How Does Scrum Ensure Empirical Process Control in Project Delivery?

In Scrum, decisions are made based on observation and experimentation rather than on detailed upfront planning. Empirical process control relies on the three main ideas of transparency, inspection, and adaptation.

Here is a video on empirical process control in Scrum: 

Transparency allows all facets of any Scrum process to be observed by anyone. This promotes an easy and transparent flow of information throughout the organization and creates an open work culture. In Scrum, transparency is depicted through the following:

·         Project Vision Statement which can be viewed by all stakeholders and the Scrum Team

·         An open Prioritized Product Backlog with prioritized User Stories that can be viewed by everyone, both within and outside the Scrum Team

·         A Release Planning Schedule which may be coordinated across multiple Scrum Teams

·         Clear visibility into the team’s progress through the use of a Scrumboard, Burndown Chart, and other information radiators

·         Daily Standup Meetings conducted during the Conduct Daily Standup process, in which all team members report what they have done the previous day, what they plan to do today, and any problems preventing them from completing their tasks in the current Sprint

·         Sprint Review Meetings conducted during the Demonstrate and Validate Sprint process, in which the Scrum Team demonstrates the potentially shippable Sprint Deliverables to the Product Owner and Stakeholders

The following diagram summarizes transparency in Scrum:

Inspection in Scrum is depicted through the following:

·         Use of a common Scrumboard and other information radiators which show the progress of the Scrum Team on completing the tasks in the current Sprint.

·         Collection of feedback from the customer and other stakeholders during the Develop Epic(s), Create Prioritized Product Backlog, and Conduct Release Planning processes.

·         Inspection and approval of the Deliverables by the Product Owner and the customer in the Demonstrate and Validate Sprint process.

The following diagram summarizes the concept of inspection in Scrum: 

Adaptation happens as the Scrum Core Team and Stakeholders learn through transparency and inspection and then adapt by making improvements in the work they are doing. Some examples of adaptation include:

·         In Daily Standup Meetings, Scrum Team members openly discuss impediments to completing their tasks and seek help from other team members. More experienced members in the Scrum Team also mentor those with relatively less experience in knowledge of the project or technology.

·         Risk identification is performed and iterated throughout the project. Identified risks become inputs to several Scrum processes including Create Prioritized Product Backlog, Groom Prioritized Product Backlog, and Demonstrate and Validate Sprint.

·         Improvements can also result in Change Requests, which are discussed and approved during the Develop Epic(s), Create Prioritized Product Backlog, and Groom Prioritized Product Backlog processes.

·         The Scrum Guidance Body interacts with Scrum Team members during the Create User Stories, Estimate Tasks, Create Deliverables, and Groom Prioritized Product Backlog processes to offer guidance and also provide expertise as required.

·         In the Retrospect Sprint process, Agreed Actionable Improvements are determined based on the outputs from the Demonstrate and Validate Sprint process.

·        In Retrospect Project Meeting, participants document lessons learned and perform reviews looking for opportunities to improve processes and address inefficiencies.

The following diagram summarizes the concept of adaptation in Scrum:

With other methods, like the traditional Waterfall model, considerable planning needs to be done in advance and the customer generally does not review product components until near the end of a phase, or the end of the entire project. This method often presents huge risks to the project’s success because it may have more potential for significantly impacting project delivery and customer acceptance. The customer’s interpretation and understanding of the finished product may be very different from what was actually understood and produced by the team and this may not be known until very late in the project’s development.