Intro
Scrum, an agile development methodology, can be structured differently depending on the organization and the situation.
When I was studying agile methodologies, the most helpful thing wasn't the theoretical explanations, but rather case studies on how it was actually applied in practice.
I've also used Scrum completely differently depending on the organization I was in, and I've experienced it evolving—or sometimes regressing—over time.
Through this post, I want to share how the Alarmy Subs team currently applies Scrum at a practical level.
I hope this serves as a useful use case for anyone studying Scrum, and please feel free to leave feedback or ask questions anytime.
The Subs Team?
Currently at DelightRoom, the Subs team is developing features that wake you up even more reliably through our premium features.
On the business side, we offer these premium features through a subscription model. Therefore, we are the team constantly thinking about how to wake people up more effectively and how to persuade users to try our premium features.
The Subs Team's Current Goals
To focus on specific goals over a set period, DelightRoom manages its goals using the OKR framework.
The entire company's goals are set as OKRs, and each team sets their own goals in alignment with the company OKRs.
Since DelightRoom sets goals on a quarterly basis, we take time to establish our goals at the beginning of each quarter, four times a year.
The way we set our goals... simply put, is to make them 1) specific, 2) actionable, and 3) measurable.
Once this crucial goal-setting phase is over, we are left with figuring out how to actually achieve those goals.
Achieving Goals with Scrum
For the rest of the quarter, we use the agile software methodology called "Scrum" to accomplish our goals.
Currently, most teams working on Alarmy use Scrum, operating in two-week sprints. This means we run about six sprints per quarter.
How is our Scrum structured?
If we look at the Scrum events that make up each sprint, they are as follows:
Sprint Planning
Sprint Review
Sprint Retrospective
Daily Scrum
Backlog Grooming
Prototype Meeting
Goals of Each Scrum Event
We just saw above that a sprint consists of six Scrum events.
To understand what function each event serves, it helps to know their specific goals and deliverables.
Let's take a look at the goals and deliverables of each Scrum event. We'll also cover the host—who should lead and run each meeting.
Sprint Planning
Host: squad manager (someone who acts like a Scrum Master in Scrum)
Goal: Construct a sprint with backlog items designed to achieve our OKRs
Deliverables:
Sprint backlog
Teammate resources
Review date (Demo Day), retrospective date
Sprint Review
Host: squad manager (Scrum Master role)
Goal: Review what was completed during the sprint
Deliverables:
Sprint board with updated task statuses
Updated backlog item statuses
Sprint Retrospective
Host: squad manager (Scrum Master role)
Goal: A session to share thoughts on "How can we do better next sprint?"
Deliverables:
Retrospective board for the respective sprint
A list of Goods, To Improves, and Action Items within the retrospective board
Daily Scrum
Host: Each individual
Goal: Select today's sprint tasks + share any blocking factors
Deliverables:
Today's status check
What was done yesterday
What will be done today
Blocking factors
Backlog Item Grooming
Host: Backlog Manager (Product Manager in Scrum)
Goal: Sync on prioritized backlog items + select items ready for product planning
Deliverables:
Prioritized list of backlog items
List of items ready for product planning
Prototype Meeting
Host: Backlog Manager (Product Manager in Scrum)
Goal: Discuss considerations before diving into full-scale product specs, share and sync on ideas that entered the Inbox
Deliverables:
Action items for each agenda discussed in the prototype meeting
By running this structured Scrum throughout the quarter, the Subs team is successfully achieving the OKR goals set at the beginning of the quarter.
In the next post, we'll take a closer look at exactly how we execute each Scrum event in detail.
If you're curious about Alarmy, check out the link below for more details