This is how we at pixelconcept work on our products - Agile software development with Scrum

Scrum characterizes a bundle of agile methods for software development that has become a standard in this area and leads to a significantly higher customer satisfaction.
We also apply it at pixelconcept.

What is Scrum?

The term means "crowd" in English, and is a method by which developers with a certain work organization can get along without a project manager. In principle, they are led by a Scrum master, but this master does not take on the classic role of project leader, i.e. he does not give instructions, but is a method expert for the consistency of the development process. This allows the team to act much more flexibly. Agile methods of this kind are used in many areas today, but the Scrum method originates from software development and is also preferred there.

The different roles

In addition to the Scrum master, it includes a product owner (product manager), who defines the requirements for the product - usually new software -, sets priorities and occasionally redefines them. This Product-Owner cooperates closely with the Scrum-Master and the development team. This team in turn works in certain development cycles that run continuously and thus undisturbed for about one to four weeks (so-called sprints). During a sprint, the product owner does not define any changes, but after the sprint, a joint reflection takes place in which all participants make adjustments if necessary. The product owner nevertheless continues to work during the sprint. He specifies his ideas and documents them in the product backlog.

Think and act agile

The Scrum method can be introduced relatively easily in teams and makes them very efficient. New development projects very often require agile methods, because especially in software development it is not clear at the beginning what the final product has to be able to do. For this reason, the product owner has the opportunity to make adjustments. An example would be the development of a new software for the online presentation of the vehicles of a car dealership. Initially, the idea might have been to photograph the cars in a certain place with a certain camera and then transfer the images to the website in a certain software-controlled way, but as the work progresses, it turns out that there are more flexible options (for example, smartphone photos with certain apps). These are then integrated into the development work. A Scrum team can react flexibly to this new requirement.

Why does Scrum increase customer satisfaction?

Ideally, customers receive their product in higher quality, at lower costs and in a shorter development time. Not always all of these advantages come into play at the same time, but it is already very relevant for a customer if he can define new requirements for the product during the development process or express his wishes and the product owner implements these in the process. The Scrum method is generally more oriented towards customer benefit, while many other development methods focus on the product itself. Developers then ask themselves: What could this technology achieve? They integrate all of this into the product, but some or even a lot of it is perhaps superfluous, while other important features are missing. One example of this is smartphones that come with countless apps pre-installed that nobody needs. Less complex products that are strictly geared to customer benefit are not only easier to understand, but also more affordable. This naturally increases customer satisfaction.