile’, its foundation was laid, the beautiful truth on how to move forward and abide by the rules and values of Agile. At the Snowbird retreat, the seventeen leaders put together a manifesto. The Agile Manifesto is unique among typical manifestos in that it does not declare truths self-evident. Rather, it compares: We value this over that. 

At Snowbird, the leaders began to lay out what they had in common and when they compared how they did their work, they were amazed at the things that were the same. They went on to finalize the four lines of the manifesto which forms the backbone of all the frameworks that come under the Agile umbrella. Every line has deep meaning associated with it and you will be surprised by its wide-spread relevance across domains. 

So, what is the Agile manifesto? The preamble reads, “We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it.” It then lays out the four core values: 

Insider Tips to Land Your Dream Scrum Master Job

Includes Scrum Resume Sample

The document concludes that “while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.” 

Although the words can be interpreted differently, the basic gist is this: Put people over process. Focus on making software that works, not documents about that software. Work with your client rather than fight over a contract. And along the way, be open to change. 

With the above four core values, the authors also devised twelve principles that help teams to understand and adopt Agile as their way of working. Even if teams are yet to learn how to use any of the frameworks or how to work around the ceremonies, if they understand and adopt the four values and twelve principles, the battle is won.

Here are the twelve principles laid out in the Agile Manifesto:

  1. Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software. 
  2. Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change. for the customer's competitive advantage. 
  3. Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale. 
  4. Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project. 
  5. Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need and trust them to get the job done. 
  6. The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation. 
  7. Working software is the primary measure of progress. 
  8. Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely. 
  9. Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility. 
  10. Simplicity, the art of maximizing the amount of work not done, is essential. 
  11. The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams. 
  12. At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.

What are the various Agile Methodologies? 

Under the overarching Agile umbrella, many frameworks operate and cater to different industries and market needs. Let us look at some of the most widely used Agile frameworks: 

Scrum

Scrum is an incremental and iterative way of working in a time-boxed manner to solve complex adaptive problems. It is a widely used approach as per the 14th Annual Report by Version One and has 58% on the total market share in terms of framework adoption.

Kanban

It is a concept of a scheduling system for lean manufacturing and just-in-time manufacturing. Derived from a Japanese word, it signifies a signboard or the physical board with lanes to track the activity. This system helps to improve and optimize the flow of work items.

XP (Extreme Programming)

Originated by Kent Beck, Extreme Programming is a software development methodology conceived to improve the quality of the product and its capability to suitably adjust to the shifting needs of the stakeholders. It is a set of engineering practices.

FDD (Feature Driven Development)

It is customer-centric, iterative, and incremental, to deliver tangible software results often and efficiently. FDD in Agile encourages status reporting at all levels, which helps to track progress and results.

DSDM (Dynamic System Development Method)

This has been developed to work on usual problems confronted by projects such as late delivery, rate overruns or the final outcome not being accepted by the clients. It is an Agile-based approach that is collaborative and flexible yet remaining attentive on reaching goals and sustaining the suitable level of excellence and consistency.

What is the Scrum Methodology?

Scrum is an agile project management framework that revolves around an incremental and iterative approach where the focus is on delivering increments in a time-boxed manner. Scrum supports the collaborative approach of working towards a solution and is based on the Agile Manifesto and principles. The Scrum framework comprises of:

Three roles

Scrum Master, development team and the product owner

Scrum Events

Sprint Planning, Daily Standup, Sprint Review, and Sprint Retrospective.

Artifacts

Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, Task-Board, Burndown charts, Sprint Goal

Agile vs. Scrum: Similarities and Differences

While Agile provides an umbrella for different frameworks that share common values and principles as prescribed by the Agile Manifesto, Scrum is a subset of Agile and has inherited the foundation and beliefs from its superset.

Let us look at some of the similarities and differences between Agile and Scrum:

Area Agile Scrum
Is a Mindset/philosophy Yes  
Is a Framework   Yes
Has events/ceremonies   Yes
Has Values Yes Yes
Has defined roles   Yes
Focus on Continuous Improvement Yes Yes
Focus on Faster Delivery Yes Yes
Transparency Yes Yes
Customer Satisfaction Yes Yes

Best practices in Agile 

Though Agile has certain principles and values to define how teams should function, it is also necessary to adhere to the best practices to get the finest implementation of the methodology. Here are some of them: 

Deliver in Increments

Incrementing helps the teams and stakeholders stay in control of the development step-by-step. They discover and refine the backlog as they move forward rather than create a huge backlog upfront as was the case traditionally.  

Frequent Interactions

Communication is the key to success. The more collaboratively the team works along with the client, the more the satisfaction on both ends. This helps to meet the expected requirements and greater clarity on the next assignment. 

Reflection

It is critical to introspect as an individual and retrospect as a team to see how they are functioning and what can be improved to make it much better. 

Best Practices in Scrum 

With extensive use of Scrum, organizations now have their own success stories along with a bundle of learning on what went well and where they had to struggle. This paved way for expanding the list of best practices one can follow to stay on track with the framework. To list out few:

Story Board

Have a live storyboard, let the team update their deliverables. The Scrum Master can help the team understand the value they can derive from it. 

Productive Events

Stick to the agenda of the scrum ceremonies, make it time boxed. 

Capacity Planning

Plan your sprint as per the available capacity so that the teams are not overburdened. 

Blockers

Make the impediments very much visible to all the stakeholders and the management. 

Backlog Management

Effectively manage the backlog, as much as possible, refine, and prioritize. 

Strong Atmosphere

Create a collaborative healthy environment where the individuals can voice out their concerns. 

Improvement

Continuously improve the way team interacts and communicates with the clients. 

Mirror Your work

Be transparent and honest with the metrics and burndown charts amongst the team. 

Follow scrum values

They really help in the long run. 

And last, but not the least, be agile! 

In conclusion

While every framework is different, applying each one in the right spirit and context is the key to success.

The Agile methodology is a fantastic way of working and is helpful to everyone involved. Best of all, it aims to help individuals attain their highest potential in terms of capacity and capability.  

It is worthwhile reiterating that Agile is not limited to software development. It is a mindset and a way of life. And with the world constantly adapting to newer ways of working, Agile is the way to go!

Deepti Sinha

16 articles published

Get Free Consultation

+91

By submitting, I accept the T&C and
Privacy Policy

Ready to lead with Scrum expertise?

Suggested Blogs