In recent years, agile methods in digital projects have been on the rise. Moreover, there are as many agile methods as there are companies that claim to use them. However, we still observe a methodology that stands out from the crowd: Scrum. Indeed, 56% of agile teams only use this methodology. But what is a Scrum team in fact?

If we refer to Scrum theoreticians Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, a scrum team consists of:

• a product owner (Product Owner or PO)
• a development team
• A Scrum Master

It is therefore multidisciplinary and allows developers to interact directly with the business.

A common goal

By definition, a team is a group of individuals with a common goal. And the Scrum team is no exception to this rule. Defining this objective (or success) is a crucial step that will have a decisive impact on developments. To define this success, it is therefore important that all team members understand the challenges of the project and are in a position to challenge the product. You will know if the chosen success is good if it has the following characteristics:

• business-oriented (we are not here to throw money down the drain)
• SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound).

It will thus allow the team to have a clear path to prioritize functionalities throughout the duration of the project. For example, in the context of a mobile application, a good success could be: “As of December 31, I increased my sales by 20% thanks to the mobile application.”

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The 3 essential roles in a Scrum team

The technical team

The technical team is composed of several developers whose major role is to develop a deliverable and functional increment of the product at each sprint. To do this, she:

• Ensures that what it develops achieves the desired success and provides value to the end user
• Synchronizes every day during 15-minute daily meetings
• Proposes technical solutions that meet the functional needs of end users
• Develops the priority functionalities of the current sprint
• Test the functionalities on the chosen devices (smartphones, desktop,...)
• Give visibility to the rest of the team on the progress of the project and more specifically on the functionalities developed

The Scrum master

The first task of the Scrum Master is to ensure that the Scrum method is understood and applied by the rest of the team. The Scrum Master is also a facilitator, he will help the team to:

• maximize the value produced throughout the project
• remove obstacles (technical, organizational, structural,...): find, understand and solve the problems encountered during the project
• To be self-organized

The Product Owner

The Product Owner is the key person for the success of the project. Indeed, it is he who has the vision of the project and the business expertise, he must:

• share this vision with the rest of the team
• prioritize functionalities according to deadlines, budget and defined success
• deliver maximum value to end users
• ensure that stakeholders are aligned with the product developed

The UX designer, the 4th musketeer

When developing a mobile application, particular attention should be paid to UX (User Experience). Indeed, on mobile, a user is “one finger and one eye”, who at any time can be distracted and leave the application. At BAM, we made the choice to integrate this skill, which was considered essential, into the team.

The role of the UX designer is to help the team meet both the expectations of the client, but also those of the users. To do this, he must:

• prepare a Benchmark competitors and applications with similar functionalities
• Define a panel of users in the target
• organize weekly interviews and tests
• analyze the feedback and, in accordance with the technical recommendations of the developers, integrate this feedback
• create with the team:

• the graphic charter (colors, fonts, iconography, style)
• the user journey (intuitive and effective)
• The wireframes

Scrum therefore offers a clear and detailed framework that, if well respected, allows a team to be in good conditions to succeed. However, some adjustments are possible, such as integrating a UX designer into the team. Moreover, if you are still hesitant about the UX of your application, read this article urgently.