Ariel Halperin – recruited recently as BillRun’s development and QA manager – shares his insights on how ‘Scrum’ – a term deriving from rugby – helps instill an esprit de corps to build teams that operate effectively as one force in the dynamic cloud and IoT environments.
Ariel Halperin – recruited recently as BillRun’s development and QA manager – shares his insights on how ‘Scrum’ – a term deriving from rugby – helps instill an esprit de corps to build teams that operate effectively as one force in the dynamic cloud and IoT environments.
”I view my role more as a coach than as a manager. That’s how I extract the best out of the team,” says Ariel Halperin, having recently joined BillRun. “Based on my experience in managing development teams, the agile approach is the most suitable for such highly-dynamic environments as cloud and IoT, which require rapid response to change”, he says.
“Scrum is a type of agile methodology which derives from the game of rugby, referring to a team that moves down the field as one body. Based on a teamwork, the Scrum philosophy promotes a disciplined project management process that encourages frequent inspection and adaptation, self-organization and accountability”, Halperin explains. “This helps teams plan and deliver working, tested software quickly and effectively. The work is carried out through a series of short iterations called ‘sprints’ – which are often time-boxed to two weeks - whereby the team takes a small set of features which it codes, tests, and integrates in the product”, he says.
The power of teamwork
“Both the developers and the QA personnel function as one team that manages projects, based on the assumption that the team knows best how to solve professional problems. My role as a team leader is not to assign tasks or solve problems - as these are addressed by the team as a whole. Instead, I assist the team members in how to optimize performance using the Scrum process”, Halperin says.
“Any required changes are implemented immediately by all of the team members, each applying the relevant adjustments, which saves a lot of time for everyone. This methodology was found to be far more effective than the traditional, inflexible ‘waterfall-style’ management model, which is inconsistent with how software developers actually work effectively”.
Pre-game rituals - just as in rugby
“Each step in the process has its ritual, starting with the planning meeting which takes place at the beginning of each sprint. The team prepares a list of tasks they will perform during the next sprint, determining the delivery timelines to which they are jointly committed. Any potential setbacks which could affect delivery times are discussed, along with suggested solutions for overcoming these problems”, describes Halperin.”
The retrospective ritual is an opportunity to reflect on various aspects of the sprint that has just ended, and identify opportunities to improve. By implementing this retrospective view, Halperin says that the team continuously improves its efficiency and productivity.
On each day of the sprint the team attends a daily meeting, in which each team member provides a report of what they worked on the previous day, and share what they will work on that day. The objective is to identify in advance hurdles that may affect the progress of the project, and to synchronize all the work that is being done.
The Kickoff meeting takes place at the start of each new iteration after the Planning meeting. In the kickoff meeting, team members commit to the tasks they will be taking on during the upcoming iteration.
Zero bug policy
“My vision for the coming year is to instill in the team a sense of team pride. By working together as one entity of developers and QA experts, I believe that the team can carry out numerous projects, and exceed their goals, producing qualitative products more efficiently”, says Halperin.
Halperin graduated with distinction 10 year ago from the Holon Institute of Technology, and also took courses in coaching. “I have a ‘zero-bug’ policy, by which every bug must be fixed immediately. The bugs are obviously prioritized, but all the problems are resolved so the customer receives a totally flawless product”, he exclaims.
