Managing LumiGems with Scrum
Instead of a traditional approach, Ahmed could use Scrum to build LumiGems. Scrum is an agile framework that helps teams deliver value to their customers faster and more effectively through iterative work cycles.
The Scrum Team
This person represents the stakeholders and is the voice of the customer. For LumiGems, the Product Owner would be responsible for managing the Product Backlog, ensuring it reflects the most valuable features for the smart jewelry.
Ahmed could take on this role. The Scrum Master is a servant-leader who ensures the team follows Scrum practices, removes impediments, and facilitates events. He would coach the LumiGems team, not manage them.
This is a cross-functional group of people who do the actual work of creating a usable Increment each Sprint. For LumiGems, this would include designers, hardware engineers, and software developers.
The Scrum Artifacts
This is an ordered list of everything that is known to be needed in the product. For LumiGems, it would contain features like 'Bluetooth pairing,' 'Step tracking,' and 'Customizable LED patterns.' It is a living document.
This is the set of Product Backlog items selected for the Sprint, plus a plan for delivering the product Increment. The LumiGems team would pull items from the Product Backlog to create their plan for the next Sprint.
The Increment is the sum of all the Product Backlog items completed during a Sprint. At the end of a Sprint, the new Increment must be 'Done,' which means it is in a usable condition and meets the Scrum Team’s definition of 'Done'.
The Scrum Events
Sprints are the heartbeat of Scrum, where ideas are turned into value. They are fixed-length events of one month or less. For LumiGems, a Sprint could be 2 weeks long, focused on a specific goal.
The team plans the work to be performed in the Sprint. They select items from the Product Backlog and create a Sprint Goal. For LumiGems, a Sprint Goal might be 'Implement and test basic step-counting functionality.'
A short, 15-minute daily meeting for the Developers to synchronize activities and create a plan for the next 24 hours. The LumiGems team would quickly discuss progress and any roadblocks.
Held at the end of the Sprint to inspect the Increment and adapt the Product Backlog if needed. The LumiGems team would demonstrate the new features to stakeholders and get their feedback.
An opportunity for the Scrum Team to inspect itself and create a plan for improvements to be enacted during the next Sprint. The LumiGems team discusses what went well, what problems it ran into, and how those problems were (or were not) solved.