Incremental delivery is the superpower behind the Scrum framework. Scrum is based on Empiricism, which requires Transparency, Inspection, and Adaptation. But none of that works without delivering value in increments. You can’t be transparent about progress if there’s no "done" increment to show. You can't learn or inspect effectively if there’s nothing to measure. And without a clear view of how things are really going, adapting becomes impossible.
Incremental delivery is what makes Scrum work—it’s how teams stay aligned, learn, and adjust to keep delivering real value.
Incremental delivery is not about rushing to finish everything at once. Instead, it's about delivering valuable pieces of work, one step at a time. This approach helps teams focus on what matters most and ensures that each piece of work aligns with the overall product goal.
Here are a few of the many benefits of Incremental delivery:
1. Focus on What Matters: With incremental delivery, teams zero in on the most important tasks. This focus prevents the distraction of unnecessary features and keeps the product lean and effective.
2. Avoid Overcomplicating Things: When you don’t try to do everything at once, you avoid gold-plating—adding extra, unnecessary features. Incremental delivery ensures you deliver just what’s needed, nothing more.
3. Stay Close to the Customer: Incremental delivery keeps the customer at the heart of development. You can gather feedback with each step, making it easy to pivot if something isn’t working, or move on if it is.
4. Use Resources Wisely: Scrum is about using time and energy where it counts. Incremental delivery ensures you’re putting your efforts into what will have the biggest impact, making sure you’re not wasting time or resources.
Adapting as You Go
In a world that’s always changing, the ability to adapt is crucial. Incremental delivery gives teams the flexibility to shift course based on real-world feedback. If something doesn’t land with your customers, you can change direction without wasting time. And if it does? There’s no need to add extra, just keep moving forward.
Now, think about how traditional teams handle projects. They plan everything upfront, defining requirements for one big deliverable. But Scrum teams deliver value piece by piece. Every Sprint, the team delivers something usable, something that works.
Let’s imagine you’re building a mile-long peanut butter and jelly sandwich. A traditional, waterfall-style team would plan the entire sandwich all at once. They’d choose the bread, peanut butter, and jelly upfront, then divide the work into teams: one for bread, one for peanut butter, one for jelly. After months of work, they’d put it all together and hope it tastes good.
An Agile team, on the other hand, would deliver the sandwich one slice at a time. The bread, peanut butter, and jelly experts would work together to deliver each piece. After every slice, they’d ask their customers, “How does it taste?” Too much peanut butter? Not enough jelly? They’d adjust based on feedback, so each new slice is better than the last.
That’s incremental delivery in action. It’s the heart of Scrum. Without it, teams would just be going through the motions. Incremental delivery keeps the work focused, adaptable, and always moving in the right direction.
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