Scrum - visibility

Scrum has much to offer when it comes to project visibility, especially when the only thing you need is just Google Spreadsheet or Microsoft Excel and 5 minutes a day for an update.

Product Backlog and Release Burndown

First element of visibility is the Product Backlog available to everyone. It not only tells what needs to be done in next months or years, but it also shows the cost (relative amount of work as estimates) of each story (feature). Having that information and also the team velocity (in Story Points), you can create Release Burndown.

The Release Burndown shows when the features will be completed (using current priority order). If you add or remove story or change estimates, you can easily see the change in date. In Scrum we agree on the constant, high quality, so if the team is exactly the same each time (it should be), variation in team speed per sprint shouldn't be big. It is a very powerful tool. In standard watefallish solutions you do not know that you are late until half or more of the project is done. In Scrum you know it more or less just after first Sprint and you can take steps to hit the deadline (dropping some features, hiring another team, but not dropping the quality).

Sprint Backlog and Sprint Burndown

Similar situation is with Sprint Backlog. Within a Sprint you know exactly what you will be doing, what is your goal and general effort needed to accomplish the goal. Every day on Daily Scrum the remaining effort is updated, so each day the team and the whole company know if everything is OK or there is something to worry about. You cannot and should not hide any problems. Everything is visible. If for example there is no progress by 2 or 3 days, the CEO can come and ask what is the problem (probably earlier Scrum Master will inform people outside the team about the problem), and how he can help. Clear visibility and building trust, no problem hiding.

The Sprint Burndown updated daily is the visual sign of the progress. It is so simple that anyone can understand it. Updating it is as simple as counting work remaining at current day and draw a line (or let the Excel do it).

The benefits

• CEO/CTO is happy because he can watch the progress every day and react quickly when something is wrong.
• Product Owner is happy because he has an easy tool to see then the work will be completed. He can also experiment with priorities and with what if (for example adding a second team or removing a story). He instantly (just after estimating) see the impact on date or cost of new stories. Everything without expensive tools - even Google Spreadsheet in browser can do that).
• The team know where it is within the sprint and what is on the horizon.
• The Scrum Master has good historical and current data about the speed and can defend the team from client asking to work faster (the client do not know that asking for lower quality by rushing things is like shooting in own foot in long run).