Incorrect planning of a project will result in an end product that’s not in line with customer expectations subsequently impacting the software development company’s reputation. Most project managers would face a similar situation at least once in their career. Add budget overflows and delays into the mix, and the whole project might end up as a disaster.
A bit of flexibility can open doors to solve such project management issues. Agile gives that flexibility you need.
Most agile software development services today make use of SCRUM – an iterative framework that considerably reduces the risks associated with project development. How it requires both the team and the customer to collaborate through the project’s lifecycle, so the plan works out while staying in budget.
SCRUM
It’s basically a set of procedures to iteratively and incrementally manage software development processes from various tasks. So essentially, each iteration or sprint, based on the customer’s feedback, will refine the product. The customer will be able to guide the project in the right direction, tweaking it along the way if necessary. This reduces the chances of the product failing to meet expectations in the end.
Additionally, the framework also offers a good amount of flexibility for a cyclical estimate of the project. Though not a complete and precise estimate, this will still keep the development company and the customer safe from misleading estimates. Activities for each sprint can be added or removed depending on the customer’s budget.
Risk Management with SCRUM
Project managers can adopt various SCRUM practices to minimize and effectively manage risks that may occur during development.
Here are a few such practices to give you a better idea.
- Flexibility mitigates business-related risks: As mentioned earlier, SCRUM offers the flexibility to add or modify requirements whenever necessary in the product development lifecycle. This gives the company a window to deal with unforeseen threats or unexpected opportunities from the business ecosystem whenever they show up, and at a comparatively low cost. Traditional project management methodologies won’t be that effective in such scenarios.
- Regular feedback from customers mitigates expectations-related risks: The whole project can be guided by the customer. Expectations can be set after each sprint based on customer feedback. This reduces the likelihood of risks due to miscommunication, and ensures the stakeholders that the project has a better chance of meeting expectations in the end.
- SCRUM team reduces estimation risks: The SCRUM team will take responsibility for the backlogs in each sprint, and will manage accordingly to ensure timely delivery of the product. They will also be providing cyclic estimates. This considerably reduces estimation risks.
- Transparency facilitates early detection of risks: SCRUM framework is designed to be transparent. This transparency helps the team identify the risks early in the initial stage of development itself, and rectify them. Challenges and obstacles for each team will be discussed and logged during Scrum of Scrum meetings after each sprint. This also enables the team to handle the risks without raising the alarm.
- Continuous delivery reduces investment risks: SCRUM is an iterative framework. Unlike traditional project management methodologies, the project won’t be delivered at the end of the development lifecycle. The customer will be able to see how the project is going, and the changes made during each iteration. This reduces investment risks.
Conclusion
Risks will always be present regardless of the project management methodology chosen. SCRUM only affects the likelihood and the impact of those risks. To conclude, SCRUM is more like a painkiller instead of an antidote. If pain is the issue and risks are what’s causing it, SCRUM relieves you of that pain but doesn’t neutralize the risks – risk management and not risk elimination.
