Scrum Methodology: Advantages, Disadvantages, Ways of Handling Possible Issues

Agile methods and Scrum in particular remain at the top of most used approaches to managing projects in multiple spheres. As stated in the 17th State of Agile Report, Scrum is the most widely practiced Agile framework: at least 63% of respondents reported to practice it.

However, it may seem that people are divided into those who are passionate about it and those who hate it: the first ones had a positive experience working in the Scrum framework, while the others didn’t succeed. Read further to explore the key principles of the methodology along with Scrum pros and cons.

What Is Scrum?

Scrum is one of the agile frameworks for executing projects that contains values, philosophy, theory, and structure, which helps the Scrum team achieve their goals.

The main principles of this methodology include the following:

cross-functional teams working together as a single unit;
lots of close communication and interaction;
repeating periods (not longer than 30 days) of completing a certain amount of work;
no need for a large amount of documentation;
completing smaller parts of the whole work during fixed periods.

Initially, it was created for managing the software development process, but now it’s applied to a variety of projects in different industries. It focuses on iterative progress, facilitates collaboration, and promotes flexibility.

Components of the Scrum framework

Knowing these key components will help you better understand the essence of this approach.

Key roles:

A product owner representing stakeholders and customers;
A Scrum master acting as a facilitator for a project team;
A development team itself.

Artifacts:

Product backlog: the list of features and requirements for a successful product;
Sprint backlog: a part of the product backlog that should be implemented during the sprint;
Increment: the sum of all implemented product backlog items.

Events:

Sprint: a 2-4-week period with specific work to complete;
Sprint planning: a meeting that defines sprint goals;
Daily standups: daily meetings to keep the team members focused and updated;
Sprint reviews: meetings presenting the outcomes of each sprint to stakeholders;
Sprint retrospectives: meeting where the project team analyzes the past sprint.

Principles:

Transparency: all sides of the development process must be visible to everyone involved in achieving the goal;
Inspection: regular monitoring of the progress;
Adaptation: making adjustments as soon as possible if required, at the same time ensuring that the end product will not go off the rails.

These were the most essential components of this framework. Let’s now review the pros and cons of Scrum methodology.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Scrum

What are the advantages of Scrum?

First, let’s consider what makes Scrum effective for managing projects. This framework gives the following opportunities.

1. Flexibility.

You can adapt your project to changes more easily than with the traditional approach.

2. Stakeholder involvement.

You can get stakeholders’ regular feedback right after the sprint is over, so further project requirements can be implemented as quickly as possible.

3. Increased customer satisfaction.

Continuous feedback and repeated testing contribute to the high quality of the product developed, which increases customer satisfaction.

4. Enhanced communication.

A lot of communication between the process participants makes it possible to prevent misunderstandings.

5. Effective collaboration.

Regular meetings like daily standups, sprint reviews, and sprint retrospectives facilitate the effective collaboration of team members, a product owner, and a scrum master, which contributes to achieving the common goal.

6. Faster delivery.

It becomes possible to deliver the product faster to customers due to prioritization and a certain amount of value delivered at the end of each sprint.

These major advantages clearly demonstrate why a lot of companies and projects have succeeded with the Scrum framework. However, let’s take a look at the other side of the coin.

Disadvantages of Scrum methodology

Like any other methodology, Scrum isn’t the only right solution for every project. It also has its specific disadvantages mostly coming from the essence of the methodology or depending on human factors.

1. It requires considerable training to be implemented successfully.

If an organization’s members don’t take seriously the need for fundamental training, don’t understand the principles behind the Scrum framework, or don’t want to put their efforts into this training, it may be difficult for both top managers and team members to implement it successfully.

2. It implies a change in the organizational structure.

It’s impossible to successfully implement the Scrum framework without taking a different approach to the organizational structure. The traditional organizational structure is hierarchical, while Agile in general and Scrum in particular with its self-organizing teams and lots of close communication and interaction between the project participants involve breaking organizational barriers and establishing partnership relations. Therefore, it may take time and effort for the employees and senior management to get used to the new paradigm.

3. It doesn’t provide an overall detailed estimation of a project’s scope, budget, and time.

Scrum provides detailed estimates only for one sprint and doesn’t imply long-term planning. It’s focused on continuous improvement, consequently, the project may run over time or exceed the budget. In addition, being open to constant changes and improvements, Scrum can lead to scope creep when practiced by inexperienced participants.

4. It’s not suitable for larger teams and large complex projects.

Scrum is likely to be successfully implemented in small teams with up to 9-12 dedicated employees. It’s much more difficult to use this approach for larger teams: it requires the implementation of other Scrum models (e.g., Scrum-of-Scrums) or scaling, which can also be challenging.

Despite the above-mentioned disadvantages, the statistics show that this approach is still more popular than other Agile methodologies, meaning that a great number of organizations use it successfully. Read the next section to find out the ways to overcome the limitations of Scrum methodology.

How to Overcome Disadvantages of Scrum: Useful Tips

Tip 1. Proper training.

The Scrum framework implementation should start with training to make sure that all the employees involved in the project are on the same page with a product owner and Scrum master, understand and share the principles and values of this framework, and will be committed to their work.

Tip 2. Implement change management.

Organizational transformation is a must for the successful implementation of Scrum, and overcoming people’s resistance to change is one of the most essential prerequisites for the success of change initiatives. The steps listed below will help you:

Explain the advantages of using Scrum to all project stakeholders;
You can start with a small pilot project to show Scrum advantages;
Engage the whole team in the change process, which will make them familiar with the methodology and ensure their buy-in.

Tip 3. Try hybrid approaches.

Hybrid project management techniques combining agile and traditional methodologies are gaining popularity these days. This is explained by the increased complexity of projects and their increasing number, which makes leveraging only one framework ineffective. As we’ve noted earlier, Scrum is insufficient for large teams or multi-project environments with a shared resource pool. Using a hybrid approach will allow you to make the best of two worlds: combine the advantages of Scrum methodology with the structure and predictability of Waterfall principles or other traditional methodologies.

Tips 4. Manage changing requirements.

One of the greatest risks associated with the Scrum framework as part of Agile methodology is the possibility of scope creep resulting in high chances of project failure. This is explained by Scrum’s flexibility, the possibility of adding new features, and welcoming changes. To keep these changes under control, you should regularly monitor the backlog and prioritize its items. Changes shouldn’t be accepted without a change control process. A product owner should keep track of the project scope to make sure that it isn’t expanding. Finally, to make sure that a project remains within its time and budget frames you should establish time and cost “ceilings”.

Tips 5. Use a robust project management tool.

Leveraging project and resource management software can be a good solution to overcome the drawbacks of the Scrum framework and make the most of its advantages. Especially when you work on multiple projects running concurrently and sharing the same resources. As an example, let’s review the capabilities of Epicflow, a flexible AI-powered resource management solution designed for complex multi-project environments.

Intelligent planning

Epicflow allows for effective planning of sprints, projects, and resources. You can forecast possible threats in the workflow and adjust your plans before a project starts, minimizing bottlenecks in the future.

A bird’s-eye view of the project environment

Epicflow provides comprehensive control of the project environment with all milestones, due dates, and priorities. This will help you control the workflow and timely address any arising issues.

Effective resource management

Epicflow has numerous capabilities for effective resource management across multiple projects. It helps assign the right resources to tasks and balance their workloads to avoid bottlenecks.

Correct prioritization

Epicflow helps you avoid scope creep by setting task priorities for every team member taking existing constraints into account. This increases team members’ productivity and eliminates the risk of uncontrolled expansion of the project scope.

Early warnings

Epicflow helps you detect bottlenecks before they turn into bigger problems. In addition, its AI-powered virtual assistant Epica can notify a project manager of issues in the workflow and suggest ways to address them.

Integration with Jira

A great number of software development teams use Jira for managing their workflows. Upon integrating Jira with Epicflow, the developers can continue working with their familiar tool, while the senior management can use Epicflow’s advanced insights for overall control and decision-making.

Therefore, Epicflow supports the flexibility of the Scrum framework while providing comprehensive control of your workflow, forecasting issues, and optimizing decision-making. All those were just a few examples of the tool’s capabilities. You can contact us and learn more about Epicflow’s solutions for your projects to flow fast and reliably.

Conclusion

Scrum has transformed traditional project management thanks to its focus on flexibility, iterative approach to value delivery, and collaboration. Its popularity is explained by increased adaptability, enhanced communication, and alignment with customer needs. At the same time, like any methodology, Scrum has its limitations, namely the risk of scope creep, the need for training the team, and the difficulty in implementing it for larger projects. By knowing how to handle these drawbacks and related issues, companies can maximize the benefits of Scrum and improve their project outcomes.