Why Scrum Became the Most Popular Agile Framework?

Scrum is a framework of choice for organizations looking to make strides toward the booming Agile frontier. According to estimates, it dominates the iterative software development ecosystem with a whopping 70% share.

No practical application of the Agile comes close, and we are counting all the methodologies, frameworks, and methods here. But, the million dollar question is what the reason behind driving this rampant proliferation is? Well, as we are about to demonstrate, Scrum empowers busy teams to react quickly, stay on top of changing requirements, and eliminate potential impediments.

Simply the best

Scrum has been around for a while. It even predates Agile itself, a broad term that encompasses various approaches to software development. More importantly, Scrum has built an impressive track record over the years. There is an ever-growing body of case studies and books that speak volumes about the framework’s application value. Nowadays, you can find Scrum being used in a variety of sectors, from high education to the military.

The main thing Scrum has going for it, though, is not its age, but the fact it is lightweight and simple.

There is only a limited range of events, artifacts, defined roles, and rules. Hence, most teams are able to hit the ground running after just a few short iterations called Sprints. This swift pace is also supported by comprehensive guidelines that Scrum Roles, Artifacts, and Events provide. Along the similar lines, a vibrant community around it breeds various courses, certifications (like Scrum Master), and coaches. Even the majority of agile project management software is actually based on Scrum-like collaboration.

In other words, Scrum has a formalized structure that minimizes the amount of guesswork.

A blend of flexibility and high-performance

Furthermore, when starting with Scrum, one can take advantage of demonstrated expertise, documented use cases, and practitioner feedback, basically embarking on the path of ongoing education. On a broader scale, all of this allows Scrum to continue maturing and evolving. What is more, it reaffirms the framework’s position of authority and dependability.

Of course, this is not to say that Scrum adds value to the organization right off the bat. In fact, it takes a while to learn all the ins and outs and unlock its full potential. Often, teams also have to incorporate advanced tools to keep close tabs on and successfully manage the development process.

What helps is that Scrum remains inclusive and receptive to concepts outside its core. Take the example of hybrids in the league of Scrum/XP. They implement certain elements from other development approaches, enriching and expanding the landscape of application. In addition, one can choose to combine Scrum practices with techniques such as burn-down charts, complexity points, user stories, continuous integration, etc.

Through it all, Scrum serves as a benchmark against which teams weigh new techniques and processes.  It enables them to stay quick on the toes and adapt to changing requirements on the fly. They can reprioritize goals, fine-tune product backlogs, and deliver new features fuss-free.

Stepping stones to success

Scrum brakes down the workload into bite-sized, manageable bits. Shippable increments take place easily on in the process and recur often, laying the groundwork for continuous feedback loops that involve stakeholders, end users, and customers. Agile organizations also tend to produce a lot of progress reports and hold frequent meetings (“retrospective” and “daily Scrums”) that keep everyone on the same page.

With channels of communication wide-open and work climate supportive and transparent, it is also easy to spot and mitigate pain points and deal with hurdles. Nothing stays in the way of project’s success.

Finally, we should also acknowledge that Scrum is quite marketable.

It is a reliable practice no doubt, but you can make a case for it being a buzzword as well. Scrum’s popularity inevitably leads some organizations to embrace it just for the sake of jumping on the bandwagon. They continue following the same old practices while raving about how they keep up with times. This state of affairs produces a lot of Scrum abominations, but they do not cast a shadow on all the positives we listed so far.

Conclusion

Scrum is a tried and true framework geared towards agile project management. Its leading market position is a reflection of the incredible business value it offers.  Just take a look at the abundance of well-documented use cases. They prove that Scrum is easy to implement, streamlines management and development efforts, and spurs predictable business outcomes.  

The main takeaway is clear. Scrum is the best course of action for those seeking to refine the process, demolish impediments to progress, and take their game to the whole new level.