Sprint derives from the "Agile Manifesto," the idea of agile business management, which was formally born in 2001 in Snowbird, where 17 representatives of American software companies met.
Together, they determined what the description of agile methodologies would look like.
A concise list of principles to follow emerged. It showed that the management method that enforces the cascade model doesn't always work best.
What does the manifesto include? It indicates that people and interactions are valued more than processes and tools. Furthermore, working software is more important than detailed documentation, cooperation with the customer is more important than negotiating contracts, and responding to changes is more important than implementing an established plan.
The Universal Agile Manifesto
We should add that the Agile Manifesto is universal — we can apply it to different areas of life, not just creating a digital product.
Let's remember that its core idea is that organizations have dysfunctions that hinder work and prevent individuals from realizing their full potential.
That's why it shouldn't be surprising that "agile" is not only used by companies that do programming. An example is the MIXD studio in Wroclaw, established in January 2018. The company designs commercial interiors for restaurants, hotels, retail chains, and offices, including those for the American IT sector.
Is agile methodology a guarantee for success?
A couple of months after launch, the company's revenue increased by 230%. MIXD's founder, Piotr Kalinowski, admitted that this success is, among other things, the result of operating in the spirit of agile methodology.
..."Agile" is not only used by companies that do programming.
In MIXD, a vision and a plan are formed, which are characteristics of the cascade strategy, but both elements refer only to what is sure not to change.
As a result, during the work, the Wroclaw-based company creates, among other things, a product roadmap and milestones consisting of one- to three-month periods and sprints.
However, the key is continuous cooperation with customers and continuous improvement, which ensures that a product is enhanced according to their needs.
Unfortunately, agile management will not work for all companies. It will be especially problematic in organizations where people avoid responsibility.
The initial enthusiasm about a new management method will be replaced by sinking back into contracts and documentation.
Sprint as a part of agile
One of the hallmarks of agile is a sprint, which is a maximum of four weeks of work on a project during which we plan with a budget in mind.
Our task is to achieve a goal for a given sprint, and the most important thing is to meet customer needs. We need to achieve some concrete results at the end of a sprint.
A design sprint starts with an idea; then, we have a ready-to-use product, customer consultation, review, and retrospective. The concept of a finished product depends on the definition adopted by a team.
On the other hand, reviewing means deciding what to focus on in the next sprint. A retrospective is an evaluation of a team's work to improve it. This pattern repeats until we reach the set goal.
Agile was created 25 years ago in Silicon Valley, although its name only first appeared in the "Agile Manifesto" (2001). Jeff Sutherland (see photo), Jeff McKenna, and John Scumniotales, among others, played a considerable role in creating agile management.
Agile was created 25 years ago in Silicon Valley, although its name only first appeared in the "Agile Manifesto" (2001). Jeff Sutherland (see photo), Jeff McKenna, and John Scumniotales, among others, played a considerable role in creating agile management.
A 5-day Design Sprint
A 5-day design sprint is an introduction before scrum or cascade. Jake Knapp, a designer who first worked at Microsoft and later joined Google, noted that project management leaves much to be desired at both companies. This is true at the level of communication and as the project progresses through the stages.
In 2012, Knapp joined Google Ventures, where he spearheaded the implementation of more efficient project management.
Jake Knapp says that releasing a stripped-down version of a product to see if it has potential isn't the best idea. He believes offering companies data collected from a realistic prototype is better.
For a website, we need only prepare a series of slides in Keynote that mimic the site's look.
An interesting fact: design sprint was essential in creating Slack, Zalando, and Medium.
Cascade project management model
The opposite of the 4-week maximum sprint is the cascade model. Winston W. Royce first wrote about it in 1970. In the article "Managing the Development of Large Software Systems."
Born in 1929, the computer scientist described the sequential execution of the basic steps that make up the next stage of a project. Winston W. Royce writes that before moving on to the next phase, it's necessary to thoroughly document and complete the previous phase.
The cascade model distinguishes several stages (phases) of work:
- Requirements definition — we define the detailed requirements for the system under development.
- Designing — we create an accurate system design that meets the predetermined requirements.
- Deployment — we deploy the project into a specific development environment while remembering to test individual modules.
- Testing — we integrate modules, test subsystems, and software.
- Maintenance — we let users use the software, and then we fix bugs, make changes, and expand system functions.
Winston W. Royce states that such a methodology is "risky and brings trouble" and will only work in software development if a lot of testing is done and with a good knowledge of customer needs.
However, the cascade model will prove useful when the scope of work and requirements are stable and known at the beginning of a project. If we plan to use a proven, familiar, and stable technology, we gain an additional argument for using the cascade model.
Its primary advantage is reducing the risk of failure, but only if the contract has limitations (such as execution time, budget, etc.). Moreover, cascade allows project managers to identify the fundamental phases of software development and organize the development process. That translates into easier planning and management. It allows us to create strategic plans.
The most significant disadvantage of the cascade is that the subsequent phases are strictly defined, which is a considerable limitation and sometimes hinders project implementation.
We should remember that the project assumptions can change dynamically, so it's better to bet on flexibility.
Because detecting errors made during the testing or use phase will result in high costs.
In addition, we deliver a working product only at the very end, so the result may differ from what the customer expected.
Do you want to create or improve your product?
Sprint vs. Cascade
Now, let's look at sprint and cascade's performance.
Team engagement
Those who have encountered agile management say it engages more than the cascade model. Those involved in a project influence its design in technical and organizational aspects.
Regular business meetings with management allow us to better understand the product vision, user needs, and why we made a given business decision. This will also help us to review our business strategy.
It's important to remember that we need employees who are competent, motivated, and not afraid of working independently. Our team members are further motivated because sprint makes them feel responsible for the success of a project.
In short, environmental factors need to be considered when choosing a project management method. Those factors include the company's policy or the individual approach of employees to work. It would also be best to rank environmental factors to determine which could most influence project management.
Time
A sprint is a stage of work that lasts up to four weeks. During this time, we aim to meet objectives of a particular sprint, where the customer's needs are the most important. A five-day design sprint is also possible, during which we define an idea and prepare a simple prototype—an excellent introduction to scrum or cascade.
The cascade model involves creating a detailed description of what a system should look like. The contractor must do strenuous work since such a document can consist of dozens of pages; in turn, the client is responsible for familiarizing themselves with its contents.
It's not easy to understand because it is usually a complex analysis. The constant debating and the fact that it's challenging to take a step back during the work further slow down the whole process.
Flexibility
Sprint offers a much more flexible approach than the cascade model. During a sprint, the team works constantly with the client, dividing the work into short phases.
Making corrections is not as problematic as in the cascade model, where going back to a previous phase to make changes can be a massive headache, not to mention modifying the final product.
Effectiveness
The idea of a sprint is to operate as effectively as possible and adapt to changes. During one of his speeches, Jake Knapp mentioned a couple of ideas that were born in Google Ventures.
It turned out that an idea was often implemented only after a few years, or sometimes it was never implemented because it lost its relevance over time. That is a common characteristic of cascade, where we have a predetermined range of operations.
Money
Sprint is much more flexible than the cascade model; it allows us to make changes on the fly, while the cascade is less susceptible to modification.
Making changes at the final stage will be much more costly. In addition, our ideas may become irrelevant over time.
The cost of implementing an agile method, which includes sprints, isn't much higher than that of other software methodologies.
Communication
Unlike the cascade model, sprint avoids constant debate at all costs, relying instead on fast and effective communication. It's not about constantly ongoing conversations but quickly finding solutions.
Pros and cons of sprint and cascade
Finally, we present the advantages and disadvantages of sprint and cascade.
Advantages of cascade:
- It'll work well for small projects with easy-to-understand requirements.
- The simplicity of management — all phases have their own character, defined results, and review process.
- The method is easy to adapt, even if teams change.
- Process and results are well documented.
- It makes it easy to manage dependencies.
Disadvantages of the cascade:
- The method will be less effective if we don't have strictly determined requirements from the beginning.
- It won't work very well for large projects.
- Going back to a previous phase to make changes is very difficult.
- The testing process doesn't begin until after programming is complete, resulting in bugs that are costly to fix.
Advantages of sprint:
- Teams are perfectly motivated and self-organized, resulting in better project results.
- A customer is constantly involved in the product development process.
- The agile method of software creation maintains the quality of development.
- There is very efficient communication within a team.
- Ultimately, sprint will save time and money.
- The process is entirely based on continuous progress. A client and a team know well what is finished and what is not. As a result, we reduce the risk.
Disadvantages of sprint:
- The cost of implementing an agile method, which includes sprints, isn't much higher than other software methodologies.
- Important decisions need to be made during a meeting.
- It won't work well for small development projects.
- If a project manager isn't sure what result they want to achieve, the venture can quickly go bankrupt.
Project management tools
Some project management tools can simplify the development process regardless of the approach.
Asana
Asana is a project management platform that offers functionalities like file storage, dashboards, templates, project messages, and more. It also provides more than 200 app integrations. Moreover, Asana is available in multiple languages, a characteristic that gets greatly overlooked despite its importance for project communication.
Trello
Trello is a simple tool that provides fantastic functionality for visualizing project processes. One of its key features is the drag-and-drop capability. It's perfect for small companies that want to make their project management process more understandable.
Jira Work Management
Jira is a project management tool that offers a customizable workspace, templates, a mobile app, and search capabilities that make it possible to find tasks and projects faster. There is currently no support for cascade project management, only the sprint approach.
Title image: Francisco Goya, "Duel with clubs."
