Understanding Scrum Mindset: Smoother Project Management

What’s your method in software development and other project management fields? Scrum methodologies have become an increasingly valued approach, it emphasizes incremental delivery and iterative development, gradually releasing valuable products while accommodating dynamic requirement changes. This approach brings greater flexibility and success rates to projects. In March 2025, LITEON+ hosted Unicorn University, where Kai Chen, a technical advisor and product manager with years of Scrum experience, shared insights on adopting a Scrum mindset to streamline team operations.

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Scrum vs. Waterfall Development: A Comparison of Project Approaches

In the traditional Waterfall Development model, projects progress through strictly defined stages (definition, design, development, testing, etc.), with eachphase needing to be completed before progressing to the next. Its defining feature is "non-reversibility", meaning changes cannot be made once a stage is finished. The final product is only delivered at the end. While suitable for projects with fixed requirements, it often struggles to address changes effectively.

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In contrast, Scrum development emphasizes:

• Incremental Delivery: Small deliverables are produced every sprint (1-4 weeks), enabling the product to quickly enter the market for testing.
• Iterative Development: Scrum allows requirement adjustments at any time, continuously refining features during iterations. It follows the principle of delivering a "Minimum Viable Product (MVP)" early and improving it step by step.
• Frequent Feedback: Users are invited to test throughout the project, collecting real-time feedback to reduce deviations between the product and requirements.

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Key Practices of Scrum: Techniques for Building Efficient Teams

Adopting a Scrum mindset involves variouspractices. The speaker highlights three beginner-friendly methods:

• Daily Standup Meetings (15 Minutes): Team members share updates on yesterday's achievements, today's plans, and current issues, focusing on rapid information syncing and improving transparency. The speaker stresses that deep technical discussions should be avoided during this time and addressed privately.
• Sprint Development Boards: A visual representation of task progress (e.g., to-do, in-progress, completed) helps the team save communication time and better track the project's status.
• Retrospective Meetings: Held at the end of each sprint, these sessions review what can be improved. Using anonymous suggestions and the "sandwich feedback method"(highlight strengths, suggest improvements, end on a positive note) motivates the team to enhance efficiency.

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Conditionsand Challenges for Adopting Scrum

While Scrum suits medium to large-scale projects (lasting at least six months), the Waterfall approach might be more efficient for short-term, small-scale projects (under three months) with fixed requirements. For long-term large-scale projects, Scrum's success rate is significantly higher. According to The Standish Group's 2018 survey, Scrum projects had a success rate of 42%, compared to Waterfall's 26%.

However, adopting Scrum isn't an overnight process. Successfully implementing Scrum typically requires a 2-3 year transformation period along with comprehensive training. Continuous learning and, more importantly, upper management's support and leadership are critical for the transition.

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Benefits of Scrum: Faster Delivery, Greater Flexibility, and Lower Risks

The core goal of Scrum is to deliver valuable products quickly and adapt to changing needs. Through incremental delivery and frequent feedback, Scrum ensures products align with real-world requirements, reducing project risks and ultimately boosting success rates. It may not shorten the overall project timeline but ensures the delivered product is more aligned with expectations and more impactful.

If your project involves unstable requirements or rapidly changing environments, consider adopting Scrum methods to build a more resilient and competitive team!