Six benefits of scrum in project management

In the previous blog post, we went through the basics of scrum in project management. In this blog post, we list six benefits of using scrum in your projects.

When starting a new project, there is excitement in the air. Energy and motivation of the team are high, and everyone is eager to start working. But, as the project progresses, reality hits: somebody gets sick, resources are lacking, budget is overrun, and you just cannot get a hold of the customer. Errors, problems, and frustration arise.

Scrum offers a helping hand to many of the problems in project management. Here are six benefits of using scrum in project management to tackle these common challenges.

1. Incremental development

When applying scrum in project management, the development work is divided into smaller increments called sprints. Each sprint, ideally lasting for two weeks, has its own planning, implementation, reviews, and retrospective meetings.

The work culminates into a minimum viable product (MVP) that takes the team and customer one step closer to the big end goal. By dividing the complex work into more digestible parts, progress can be seen more clearly

2. Daily stand-ups for problem solving

In scrum, the team meets each day for a 15-minute daily stand-up. In these meetings, three questions are answered by each member: what they have done the day before, what will they do today, and what problems they are currently facing.

This way, every problem is brought to the team’s attention, and it can be tackled quickly and precisely. This makes the team more prone to change and produces better work quality. No team member is left alone with their problems.

3. Team communication

The daily stand-ups of scrum are good not only for problem solving but also team communication and cohesiveness. They have become even more important during remote work. In project management, it is important to build trust and a flow of communication for the project to succeed.

4. Team autonomy

Scrum is designed to give autonomy and empowerment to each team member. There are no managers in scrum. Instead, the team works together as one unit towards a common goal. The team is entrusted with their tasks and their performance. Motivation is driven from within instead of an outside source.

5. Motivated team members

At the end of each sprint, there is a review. The team can see the results of their work and receive feedback from it. The periodic deliveries motivate more than working for long periods of time without seeing any progress or the impact of your work. Attaining small goals during throughout the project’s lifetime gives the team confidence to keep on working toward the end product.

6. Continuous improvement

The periodic deliveries not only support motivation but also continuous improvement. Receiving early feedback in each of the product’s development stages ensures an end product that is of high quality and in line with the customer’s needs. The product is refined continuously, systematically, and iteratively. Achieving each goal takes the team onto the next one.

Better results

The six benefits of scrum increase the return of the investment and mitigates common risks and downfalls of project management. It reduces the time it takes for the product to go into the market and ensures good quality of the product made by a motivated team.