Many software companies have R & D teams like to use Scrum development process management, Scrum is an agile methodology born in the 1990s, the internal CORNERSTONE have been using this method.
Compared to other traditional waterfall development method, the biggest advantage of Scrum is concerned about sustained, rapid iteration and adaptability to change. If you use the waterfall, it is necessary to determine the results of the project at the beginning of the project, and to this agreement, you normally have detailed plans and project specifications. The project plan is generated from these specifications, through to the completion of the project in the future as a starting point, advancing backwards, in a linear way of planning a contact time, and the various stages of the budget.
Finished waterfall development is a road map can figure out a piece of software until the launch date, all the development work to be done, and deficiencies that if there is a change in the software development process, including a timeline or each There was a problem connecting stage, even in many cases even the budget needs to completely redone, which actually destroyed the plan.
Scrum is concerned in order to achieve sustained and rapid iteration an ideal destination. Replace the detailed plan is lean or demand management and review meetings, each of these iterations will measure the results. Recalling the purpose of the meeting should be around one question: "what we do not let us have a closer target needs?"
Scrum strength comes from its ability to manage work of an unknown, unique or unprecedented results. This approach can systematically and progressively solve problems arising in the development process. Waterfall development only in the course of their work involves and is predictable, and the case had already been tried, to achieve maximum effect.
This is where the difference is like building a bridge differences and build a rocket carrying ship. Rocket technology is relatively new, the construction of a rocket carrying ship have a lot of incremental steps, repeated many times to be successful. US space exploration technology company in order to make the rocket landing on board the work done is a good example (SpaceX).
On the contrary, it is the process of construction of the bridge has been very much at home and practice numerous times successfully before. Bridge does not need to be repeated many times, high demand for time and cost planning, which is often the field of waterfall development applications.
OKR and Scrum are similar in that both require a person specialized management implementation, which we call "Scrum Master" or "OKR responsible person", their responsibility to act in accordance with the rules is to ensure that team.
Scrum methodology is a highly regulated, with clear responsibilities and processes. Scrum benefits include transparency, project visibility, and frequent communication. Team collectively decided that they can accomplish what kind of work within a two-week sprint, which also makes Scrum become very democratic.
In fact, OKR also a set of rules that determine what is the target O, what are the key results of KR, and how to combine them to achieve measurable goals.
And, like Scrum, OKR timetable - quarter and year, which is much longer than the two-week sprint. Set OKR first thing to do is decide what company leaders need to achieve the goal, then set your own team OKR, OKR and ensure that the team with the company's goals.
As long as everyone is clear scope and parameters of the two methods, OKR and Scrum can be successfully used together, the effect is really good. After we established the company OKR, we will further implement the program of action to achieve the OKR. Sprint and programs of action can combine in the action cycle, facilitate the achievement of the team OKR.
In order to allow these two methods of step, a very important point is the time at the beginning of each quarter, a Scrum OKR officials and a person in charge with their R & D team sitting together and decide needs to be done in this quarter, the most the important thing (usually three).
OKR due to the longer period, broader goals, while Sprint involve more specific aspects of the implementation of the work, it is necessary first of all to consider OKR. OKR will be able to make effective implementation at this stage, with the emphasis on the pursuit of the realization of the results, should be more concerned to measure the results.
For example, if your goal is to solve the bug in the software, make the product better, then, to destroy a number of statistical software bug is not a valid key results. Each fix a bug, the bug number less one, but if there was reported out of more software bug, you do not have the software becomes more sophisticated, you just own a few fixes a number of bug.
After setting the objectives and key results OKR, you can start planning Sprint. At this stage, the most important thing is Sprint's decision cycle. If a one-month Sprint, Sprint that a single objective is likely to correspond directly to the development team three goals OKR one. As for Sprint more common for two weeks, then it might become a target Sprint action program OKR goals.
After the key results of the project, also need to further refine the work, the project will be subdivided into a number of specific tasks, and ensure that each task has a person in charge and deadline, so as to ensure that each job can also be implemented the maximum to avoid delays.
(Pictured CORNERSTONE visualization tasks Kanban)
We recommend the second method, because this method while also connecting two frames to keep both the original goal, namely Sprint manage production and transmission of the code, and OKR set goals, measure the results of the assessment.
However, this also means that every OKR Sprint needs to have its own time line. If you have a large development team to work in different areas of a product, such as preliminary work, work late and systems management, this approach can play very good results. Using this method, then, each of the guide field and a OKR Sprint a time line, and the entire group has three internal OKRs.
For smaller scale, can not afford to run three teams Sprint timeline, we also recommend this method, but only need to focus on a single OKR can be. CORNERSTONE offer including task / demand / test management, iteration planning, defect tracking, reports, statistics, teamwork, WIKI, share files and calendar function modules, the following team of 20 people is free, you can register for free click CORNERSTONE .
