Scrum is a framework that is central to the Pega Express™ approach, allowing work to be incrementally delivered and constantly reviewed with the business for feedback.

What is Scrum?

Scrum is a form of Agile development that defines specific roles, responsibilities, events, artifacts, and processes. It involves leadership roles such as Product Owner and Scrum Master, divides projects into time-boxed development cycles called sprints, and requires a backlog to be maintained that is divided into user stories. 

Scrum is a fundamental part of the Pega Express™ delivery approach. Scrum ensures that business and IT teams work together collaboratively and transparently to achieve the right results for the client, guaranteeing that there are no unwanted surprises at the time of deployment. The Scrum process flow can be briefly summarized as in the following figure:

Why does Scrum add value?

Scrum is a universally accepted and understood project management framework. Unlike methodologies such as waterfall project management, Scrum is an approach that lets project teams build quickly, respond to change, deploy continuously, and easily gather feedback. It is designed for user input and feedback to reduce risk because work products are built quickly, improved on, and delivered in short cycles. 

As a framework for project management and application development, Scrum ensures that the most value-added stories are developed first, ideas are identified and delivered correctly the first time, and employees and customers are involved in the process, which increases both buy-in and satisfaction.    

When does Scrum take place?

Scrum is a fundamental part of a Pega Express project. At the beginning of your build activities, you break down your Microjourneys^® into manageable chunks, and ultimately into the user stories that form your prioritized backlog. Throughout your project you continue to refine and add to your backlog. Scrum ceremonies evolve and progress your user stories to the point where the stories can be prioritized by the product owner for each next sprint. But it is during the configuration of an application that the Scrum methodology really provides momentum, supported by opportunities for the business to review the work and give feedback on what is being developed. This culminates in a full project retrospective and planning for the next Minimum Lovable Product when the solution goes live.