Question

Assume you are assigned to develop a smart home system, and it was agreed to use the Scrum project management, a framework from the Agile project management methodology. Discuss the steps for implementing this project.

Answer 1

Scrum project management offers a lightweight process that uses interactive practice and software is developed more frequently.

For the smart home system, there are the following steps in this process:

1. Backlog creation:

In backlog creation, a list of features is maintained for the development process. The features are prioritized as per user story. Unique ID is assigned to all these stories.

• For a smart home, there is a need for an advanced network and hence, the internet of things should be used.
• Other such features such as proper light control, remote access control, etc. should be identified and a list should be created.

2. Sprint planning:

In this step, sprint duration is determined. If the duration is short, the system will be delivered in a short time. Customer feedback can be received often and bugs can be fixed in time.

If longer duration is used, developers can work with in depth study of the system. But here, team members should cooperate with stakeholders.

3. Scrum meetings:

In this step, a task board is created. This board contains user stories, and names, along with description of tasks. They are also organized as per their significance. Different status for the tasks can be "to do", "in progress", "complete".

The knowledge is then used in Scrum meetings. In this meeting, tasks are discussed and problems are rectified. A burnout chart is created. This helps in controlling the overall developing process.

4. Testing:

Testing involves creating various test cases and implementing them in a timeframe. It helps in reducing the user stories and minimizing the bugs. During testing, quality assurance engineers are involved. Testing helps in deciding whether further changes are required in the system.

• For smart home projects, testing involves testing the smoke alarms, motion sensors, etc.

5. Improvement planning:

After testing the system, one needs to decide if there is a need for any improvement. During this step, the team also decides on what went right and how the work was done.