• Agile and scrum are two similar project management systems with a few key differences.
• Agile is more flexible and promotes leadership teams, while scrum is more rigid and promotes cross-functional teams.
• Agile lets teams develop projects in small increments called “sprints” and allows for more effective collaborations among teams working on complex projects.
• This article is for business owners and project managers who want to learn more about agile scrum methodology and how to implement it as a management process.

Agile scrum methodology is used by companies of all sizes for its ability to provide high-end collaboration and efficiency for project-based work. Agile and scrum are two different methods and can be used separately; however, their combined benefits make the agile scrum methodology the most popular use of agile. Here’s the complete guide to agile scrum methodology.

Did you know? Agile and scrum can be used separately, but their combined benefits make the methodology popular.

How does agile scrum work?

Agile scrum methodology is the combination of the agile philosophy and the scrum framework. Agile means “incremental, allowing teams to develop projects in small increments. Scrum is one of the many types of agile methodology, known for breaking projects down into sizable chunks called “sprints.” Agile scrum methodology is good for businesses that need to finish specific projects quickly.

Agile scrum methodology is a project management system that relies on incremental development. Each iteration consists of two- to four-week sprints, where the goal of each sprint is to build the most important features first and come out with a potentially deliverable product. More features are built into the product in subsequent sprints and are adjusted based on stakeholder and customer feedback between sprints.

Whereas other project management methods emphasize building an entire product in one operation from start to finish, agile scrum methodology focuses on delivering several iterations of a product to provide stakeholders with the highest business value in the least amount of time.

Agile scrum methodology has several benefits. First, it encourages products to be built faster, since each set of goals must be completed within each sprint’s time frame. It also requires frequent planning and goal setting, which helps the scrum team focus on the current sprint’s objectives and increase productivity.

What is agile?

Agile is a process that allows a team to more efficiently manage a project by breaking it down into several stages, each of which allows for consistent collaboration with stakeholders to promote steady improvements at every stage.

Key takeaway: Agile lets a team manage a project more efficiently by breaking it down into several stages.

What are the values of agile?

Agile was first described in the Agile Manifesto in 2000 by a group of developers who sought out a new method of writing software. The manifesto cites four values:

1. Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
2. Working software over comprehensive documentation
3. Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
4. Responding to change over following a plan

What are the 12 principles of agile?

The Agile Manifesto also enacted 12 principles in reference to software development and was later reconfigured to fit a wider perspective of users:

1. Customer satisfaction
2. Early and continuous delivery
3. Embrace change
4. Frequent delivery
5. Collaboration of businesses and developers
6. Motivated individuals
7. Face-to-face conversation
8. Functional products
9. Technical excellence
10. Simplicity
11. Self-organized teams
12. Regulation, reflection and adjustment

What is scrum?

In short, scrum is a framework for effective collaborations among teams working on complex products. Scrum is a type of agile technology that consists of meetings, roles, and tools to help teams working on complex projects collaborate and better structure and manage their workload. Although it is most often used by software development teams, scrum can be beneficial to any team working toward a common goal.

Who can benefit from scrum?

While scrum can be useful for a wide variety of businesses and projects, these are the most likely beneficiaries:

• Complicated projects: Scrum methodology is ideal for projects that require teams to complete a backlog. Scrum breaks down each process into bite-sized chunks that can make a complex project easier.

• Companies that value results: Scrum is also beneficial to companies that value results over the documented progress of the process. This is because scrum is focused on efficiency and innovation to drive results, rather than a detailed, rigid process.

• Companies that cater to customers: Scrum can help companies that develop products in accordance with customer preferences and specifications. Scrum is adaptable to change, making it key when responding to customer requests.

What are the benefits of agile scrum methodology?

These are some of the collective benefits of agile scrum methodology:

• Flexibility and adaptability
• Creativity and innovation
• Lower costs
• Quality improvement
• Organizational synergy
• Employee satisfaction
• Customer satisfaction

The greatest benefit of agile scrum methodology is its flexibility. With the sprint-based model, the scrum team typically receives feedback from stakeholders after each sprint. If there are any problems or changes, the scrum team can easily and quickly adjust product goals during future sprints to provide more valuable iterations. This way, stakeholders are happier because they get exactly what they want after being involved every step of the way.

Compare this with traditional project management systems, in which stakeholders do not provide frequent feedback and time is wasted making changes to the product halfway through development – or worse, such as the teams needing to start from scratch after the product has already been built.

To implement agile scrum methodology, there must be either a scrum expert in the company or an outside consultant to ensure scrum principles are being applied correctly. Agile scrum methodology involves precise execution and could result in serious problems if not done properly.

Tip: To implement agile scrum, you’ll need an expert in your company or an outside consultant.

What are the different roles in agile scrum methodology?

Agile scrum methodology consists of two sets of roles: core roles, known as “pigs,” and ancillary roles, known as “chickens.”

There are three core roles: scrum master, product owner and scrum team. All of these people are committed to the scrum project.

1. Scrum master: The scrum master is the facilitator of the scrum development process. In addition to holding daily meetings with the scrum team, the scrum master makes certain that scrum rules are being enforced and applied as intended. The scrum master’s responsibilities also include coaching and motivating the team, removing impediments to sprints, and ensuring that the team has the best possible conditions to meet its goals and produce deliverable products.

2. Product owner: The product owner represents stakeholders, who are typically customers. To ensure the scrum team is always delivering value to stakeholders and the business, the product owner determines product expectations, records changes to the product and administers a scrum backlog, a detailed and constantly updated to-do list for the scrum project. The product owner is also responsible for prioritizing goals for each sprint, based on their value to stakeholders, such that the most important and deliverable features are built in each iteration.

3. Scrum team: The scrum team is a self-organized group of three to nine individuals who have the business, design, analytical and development skills to carry out the actual work, solve problems and produce deliverable products. Members of the scrum team self-administer tasks and are jointly responsible for meeting each sprint’s goals.

Ancillary roles, on the other hand, are other stakeholders who are involved in, but not committed to, the scrum project. Typically, ancillary roles consist of customers, management and members of the executive team who are involved for the purpose of consulting, reporting progress and gathering feedback to better work toward delivering the highest value possible.

What is the training for scrum and agile?

Managers and employees can enroll in training for both agile and scrum through various online and in-person courses. Many educational training courses result in certification in agile or scrum methodologies. Agile training provides the trainee with the basic knowledge of agile and how to implement it to the rest of their team. Scrum provides similar training, including the basic agile overview; however, the training caters to the scrum framework.

To become a certified scrum master (CSM) or certified scrum product owner (CSPO), you must first prepare and learn the basic details of scrum through videos or a simple internet search. Next, find a suitable CSM or CSPO course, either through your workplace or another internet search. Once you’ve completed the course, you usually have to pass an test to become certified. After certification, you’re able to lead your team through the scrum process or provide scrum product details.

What are the differences between scrum and agile?

Although scrum and agile are similar, they have some key differences:

• Scrum values rigidity, whereas agile is more flexible.
• Agile leaders play a vital role, while scrum promotes a cross-functional team that is self-functioning.
• Agile involves face-to-face interactions between cross-functional team members, while scrum involves daily stand-up meetings.
• Agile is meant to be kept simple, while scrum can be innovative and experimental.
• Scrum delivers shorter, separate projects, while agile delivers everything at the end of the process.

Sara Angeles contributed to the writing and research in this article.

Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on Forbes Advisor. Commissions do not affect our editors' opinions or evaluations.

Job Description
Senior Scrum Masters are leaders, facilitators, and coaches for an Agile Team. Leads a team in Agile, Scrum, and SAFe principles, ensuring that the agreed Agile practices are being followed.

Qualifications & Experience
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Commerce, or Information Systems.
8 – 10 years’ experience in project/software delivery.
Familiarity and experience in Agile/Scrum/Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe).
Certification as a Scrum Master Certified SAFe® Advanced Scrum * Master or Advanced Certified Scrum Master (A-CSM) or Certified Scrum Professional (CSP) .
Knowledge of Kanban/Lean
Knowledge and experience in using tracking and collaboration tools such as Jira, Miro and TFS.
* Knowledge and experience with typically used Agile techniques such as User Stories, ATDD, TDD, etc.

Desired Skills:

• Agile
• SAFE
• kanban
• lean
• ATDD
• TDD

Learn more/Apply for this position

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Project management isn’t just one skill. It’s a process of interacting with a goal and a team who can accomplish it, and one of the most popular methodologies is called Scrum, a framework for project management that uses Agile principles. If you want to master Agile and Scrum and prepare for managerial and administrative roles in the future, you could start with the 2023 Agile and Scrum Master Certification Training Bundle(Opens in a new tab). Study the principles of project management through a popular framework in these seven courses on sale for £32.27.

If this is your first exposure to Agile and Scrum, then you may want to start with Agile in a Nutshell to get a sense of the fundamentals. Start studying the foundational principles of Agile Project Management and Scrum meetings in this course led by Dejan Majkic from Skill Success. Majkic is a digital entrepreneur and trainer with more than 50 international IT certifications, and he’s the instructor for each course in this bundle. That doesn’t mean you’re stuck working on another person’s schedule, though. All course content is available to you for life, so you can learn at your own pace. 

Each course focuses on some skills or principles integral to effective Agile planning or Scrum management. There’s even a course on risk management that could help you define potential risks, assess them, and create contingencies. These skills could help you land your next admin-level job, and the course on landing a Scrum Master Job without experience could help you even more. 

If you’re new to the concept, Agile and Scrum may sound intimidating, but they’re just tools that could help you thrive in positions that require complex planning and collaboration. For a limited time, get the 2023 Agile and Scrum Master Certification Training Bundle(Opens in a new tab) for £32.27. 

Certification now follows a rolling model for applications and approvals. If you have questions after reviewing this website, please contact cert@nullesa.org or 202-833-8773.

The period of certification lasts for 5 years, retroactive to the first day of the month the application was approved and expiring on final day of the same month 5 years hence. ESA staff will communicate with you about your status beginning at least 60 days prior to expiration, and will additionally remind you to submit your CEU data on a regular basis.

If you currently hold a certification from pre-2021 and will expire the next June from now, you should recertify in the spring of the year your certification expires; if your certification expired in the previous June, you may still recertify or upgrade.

We allow 2 years’ grace periods to recertify or upgrade, but you will be required to pay a penalty fee if your certification has lapsed beyond that grace period. All recertifications at all levels (except Emeritus) cost $25 for ESA Members and $50 for non-members. 

Starting in 2022, the penalty fee is the cost of recertification for each year of lapse, with the first 2 years waived if you recertify within 2 years. In other words:  

0 yr lapsed: $25 for recertify 

1 yr lapsed: $25 for recertify (1 yr of back recertification fees waived)  

2 yr lapsed: $25 for recertify (2 yr of back recertification fees waived)  

3 yr lapsed: $75 for recertify  

4 yr lapsed: $100 for recertify 

Candidates for certification must have completed at least a bachelor’s degree or a higher degree in ecology or a related science. Completed undergraduate or graduate coursework must include the following, totaling 42 semester credit hours. Full requirements include areas of coursework and should include some core topics.

Certified Ecologist and Senior Ecologist certification holders who hold that status for at least 10 consecutive years and are no longer working full-time may upgrade to each level’s respective Emeritus/ta designation. Contact cert@nullesa.org to learn more.

• Professional experience accrues as soon as the minimum education requirements are met (typically with an appropriate bachelor’s degree). Professional experience during graduate studies shall be counted the same as any other professional experience regardless of whether it was undertaken during a degree program such as a master’s or doctoral program.
• For recertifications, courses completed as part of a graduate degree program (or outside a degree program) may be counted toward continuing education in the appropriate category.
• If courses during graduate training are used to satisfy the minimum education requirements, professional work experience may be counted after the last such course is successfully completed.
• Provide an appropriate explanation of time spent in full-time employment (e.g. if working through school, during a gap year, etc.) in your application.
• Length of experience will be evaluated only up to the application submission date.

Continuing Education

Please note that beginning 2021, all newly certified ecologists are required to complete 44 continuing education units over 5 years to be eligible for recertification or upgrade. Currently certified ecologists will be permitted to recertify or upgrade per their original requirements up to 2025; beginning with 2026, all recertifications and upgrades will require having met the CEU requirements. The ESA Board of Professional Certification approved this framework in January 2021.

Certified ecologists should report their CEU as they are earned, or at least on an annual basis. You can see how to do so here.

Interpretive leeway will be given to participants to identify suitable professional development opportunities per the requirements. ESA is partnering with other scientific organizations and training bodies to recommend opportunities for CEU in addition to the content that ESA provides — see the directory. Participants are encouraged to share ideas with staff as well.

All ecologists certified by ESA shall conduct their activities in accordance with the ESA Code of Ethics and with the highest standards of professional conduct and personal honor. 

Application Materials

You can review the full application requirements here.

Here are additional details about the requirements for each certification level.

Ecologist in Training

Associate Ecologist

Ecologist

Certified Ecologist Emeriti

Senior Ecologist

Senior Ecologist Emeriti

Cape Town - It seemed to be a mismatch of epic proportions – an all-Springbok Stormers front row were expected to dominate the Bulls in the scrums.

Steven Kitshoff, Joseph Dweba and Frans Malherbe would have been licking their lips to take on Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar and Mornay Smith at Cape Town Stadium on December 23.

But while the Stormers won 37-27, there was no doubt that the Bulls had the edge in the set-piece.

The Bulls won a few penalties in the first half, but yellow cards to Marco van Staden and Elrigh Louw blunted their physicality, and despite being 13-13 at half-time, they conceded three early second-half tries.

The Pretoria side will be charged up to fix those mistakes in Saturday’s return URC clash at Loftus Versfeld (5.05pm kick-off), and would have been encouraged by their scrum performance in the hope of ending a four-match losing streak to John Dobson’s outfit.

The return of coach Jake White after an operation will no doubt galvanise the Bulls further.

And this time around, the Stormers won’t have Kitshoff, Malherbe or lock Marvin Orie, who are unavailable due to Springbok resting protocols.

They would have been heartened by a fine display against the Sharks in Durban on February 4 when Dweba, Brok Harris and Neethling Fouché overwhelmed Ntuthuko Mchunu, Kerron van Vuuren and Carlu Sadie to set up a 46-19 triumph.

Dweba will be the favourite to wear the No 2 jersey at Loftus, but the man who could play a crucial role in the second half is Scarra Ntubeni as the back-up hooker.

The biggest test for the Capetonians will be dealing with the altitude, and while rain has been forecast, they will need to be sharp and not concede penalties in the last 20 minutes in order to deny the Bulls extra momentum.

Ntubeni made his comeback after 10 months out with an Achilles injury in the 35-5 loss to Ulster in late January, where he had to replace the injured JJ Kotze in the third minute.

The one-cap Springbok lasted about 44 minutes before making way for André-Hugo Venter, and wants to continue making progress against the Bulls.

“When you play the Bulls, you don’t need much motivation, it’s always massive,” Ntubeni said in an interview on the Stormers website.

“I’m excited with a bit of nerves, because it’s been a while for me. But once the whistle goes, I’ll be fine – I just need to make that first hit and first carry. I just feel fortunate to get another opportunity to get back on the park.

ALSO READ: ‘Loftus vibe’ can assist Bulls evade the Stormers tide

“I wasn’t expecting to come on that early against Ulster, but luckily we had Vennas (Venter) on the bench.

“I needed to be thrown into the deep end, because the lungs were going to struggle anyway, so I thought I might as well just do it. It was pretty awesome to be back on the field.

ALSO READ: We’d like to keep Aphelele Fassi, says Sharks’ Neil Powell as Stormers circle

“For me, at the moment, it’s about getting back into the team because I’ve been out for about 10 months. I really want to get back to my form where I was playing last season.”

Ntubeni will turn 32 tomorrow, and while he is facing a serious battle against Dweba, Kotze and Venter for game-time, he is still eager to make his mark for the Stormers.

@ashfakmohamed

IOL Sport