In a previous post, I discussed PayCycle's transition to an agile development process. Since making the switch, we've seen many tangible benefits with the new process. In our process, we follow the "scrum" model where each sprint team meets every morning in the agile "war room." (Okay, it's just a conference room, but war room sounds more cool.) The daily scrum is a 15-minute meeting where each team member answers three questions:
- What did I do in the last 24 hours?
- What will I work on in the next 24 hours?
- Am I blocked, or do I need help?
I've been happily surprised to find that the engineers really like the daily scrums. They like the fact that the meetings are focused, efficient, and results-oriented. Also, they never go more than 24 hours while being blocked on an issue. The structure of the meetings is ideal for folks who appreciate (and sometimes need) the follow-up on deliverables and tasks.
And the burn-down charts, which track the team's progress, provide an accurate and daily update on the project's status. The scrum master and project owner have great visibility into the project status. When we're getting close to the end of the sprint, tasks that can not get completed can be returned to the backlog. Instead of wishful thinking to complete a project, the team has the accurate data to make informed decisions about what can really get done in the alloted amount of time.
Over the next few posts, I'll talk more about the tools we're using and the details of the process. Stay tuned...
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