Skip to main content

Manage Project Schedule in Scrum

Last post 03:55 pm April 15, 2020 by Daniel Wilhite
6 replies
01:31 pm April 14, 2020

Hello All,

I am working as a scrum master ,But i had told to step into PMO shoes and manage project schedule.

Can any one guide me how can implement Project Schedule in agile or any steps to adopt it.


02:00 pm April 14, 2020

The role of the Scrum Master is not about managing project schedules, so you won't find any direct answers to your question. Every Sprint could be thought of as a project, or a set of cohesive Product Backlog items could be thought of as a project. Better yet a Scrum Team moves away from the project mindset to a product mindset.

The Development Team owns the plan to meet the Sprint Goal each, and used the Sprint Backlog for that purpose. The Dev Team may also use information radiators to track their own progress (e.g, Burn-downs, Burn-ups, CFDs, and other more advanced techniques).

The Product Owner forecasts when Product Backlog items might get released, and may share such release information at the Sprint Review.

The Scrum Masters job, at a high level, is to serve the Dev Team, PO and organization. They facilitate, teach, coach, remove impediments to progress, and uphold Scrum. The Scrum Guide goes on to say:

The Scrum Master must work with the Product Owner, Development Team, and other involved parties to understand if the artifacts are completely transparent. There are practices for coping with incomplete transparency; the Scrum Master must help everyone apply the most appropriate practices in the absence of complete transparency. A Scrum Master can detect incomplete transparency by inspecting the artifacts, sensing patterns, listening closely to what is being said, and detecting differences between expected and real results.

 


05:03 pm April 14, 2020

Out of curiosity, who determined the project schedule, and what did they base such expectations on?


08:52 pm April 14, 2020

In most cases, a project schedule is more representative of plan-driven methodologies rather than agile methodologies. There are cases where there is a deadline associated with solving a problem - for example, if you are working with something impacted by changes in laws or regulations, the product or service may need to be in compliance by a certain date. However, generally speaking, an agile project is driven by adding value and is finished when the cost of another iteration exceeds the value that would be gained by performing that iteration.

Chris's post is spot on, but I'd second TImothy's question. Where did this project schedule come from? Why is adherence to a schedule necessary?


11:47 pm April 14, 2020

There are plenty of project plan templates on the web. Most are free. You need to forecast over a long period (for instance, two years) and break down the tasks which will be accomplished over that period. You would need to include milestone and KPIs. None of this is Agile, but not many companies who say they're Agile are really Agile so I guess that you just have to do what your employer tells you to do.


09:47 am April 15, 2020

I am working as a scrum master ,But i had told to step into PMO shoes and manage project schedule.
Can any one guide me how can implement Project Schedule in agile or any steps to adopt it.

As a Scrum Master, do you think there might be a coaching opportunity here?


03:55 pm April 15, 2020

Can any one guide me how can implement Project Schedule in agile or any steps to adopt it.

In Scrum you implement a Project Schedule one Sprint at a time.  You deliver a working increment, get feedback on it, then do another Sprint delivering another increment.  When the stakeholders finally say "We want to use that now" you deliver a product.  Then start all over again. 

You can use many methods to forecast deliverables but as with any forecast it will only be accurate for the very near term because conditions will change and you will adjust accordingly. 

I echo @Ian Mitchell's statement.  If you are a Scrum Master and are filling a Product Owner's role it seems like a perfect opportunity to educate the rest of the organization on how agile software development works and is beneficial.

One thing that no one has asked and it is bothering me.  Have you been asked to temporarily fill the Product Owner role while a new one is found and then you will go back to Scrum Master or is the expectation that you will do both roles going forward?  Because the answer to that question should be a completely separate post in this forum where everyone will have some opinions. 


By posting on our forums you are agreeing to our Terms of Use.

Please note that the first and last name from your Scrum.org member profile will be displayed next to any topic or comment you post on the forums. For privacy concerns, we cannot allow you to post email addresses. All user-submitted content on our Forums may be subject to deletion if it is found to be in violation of our Terms of Use. Scrum.org does not endorse user-submitted content or the content of links to any third-party websites.

Terms of Use

Scrum.org may, at its discretion, remove any post that it deems unsuitable for these forums. Unsuitable post content includes, but is not limited to, Scrum.org Professional-level assessment questions and answers, profanity, insults, racism or sexually explicit content. Using our forum as a platform for the marketing and solicitation of products or services is also prohibited. Forum members who post content deemed unsuitable by Scrum.org may have their access revoked at any time, without warning. Scrum.org may, but is not obliged to, monitor submissions.