The constant competition for customers and market space forces companies to maintain a fast pace so as not to lose their position. The problem is that this lack of time tends to hinder the development and application of projects, making the task of executing them more complex. As a solution to this problem, the agile methodology was created. 

Through it, a team is able to define every aspect of a project in shorter periods of time, without compromising the final quality of the work, of course. This is positively reflected in productivity and, consequently, in the profitability of companies. 

Would you like to optimize the preparation and execution of projects in your business? Read this article and find out how agile methodology can help you succeed in this task! 

Agile methodology concept 

Agile methodology can be described as a set of good practices for process management. These good practices, in turn, aim to generate an organized and continuous cycle of planning, production and improvement stages of a project. Among the various agile methodologies that exist, currently, the  Scrum method has been the most popular for the management of software development projects. 

The Scrum method does not attempt to provide the team with complete and detailed descriptions of the entire project, but delegates to it the task of developing solutions. In order for this goal to be achieved without problems, brief planning meetings are held periodically. 

As a rule, these meetings take place every day, with the goal of introducing functionality to the team and allowing them to find solutions to implement it. Since a useful exchange of ideas requires good communication, some measures must be taken to ensure that teams are intertwined and organized. 

After all, without a clear dialogue, in which ideas are presented and discussed freely, the team will not be able to identify the best solutions. 

Roles and responsibilities 

In order to ensure the best results, the Agile Scrum methodology has delimited a maximum number of members to a   team—it can’t hold more than nine employees. In addition, it establishes two specific roles that necessarily need to be played by team members. 

Scrum Master 

In a way, Scrum Master can be compared to a team coach, because he is largely responsible for helping the team execute all processes according to the scrum methodology procedures in the most productive way possible. 

To be able to play this role well, the employee needs to fully understand the methodology and have experience in dealing with people management. 

Product Owner 

The Product Owner, in turn, acts as a customer representative. It is worth noting, however, that there are few cases in which he is the client himself. Its goal is to define the requirements and priorities that should be adopted by the team. 

In addition, he must provide guidance to the team so that he is able to build a suitable product. It is also up to the Product Owner to approve or reject the results of the project. 

Execution of processes 

To actually optimize the results achieved by the team responsible for planning and ensure that its activities align with agile methodology, Scrum organizes its tasks in a series of processes. Continue reading and better understand its operation. 

Division into sprints 

In order to more efficiently organize the execution of tasks, the Scrum model suggests that projects be developed in a sequence of phases known as sprints. As a rule, each of these phases usually lasts an average of 2 weeks, but in some special cases, its duration can reach one month. 

Whenever a sprint starts, the team must join in a planning meeting. At this point, each of its members needs to take on the responsibility of fulfilling a particular task individually. This set of tasks that must be performed is named Sprint Backlog. 

Holding standup meeting 

Participants must perform the tasks they have committed to accomplishing in the sprint, coding and testing each functionality, in search of the best solution. 

Even during this process, the team continues to team up every day in small meetings that last an average of 15 minutes. In such meetings, team members should point out how much progress they have progressed in their tasks and explain what activities will be performed on the day. This is a good opportunity for any factor that might delay the project to be identified. 

These meetings, known as standup meetings, are fundamental to the success of the project. Your goal is to synchronize the work of the team and keep everything within the stipulated schedule. 

Income statement 

Whenever a sprint ends,  the team needs to review their efforts and then demonstrate the new functionality to the Product Owner. It’s up to him to deliver feedback that can influence the next sprint. 

It has autonomy even to finish the sprint and generate a Product Backlog, which can be described as a list of all the features that the product must offer. 

The importance of customer collaboration 

As stated at the beginning of the article, the purpose of the agile methodology is to make both the elaboration and execution of a project simpler and more efficient. For this goal to be achieved, the collaboration between the team and the client is critical. 

After all, although team members have the role of developing the project without the precise guidance of the Product Owner, it becomes a difficult task to achieve the ultimate goal, which is to deliver a product fully capable of meeting the needs of the customer. 

For this reason, it is essential that there is an appropriate line of communication between the two parties. Taking such care, the development will be much faster and less complex. 

The ability to respond quickly to change 

Faced with great competition from the market, ideas are tested and improved every day. Therefore, to develop a software or other product, the project team needs to respond quickly to changes, always learning from their mistakes and successes, aiming to constantly raise the quality of services. 

In this sense, the Scrum method has the potential to optimize planning and execution in all sectors of a company. 

Since the development of software requires a high number of meetings and exchange of information to ensure that the system actually comes to rely on the necessary functionalities, the adoption of the method tends to simplify production. This makes it highly recommended. 

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