One of the main advantages of Scrum is that the whole
activity is transparent for all and the information can be viewed directly from
information tools such as Scrumboard, where the progress of the team can be
made visible. The progress of a team can be planned accurately and tracked by the
Scrumboard during each Interval of a Sprint. The Scrumboard consists of four
columns for indicating the progress of the proposed tasks in a Sprint; the
first one consists of the “To Do” column, i.e., for tasks in the pipeline, the
second column consists of a “To Do” column for tasks that have not yet started,
the third one for “In Progress” column for the tasks that are in action but not
concluded and the final column stands for tasks which have been completed
including the successful completing of tests. It has to be noted that in the
initial stages of a Sprint, all the tasks for that phase are confined to the
“To Do” column and their place changes as the project proceeds to completion.
The Scrum board is usually maintained on a white board or on
paper, or as in recent times, where it is managed electronically on a
Spreadsheet. Changes in the Scrumboard should be managed by the Scrum team as
per the standards of time so that the information is transparent for the
stakeholder and other team members to ensure that the project is on the right
track as per the guidelines.
Another important tool in this regard is Impediment Log in
which all the impediments affecting the project are documented. An Impediment
is usually described as an obstacle, hindrance or hurdle which can decrease the
productivity and performance of the Scrum team. It is mandatory that they
should be identified as soon as possible, solution found in quick time and they
should be removed in order for the team to contribute effectively. They can be
classified into two types: Internal and External. Internal Impediments can be
classified as either improper communication or reduction in performance of
workforce whereas External impediments could involve various factors such as
requirement of unnecessary documents or issues in software license. An
organization can suffer from unwanted cost if it fails in identification or not
finding an appropriate solution in dealing with this factor. The Scrum Master
is responsible for recording the impediments in the Impediment Log and these
issues can be discussed and sorted in Daily Standup Meetings and Sprint Review
Meetings.
Sprint Burndown Chart is another key information radiator in
Scrum. The Sprint Burndown Chart is a graph that depicts the amount of work remaining
in the ongoing Sprint. The initial Sprint Burndown Chart is accompanied by a
planned burndown. The Sprint Burndown Chart should be updated at the end of
each day as work is completed. This chart shows the progress that has been made
by the Scrum Team and also allows for the detection of estimates that may have
been incorrect. If the Sprint Burndown Chart shows that the Scrum Team is not
on track to finish the tasks in the Sprint on time, the Scrum Master should
identify any obstacles or impediments to successful completion and try to
remove them. A related chart is a Sprint Burnup Chart. Unlike the Sprint Burndown
Chart which shows the amount of work remaining, the Sprint Burnup Chart depicts
the work completed as part of the Sprint.
Here is a video on the Sprint Burndown Chart: http://www.scrumstudy.com/watch.asp?vid=615.
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