How to implement Scrum? [closed]

Question

We're trying to switch to Scrum as our development process but we're not sure how to implement it in the best way possible.

We also don't want to pay for expensive software tools until we get scrum working and get positive results.

How can we implement scrum using a whiteboard without asking people to write down their time on the board and then also input into our own time tracking software?

What kind of methodologies do you use?

Answer 1

Here is a nice resource resource for you to start with: Implementing Scrum in 10 steps

There is also a really good site with many advices about how to begin with scrum: implementingscrum.com

One way you could easily do the tracking with just the whiteboard is to write your stories/tasks on post-its and also write on them the estimated cost/time. Then you can do your daily meeting near the whiteboard and when developers are talking they write down the real time they have done them.
With this information you can build both the burn up and burn down charts.

Answer 2

We're trying to switch to SCRUM as our development process but we're not sure how to implement it in the best way possible.

If you have already some understanding of Scrum, then create a product backlog, get a product owner, a team, a ScrumMaster and start using Scrum. Then, inspect and adapt.

We also don't want to pay for expensive software tools until we get scrum working and get positive results.

You don't need to and, actually, I would strongly recommend to start with a whiteboard and post-it notes, especially for an adoption. You need to learn and to master the process and the last thing you want is a tool that dictates the process and gets in the way.

How can we implement scrum using a whiteboard without asking people to write down their time on the board and then also input into our own time tracking software?

There is no magical solution for that (and the intend is totally different). In the first case, people need to do it because software development is an empirical process and requires transparency to be controlled. The burndown chart (that shows an estimation of the remaining work, and not the time spent) is one of the tools Scrum uses to achieve this transparency. In the second case, you need to do it for the only purpose of reporting (which is a kind of waste) but, well, your management requires it (and this time, you report the time spent but Scrum doesn't care of that).