In a recent article for managing the Retrospective Board Hybrid-Scrum project, there was an offline question about multi-Sprint management in Hybrid-Scrum project, along with certain other questions. The questions are:
- How do you manage multiple-Sprints in Hybrid-Scrum projects?
- Can they be managed in parallel, if you have separate teams?
- How do you manage the Sprint Burndown and Burnup charts in such projects?
The answers to the above questions are yes, yes and yes. It’s definitely possible to run multiple Sprints in a Hybrid-Scrum project. One can plan, manage and track them to completion.
The content of this course is taken from ManagementYogi’s Certified Hybrid-Agile Master Professional (CHAMP) course. In-depth explanation, a number of reports and metrics as well as downloadable .mpp files are part of this certification course.
Current Scenario
Let’s take the scenario created in the linked article about Retrospective Boards in Hybrid-Scrum Projects. I've modified it to show the status date as of mid-Sprint 2.
As shown, above:
- There are five Sprints planned, from Sprint 1 to Sprint 5
- Sprint 1 under Scrum Development phase has been completed.
- Sprint 2 is underway and we have completed some of the items.
- Our status date is mid-Sprint 2.
As this stage, I’d also suggest that you read this article on how to manage multiple Sprints in a plain Scrum project.
The Planned Sprints
In this case, we have 5 Sprints planned. This can be done with the Manage Sprints commands available under the Project tab.
All the planned Sprints will be integrated into the Hybrid-Scrum project. The planned Sprints are:
- Sprint 1: From Monday 13th Oct, 25 to Sunday 26th Oct, 25
- Sprint 2: From Monday 27th Oct, 25 to Sunday 9th Nov, 25
- Sprint 3: From Monday 10th Nov, 25 to Sunday 23rd Nov, 25
- Sprint 4: From Monday 24th Nov, 25 to Sunday 7th Dec, 25
- Sprint 5: From Monday 8th Dec, 25 to Sunday 21st Dec, 25
Integrated Plan for Hybrid-Scrum Project
The integrated Hybrid-Scrum project plan is shown below.
(Please click on the images for enlarged views)
In the figure show above, at the end of Sprint 1 (24th Oct, 25) a number of predictive as well as Agile elements. The Sprint 1 events such as Sprint 1 Planning, Daily Scrum (Sprint 1), Sprint 1 Review and Retrospective are complete. The features taken for this Sprint 1, i.e., Smart Entry and Smart Alarm are also complete.
This can also be seen in the Current Sprint Sheet view. It must be noted that the Current Sprint Sheet view is only for the Sprint 1 items.
Plan for Upcoming Sprints (Sprint 2, 3, 4 and 5)
As shown below, we have features associated for rest of the 4 Sprints. This can be done by going the to the Sprint Planning Board view and just dragging and dropping the work items across the board.
For Sprint 2, we have Feature – Smart App Integration.
Add did you notice Sprint 1? It’s empty because Sprint 1 has been completed.
Building the Plan for Sprint 2
We are going to take this feature (Smart App Integration) and break it down to individual tasks. We are also going to add various Sprint Events into the Sprint 2 plan. In other words, we are going to the build the Sprint 2 Backlog.
We will break the Smart App Integration features into the following tasks:
- Integrate with smarty entry – 4 days
- Integrate with smart alarm – 3 days
- Test the integrated smart apps – 2 days
- Deploy and closeout – 1 day
We will also add the following events or ceremonies.
- Sprint 2 Planning of 0.5 day
- Sprint 2 Review of 0.25 day
- Sprint 2 Retrospective of 0.25 day
- Daily Scrum (Sprint 2)
- Each meeting will be of 15 minutes.
After we add all the above ones, we will have the following view.
As shown above:
- The Sprint 2 for the Hybrid-Scrum project is fully planned. It’s highlighted in orange color.
- There are elements under Test summary task, which are the predictive parts. It’s highlighted in blue color.
- The other Sprints such as Sprint 3, 4 and 5 are not at all planned now.
This can also be visualized in the Current Sprint 2 Board view by going to Sprint Tools > Sprints tab > Views group > Sprint command and then choosing the Current Sprint.
As you execute the above command, the Current Sprint 2’s Board view will be visible. The Sprint Backlog for Sprint will be available with all the work items. It’s shown below.
Next, we are going to track the Sprint 2 Backlog. Do note that the above workflow states are changed, but you can go with the existing available ones such as Next Up, In Progress and Done. You can also add as many workflow states as needed.
Tracking the Sprint 2 Plan
Before you track, set your status date to mid-Sprint. In this case, I’ve set it to Monday, November 3, 25. To track, you have to take the cards and drop them in the respective columns.
Post tracking, we have the following view. This view clearly shows the Spint 2 board along with the tracked work items.
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As you go to the Gantt Chart view one can visualize the tracked Hybrid-Scrum project in detail.
Conclusion
As we just learned, managing multiple Sprints can be easily done with MS Project Agile software. Multiple Sprints are not only applicable for Hybrid-Scrum projects, but also for Hybrid-Kanban or Hybrid-ScrumBan projects.
However, to do really learn Hybrid-Agile Management, you need to have the right course and content. In the marketplace, though there are many courses or certification, rarely few will show you how to do in a hands-on manner with principles of Hybrid-Agile management, the roles and responsibilities used, and the tricks or tips needed to succeed in such an environment.
Finally, the more you practice Hybrid-Agile Management, the better you will get at it!
References
[1] Certification Course: Certified Hybrid-Agile Master Professional (CHAMP), by Satya Narayan Dash
[2] Article - Working with the Retrospective Board in Hybrid-Scrum Projects, by Satya Narayan Dash, first published by MPUG.com
[3] Online Course: Mastering MS Project Agile, by Satya Narayan Dash
[4] Online Course: ACP Live Lessons – Guaranteed Pass, by Satya Narayan Dash
[5] Online Course: Microsoft Project Live Lessons, by Satya Narayan Dash
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