The Role of the Scrum Development Team

[#1]

The development team in a scrum is a self-organized, cross-functional team with the proper skill set required to deliver business value defined by the product owner. Their primary function is to work together closely to have a potentially releasable Increment of "Done" product at the end of every sprint. Typically, only the Scrum Development Team members create this Increment to complete tasks during sprints. 

With the product manager and scrum master, they make the scrum team and work closely to optimize efficiency while delivering value. 

The scrum framework recommends that the size of the scrum team varies between 3 and 9 members, including the product manager and scrum master. As such, the size of the development team varies depending on the amount of work. For large projects, the ideal Scrum team size is seven people in total (product owner, scrum master, and five developers). For smaller projects, the scrum team can be four team members (product owner, scrum master, and two developers)

The primary responsibilities of the development team revolve around the sprint and sprint goals:

Perform the sprint:

During each sprint, the development team's role is to self-organize and design, build, integrate, and test product backlog items into increments of potentially shippable functionality.

Inspect and adapt:

Development team members must participate in the daily scrum, during which the team inspects their progress towards the sprint goal and adjust their process to meet the sprint goals. 

Backlog refinement: 

The product owner and development team work together on grooming the backlog to keep it up to date and prepare backlog items for upcoming sprints. 

Plan the sprint:

For every sprint, the development team is responsible for planning the tasks. They work closely with the product manager and with the facilitation of the Scrum Master to set the sprint goals and determine high-priority items. 

Review the Sprint:

After every sprint, they are involved in the sprint review session attended by the scrum master, product owner, client, and other stakeholders to evaluate the completed work.

Several metrics and reports can help the development team in their responsibility, especially when planning for a new sprint and during the retrospective meeting. 

• Sprint Burndown allows the team to predict how much work they can complete and the hours it would take to accomplish their sprint goals. 

•  Epic and release burndown is a chart that displays how fast the team is working through an epic. It tracks the progress of individual sprints as well as epics and versions. 

• Velocity is a report that helps calculate how much work was delivered in each sprint. This allows the team to predict the amount of work they can complete in the upcoming sprint. 

• Cumulative Flow Diagram permits the development team to monitor the workflow through the development phases and forecast any blockers or disruptions.

Whether large or small projects, every task stands or falls with the scrum development team.

[Jimmy Seddon]

Thanks @Andreas Springer _Actonic_!  I've been following a number of these articles you have posted here.  I really appreciate the information you are sharing!

[Dipaka Patra]

The Scrum Development Team plays a crucial role in the Scrum framework, contributing directly to the delivery of high-quality increments of work during each Sprint. Here's a breakdown of their responsibilities:

Product Increment: The Development Team is responsible for creating a potentially shippable product increment by the end of each Sprint. This means they must collaborate to design, develop, test, and integrate features or user stories according to the Product Backlog items selected for the Sprint.

Self-Organization: The Development Team is self-organizing, meaning they have the autonomy to decide how to best accomplish the work required to meet the Sprint Goal. They determine the tasks, effort estimation, and how to collaborate effectively to deliver the product increment.

Cross-Functional: The Development Team is cross-functional, meaning it possesses all the skills necessary to deliver the product increment. This typically includes skills in software development, testing, design, and any other expertise required to complete the work.

Collaboration: The Development Team collaborates closely with the Product Owner to clarify requirements and refine the Product Backlog items. They also collaborate with the Scrum Master to continuously improve their processes and remove any impediments that may hinder their progress.

In summary, the Scrum Development Team is accountable for delivering valuable product increments by self-organizing, collaborating cross-functionally, and working closely with the Product Owner and Scrum Master to achieve the goals of the Sprint and the overall project.