Project management isn’t what it used to be. The digital transformation and rise of cloud computing has made sure of that, changing the game plan for both product development and product engineering services.

ISVs and enterprises need to push their products off the shelf as quickly as possible to take advantage of emerging market opportunities. Otherwise, they risk losing out to their competitors.

Choosing the right methodology for product development can be the difference between winning and losing.

Our recommendation? Go with Agile Scrum.

The Benefits of Agile Scrum

For peak performance, it is vital that your chosen methodology is scalable. Agile Scrum fits the bill.

Agile Scrum is based on an incremental and iterative product development process. Collaboration between cross-functional and self-organizing teams fuels solutions that help your project managers meet tight deadlines.

Agile Scrum has gained fame due to its long list of benefits:

The simplicity and transparency of processes

Adaptive planning

Quick adaptability to change

Its iterative approach

Quick learning cycles

Automated testing

Platform stability

Rapid market release

Integrated and flexible teams that can immediately change requirements based on user feedback

The Role of Cygnet Infotech

Cygnet uses the Agile Scrum methodology to support our clients in project engineering and speed to market. Here is an overview of the process:

Phases of the Agile Scrum model

Now, let’s take a closer look at the individual stages.

Product Backlog Generation

Product backlog is generated based on the priorities of the project. It generally comprises new features, enhancements, bugs, tasks and non-functional requirements.

An item in backlog is called a user story. User stories are listed in order of highest business importance. User stories are then broken down into tasks.

In addition, product backlog is a live entity. A designated product owner constantly updates product backlog to keep the project on track and for easy business analysis.

Sprint Planning

The project manager and team review user stories to develop plans and assign next tasks using the planning poker approach. This involves defining the following parameters and timelines:

Release of the planning schedule

Duration/length of sprint

Estimating tasks

Generating the sprint backlog

Labor costs

Scope of work done during each sprint

Work to be done for other sprints

Vetting user stories for better features and functionalities

The first sprint backlog involves top priority tasks and setting the timeline for releasing the working version of the product.

A shorter sprint duration focuses on regularly incorporating client feedback and finding and fixing any bugs and errors. However, longer sprint times lets developers work more thoroughly, often eliminating the number of initial issues.

Working on the Sprint

Once the team is done generating the sprint backlog, the development stage and continuous project monitoring begins.

A team of analysts generates wireframes based on sprint backlog tasks, which are also given to the client for approval. The wireframes are used to verify any error in the plan. Common tools during this phase include Jira, AgileWrap and ScrumDO.

The main goal is to show how the product will work and look, and to ensure that all stakeholders are on the same page. With this accomplished, a team of designers gets to work on the interface, elements and theme of the product.

Screen samples are sent to the client for approval, and any configuration based on client feedback is performed.

Once the designs are finalized, the development and programming teams initiate the development process. Their job is to deliver the potential shippable increments (PSIs) of the product at the end of each sprint.

Then, it’s time for pair programming, unit testing and peer reviews. The written code is also sent to the testing team to fix any bugs or errors.

Product Testing and Demonstration

The goal of the entire sprint cycle is to generate a working product. Therefore, testing is an inevitable part of the life cycle of the scrum model.

Automation is included in QA to extract precise and accurate results. Software QA allows for cost savings, the addition of new test cases, and an increase in the test coverage of the application.

The result of every sprint is demonstrated to the product owner for user acceptance testing. Based on the outcome, the stakeholders decide on any product changes. Once approved, the PSI is shipped to the client.

Retrospective and Next Sprint Planning

We’ve come to the end of the scrum life cycle. Here, we discuss the results of the sprint.

Problems are determined and observed again to improve the development process of the next sprint. Team brainstorming sessions are held to see what can be done to improve the future iteration. Common issues addressed include:

Time taken for delivery

The performance of the PSI

Strategies for more effective progress

Once all issues are settled, we start the next sprint planning.

A burn-down chart is prepared during scrum meetings to determine all completed and remaining tasks. The product backlog is once again analyzed and reprioritized as necessary, and the next set of requirements and user stories are selected for the following sprint.

The development, testing and acceptance phases for previous sprints continue on.

The Second Cygnet Approach for Agile Scrum

Sometimes, a client may change the project’s paradigm after reviewing wireframes and designs. For this reason, some projects require these tasks to be performed before sprint planning.

This is done to avoid any kind of design or development errors in later project stages.

Once the wireframes and designs are accepted, the team will conduct a sprint planning meeting where each sprint backlog is made per the client’s directive.

The team clarifies the scope of project and notes the acceptance criteria for the development stages.

The rest of the process for Option 2 remains the same as Option 1 of the scrum life cycle.

But Wait! We’re not Done Yet!

Transparency is vital for both options of agile scrum methodology. Frequent inspections help the project team detect variances and ensure progress.

Cygnet Infotech follows scrum events to ensure on-time project delivery. We conduct daily scrum meetings where the progress of the team is monitored by going through planned work and exploring any obstacles which may block the team’s path.

Trend Analysis

Cygnet’s development team holds thorough trend analysis sessions after each sprint. We determine and regulate the extent to which the processes meet expectations for optimum quality and continuous and steady product delivery.

Data is analyzed for on-time delivery, major open bugs, static code analysis warnings, performance criteria, unit testing coverage percentage and regression automation percentage.

The practices of continuous product integration and delivery allow the team to reduce the issues of integration and promote robust deployment of the system. They also help produce the product in short cycles and ensure an on-time release.

Additionally, Option 2 helps the product owner set project goals and objectives early and regulate their return on investment.

Final Words

When talking about managing IT projects, merely thinking agile is no longer an option. It is a requirement.

Cygnet Infotech and the Agile Scrum approach bring a quick, adaptive process to your organization, helping you break down your biggest projects into short sprints.

Let Cygnet help you deliver a great, fully functional product with high value features in a short amount of time.

Give us a call at +1-609-245-0971 and let’s get started.

Or, send is a message at inquiry@cygnetinfotech.com and we’ll reply promptly.