SCRUM. This was something that I was keen on learning about. I wanted to know the advantages of the scrum process against the traditional methods.

The training started with huge turnout from all the employees and was fun as the class was less about teaching and more of an interactive session.

It was always nice to have some practice session on the training to understand the concepts more clearly, rather than sitting and listening to a lecture. The “Build airplane” and “Estimation” practical work sessions reinforced the importance of teamwork and decision-making. Teamwork is one of the most important areas in the scrum process. Teamwork allows each individual to own his work and be responsible for its complete execution, as opposed to just finishing a task. It also helps him or her understand what every member is doing and how they are contributing to the project.

One of the new things that I was introduced is the concept of velocity calculation in scrum model. Velocity in simple terms can be defined as “The amount of work your team is capable of completing in a sprint.” You can calculate the sum of story points completed by a team in a sprint and consider it as velocity for that sprint. Calculate velocity for next two sprints and take the average velocity of first three sprints. This average velocity is your team’s velocity.

If you know the velocity of your team, you can:
• Predict the date for the next release.
• Predict when all features from the backlog will be implemented.
• Look at the team’s trend for an indication of whether it is getting slower or faster.

Once the training was done, I became more aware that Scrum is a simple yet incredibly powerful set of principles and practices that help teams deliver products in short cycles, enabling fast feedback, continual improvement and rapid adaptation to change.

The session was conducted morning and evening for two days. The practical session was wisely kept in the evening, so that people don’t sleep off after the heavy meal!

Finally, a special thanks to Praveen, the scrum master and trainer, who took the initiative to share his knowledge and expertise with the team. Every moment spent was worth the time, and I am sure whoever has attended the training will agree with me!