scrum as a service

Scrum Team As a Service

Scrum as a Service model are comprised of self-motivated and well-communicated individuals including Scrum Master, Tech Lead, Developer, Architect, Quality Analyst, and Database Administrator.

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Scrum Master

While members of the team are typically self-starters, the expertise of a scrum master helps the flow of communication to ensure productivity. This position doesn’t necessarily grant authority over the other members – it’s more of a role that plans when the team will come together for meetings as well as figuring out how the team itself will flow.

Tech Lead

Tech Leads are often previously developers. They have a keen eye for writing code and help to support their team with technical solutions and ideas. It’s imperative that Tech Leads are included in a scrum development framework to ensure that software is taken into account in every way possible for a solution.

Developer

A Developer in a Scrum team does the work. This “title” doesn’t represent one specific type of skill set – it’s more of a term used to say who is behind the actual work (not design or any abstract thinking of the project). Developers are organized and know their limits.

Architect

Architects are concerned with the system being created by the rest of the team. They will ensure that the system follows organization protocols and correctly finds a solution to the main issue the team was formed around. The Architect double checks the work being done and consistently has a “big picture” thought process.

Quality Analyst

This tends to be one of the most overlooked positions in a Scrum team. With the basis of the team to be very quick and flexible, members often don’t want to be held back to ensure quality (which is why it’s so important to have a specific role for it). Quality Analysts think of the end-user and tests the team’s solution throughout the development process to ensure quality.

Database Administrator

DBA’s are tasked with reworking processes to streamline the workflow in the team. They prepare all the backend services for the team and keep all work organized and backed up. This person likes to ask questions and ensure the overall solution will work.

Scrum as a Service vs. Traditional Contracting

When a business is wanting to find an outside source for a development project, there are a lot of options out there. For the most part, the choices boil down to two different types: Scrum as a service and traditional contracting.

Traditional contracting is just that – the option most businesses have chosen for quite some time. Generally, a rigid timeline for the project is created and the team follows a contract centered on specific deliverables promised by the contractor.

On the other hand, scrum as a service acts as a flexible development option that is rather new to the industry. The scrum team creates an agile framework to produce software quickly being able to solve issues that might arise along the way with innovative solutions

Three major points must be taken into account when a company is preparing to outsource:

1. Are you looking for a specific task completed or a successful development implementation?

While a contractor will most certainly complete a specific task without having to worry about the overall success of the project. Scrum teams are more focused on a successful development implementation even if it means altering the end goal a bit to ensure the product will be prosperous and effective for its users. Although a business might think they know exactly what they’re looking for in a software, a scrum team can more clearly see what needs to happen for it to be an innovative solution that will better fit the needs at hand.

2. What style of a relationship are you looking for in the team: Independent or Collaborative?

Although contractors will communicate throughout the software development process, their teams don’t tend to problem-solve together. Contractors won’t feel a responsibility for what happens to the software after it is developed and will only produce what their contract requires. Scrum teams by nature are extremely collaborative, brainstorming together for flexible solutions during frequent meetings. Communication is a top priority with a cross-functional scrum team, and they will make it a point to act as an extension of the company they have been hired by.

3. Do you need a cut and dry or cutting-edge software?

Traditional contracting utilizes very little creativity when developing software due to the contract “rules” the team abides by. With little room for movement within the contract, the hiring company can often be frustrated with the result. Innovation is a scrum team’s strong suit. As a scrum team has the freedom and flexibility to try new things and take risks, they are the superior choice for a company wanting original software.

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