We are Allstar Technologies, a technology company that has professional people with 15 years of experience in software development and digital marketing.

We offer you a unique service in this market that allows your company to develop software tailored to your needs.

We do not sell software, we become part of your company, and we will only leave once we are sure that it was and will continue to be a success.

We offer you customized software that will help your company have greater control over projects, reception, delivery times, and general optimization of the process. You will have a dashboard in which you can easily observe the stage of the projects and data that are important for decision-making. You can also receive reports about the times and people working on each project. This way, you can improve your methods and work more efficiently.

Procedures of AllStar Technologies

Analysis

1. Recognition of the problem: An initial meeting is held with IPS to gather the necessary information with the support of the corresponding templates to know where to start and where to direct the work, as well as vital information to carry out an analysis of the company before and after the service is provided. The delivery date for the information requested at the meeting will be defined with IPS. Priority will be given to the needs expressed by IPS either in the document or in person. Finally, the necessary meetings are held to clarify doubts before moving on to the next point.

2. A Gantt chart will be made to control the following stages.

A Gantt chart is a horizontal bar chart used to display the start date and duration of each task that makes up a project. It is one of the most popular project management tools, allowing project managers to view the progress of a project brief.

Although the Gantt chart is named after Henry Gantt, an American engineer and project management consultant, he was one of many to devise it. It was developed first by Karol Adamiecki, a Polish engineer, in the 1890s. He created it for his steelwork unit, but Henry Gantt customized it for his clients. Today, Gantt charts are used most popularly for project scheduling and control.

Gantt Chart Example

The tasks in a project are represented on the Y axis of the Gantt Chart, with their duration on the X axis. Each lesson is represented by a bar. The length of the bar represents its duration. If you see two bars overlapping on the X-axis, know that they co-occur.

As you can see in this example, a Gantt chart enables project managers to view project information quickly: Planning to Create a Gantt Chart.

3. Evaluation and synthesis: Operations evaluates the flow and structure of the information collected and, from there, defines and elaborates the structure of the software; it must establish the characteristics of the interface and design restrictions.

4. Modeling: Operations creates models of the system to understand the flow of data and control; this model will serve as a pillar for the design of the software and as a basis for the creation of the software specification.

5. Specification: Operations will define the development criteria that will be achieved upon completion of the software.

6. Review: Evaluate the project plan to define if changes should be made.

Design

7. Design of the data: Operations define the relationship between each of the structural elements of the program.

8. Architectural design: Operations describes how the software communicates with itself, its operators, and its users.

9. Interface design: Colors and structure are defined.

10. Design of procedures: Create flow diagrams to show how the data is transmitted.

Developing with SCRUM methodology

Scrum Methodology & Process

Scrum is an agile development methodology used in the development of Software based on iterative and incremental processes.

Scrum is an adaptable, fast, flexible, and effective agile framework designed to deliver value to the customer throughout the project’s development. The primary objective of Scrum is to satisfy the customer’s needs through an environment of transparency in communication, collective responsibility, and continuous progress. The development starts with a general idea of ​​what needs to be built, elaborating a list of characteristics ordered by priority (product backlog) that the product owner wants to obtain.

Scrum is precisely an evolution of Agile Management. Scrum methodology is based on very defined practices and roles that must be involved during the software development process. However, it is a flexible methodology that rewards the application of the 12 agile principles in a context agreed upon by all the product team members.

Scrum is executed in temporary blocks that are short and periodic, called Sprints, which usually range from 2 to 4 weeks, which is the term for feedback and reflection. Each Sprint is an entity; that is, it provides a complete result, a variation of the final product that must be able to be delivered to the client with the least possible effort when requested.

As a starting point, the process has a list of objectives/ requirements that make up the project plan. Next, the project’s client prioritizes these objectives, considering a balance of the value and cost; that is how the iterations and consequent deliveries are determined.

On the one hand, the market demands quality and fast delivery at lower costs, for which a company must be very agile and flexible in the development of products to achieve short development cycles that can meet customers’ demands without undermining the quality of the result. On the other hand, it is a straightforward methodology and is very popular for its quick results.

Scrum methodology is used mainly for software development. Still, other sectors are also taking advantage of its benefits by implementing it in their organizational models, such as sales, marketing, & HR teams.

Different Roles in Scrum

In Scrum, the team focuses on building quality software. The owner of a Scrum project focuses on defining the characteristics that the product must have to create (what to make, what not, and in what order) and overcoming any obstacle that could hinder the development team’s task.

The Scrum team consists of the following roles:

• Scrum master: The person who leads the team, guiding them to comply with the rules and processes of the methodology. The scrum master manages the reduction of impediments to the project and works with the Product Owner to maximize the ROI. In addition, the Scrum Master oversees keeping Scrum up to date, providing coaching, mentoring, and training to the teams in case it needs it.
• Product owner (PO): The software’s stakeholders and customer representative. They focus on the business part and are responsible for the ROI of the project. They translate the project’s vision to the team, validate the benefits in stories to be incorporated into the Product Backlog, and prioritize them regularly.
• Team: A group of professionals with the necessary technical knowledge who develop the project jointly, carrying out the stories they commit to at the start of each sprint.

Benefits of Scrum Methodology

Scrum has many advantages over other agile development methodologies. It is currently the most used and trusted framework of reference in the software industry. Below are some of the known benefits of Scrum:

• Easily Scalable: Scrum processes are iterative and are handled within specific work periods, which makes it easier for the team to focus on definite functionalities for each period. This not only has the benefit of achieving better deliverables in line with the user’s needs but also gives the ability teams to scale the modules in terms of functionality, design, scope, and characteristics in an orderly, transparent, and straightforward manner.
• Compliance of expectations: The client establishes their expectations, indicating the value that each requirement/ history of the project brings, the team estimates them, and with this information, the Product Owner establishes its priority. In the sprint demos, the Product Owner regularly verifies that the requirements have been met and transmits feedback to the team.
• Flexible to changes: Quick reaction to requirements generated by customer needs or market developments. The methodology is designed to adapt to the changing conditions that complex projects entail.
• Time to Market reduction: The client can start using the most important functionalities of the project before the product is completely ready.
• Higher software quality: The working method and the need to obtain a functional version after each iteration helps to get higher quality software.
• Timely Prediction: Using this methodology, we know the average speed of the team by a sprint (story points), with which, consequently, it is possible to estimate when a specific functionality that is still in the backlog will be available.
• Reduction of risks: The fact of carrying out the most valuable functionalities in the first place and knowing the speed with which the team advances in the project allows one to clear risks effectively in advance.

Events in Scrum

Each Scrum event facilitates adapting some aspects of the process, the product, progress, or relationships.

• Sprint: Sprint is the basic unit of work for a Scrum team. This is the main feature that marks the difference between Scrum and other models for agile development.
• Sprint Planning: Sprint Planning aims to define what will be done in the Sprint and how it will be done. This meeting is held at the beginning of each Sprint and is defined as how it will approach the project coming from the Product Backlog stages and deadlines. Each Sprint is composed of different features.
• Daily Scrum: The objective of the Daily Scrum is to evaluate the progress and trend until the end of the Sprint, synchronizing the activities and creating a plan for the next 24 hours. It is a brief meeting that takes place daily during the Sprint period. Three questions are answered individually: What did I do yesterday? What am I going to do today? What help do I need? The Scrum Master should try to solve problems or obstacles that arise.
• Sprint Review: The sprint review aims to show what work has been completed on the product backlog for future deliveries. The dead sprint is reviewed, and there should already be a clear and tangible advancement in the product to present to the client.
• Sprint Retrospective: The team reviews the completed goals of the dead sprint and writes down the good and the bad to avoid repeating the mistakes. This stage implements improvements from the development process’s point of view. The sprint retrospective aims to identify possible process improvements and generate a plan to implement them in the next Sprint.

Scrum Artifacts

Scrum Artifacts are designed to guarantee the transparency of critical information in decision-making.

• Product Backlog (PB): The product backlog is a list that collects everything the product needs to satisfy potential customers. The product owner prepares it, and the functions are prioritized according to what is more and less critical for the business. The goal is for the product owner to answer the question, “What should be done.”
• Sprint Backlog (SB): It is a subset of product backlog items the team selects to perform during the sprint on which they will work. The section establishes the duration of each Sprint. Usually, the sprint backlog is displayed on physical boards called Scrum boards – which makes the development process visible to everyone who enters the development area.
• Increment: The Increment is the sum of all the tasks, use cases, user stories, product backlogs, and any element developed during the sprint, and that will be made available to the end user in the form of Software.

Planning in Scrum

The Sprint Planning Meeting is held at the beginning of each Sprint. All team members participate in the meeting, i.e., the Product Owner, Scrum Master, and the Development Team. First, the entire Scrum team must understand and define what objective should be obtained in that Sprint (Sprint Goal). From this point, the development team must design a work plan to achieve the objective. This planning should allow you to see if the sprint goal involves a workload according to the duration stipulated for the Sprints (2 to 4 weeks).

The client shows the result to be achieved in that Sprint and the requirements of the deliverable product. Here it would be best if you carried out a discussion in which the development team evaluates what elements of the list can be delivered.

Both the Scrum Master and the Product Owner must collaborate to clarify any aspect of the requirements. Finally, the development team must explain how they will organize their work to achieve the Sprint goal. Now that you know better what Scrum methodology is!

What is the 3-5-3 in Scrum?

Scrum is structured into three roles, 5 phases, and three artifacts.

What are the three roles of Scrum?

In a scrum team, there are three roles, they are:

1. Scrum master
2. Product Owner
3. Development Team

What are the five phases of Scrum?

The Five Phases of Scrum are:

1. Initiation
2. Planning and estimation
3. Implementation
4. Reviewing
5. Releasing

What are the three artifacts of Scrum?

Scrum has three primary artifacts, which are:

1. Product Backlog
2. Sprint Backlog
3. Increments

What are the five values of Scrum?

A team’s success with Scrum depends on how well they reflect the Five Scrum Values: Commitment, Courage, Openness, Focus, and Respect.

What are the six Scrum principles?

The Six Scrum Principles are:

1. Control over the empirical process
2. Self-organization
3. Collaboration
4. Value-based prioritization
5. Time-boxing
6. Iterative development

11. Allstar Technologies has a sprint planning meeting with the developers to create the Sprint backlog (in the BeStart platform) to define the tasks. The objectives will be established using the SMART methodology, times, and responsibilities through a Gantt on the BeStart platform. Times will be specified for each stage of software development and for each task, as well as the delivery time of the project. It will work through GitHub.

12. The project development manager performs the service configuration.

Configuration and creation of the project on the servers

• Generate a DATABASE with IPESTATICA
• Configure the DNS
• Create a VIRTUAL MACHINE (DEBIAN) and install:
  • NGINX
  • PHP
  • CERBOT
  • Git
  • COMPOSER
• Create MAILCHIMP account
• Create a STORAGE S3 AWS account (applies only to projects with images and files)
• Generate PRIVATE BUCKET
• Create a Google maps GPS account (applies only to projects that use GPS)
• Creation of the project in BeStart
• Create a repository on GitHub

13. Every day, there will be a daily scrum with the product owner, the scrum master, and the programmers to review the status of the projects in general through the Gantt chart.

If necessary, a sprint test will be carried out to solve errors to ensure that all the tasks of the Sprint are correctly developed.

Every Friday, the weekly review will be delivered, in which the client will be informed of the progress made and will be asked to answer a satisfaction survey.

Testing

14. Every time a sprint is finished, sprint tests will be carried out, which are tests on all the sprint tasks to ensure they do not have errors.

15. A sprint review is carried out with the client (stakeholders), product owner, and dev team. The agenda is presented to be clear about the points to review, the vision of the product is recalled keeping in mind the main objective, the solutions, and the value that it will provide them, the sprint goal is exposed, and before starting the demonstration, a summary of the PIBs is shown to achieve the objective.

The product increase and the sprint’s evolution are shown, including the blocks or impediments. It defines what will be worked on next and the value of the next increment. The scrum team will receive feedback from the customer. Both parties make contributions and ideas for improvements that add value to the project; an agreement is reached if changes or modifications must be made. Finally, the product backlog is reviewed to establish the next steps.

16. A burn-down graph (BeStart) will be made in which it is demonstrated with what speed it has worked to be able to predict how long it will take to finish a certain functionality.

17. Once the project has been completed, what will be delivered is reviewed (release plan) and determined if the objectives are met. Changes in the delivery plan could have been presented during the meetings. Based on the metrics shown per sprint, an average of the speed with which the work was done can be obtained, which will be used to estimate future deliveries.

Implementation

18. Once the release plan has been reviewed and the software works correctly on the testing and Beta platform, it is implemented in the client’s company, the necessary personnel is trained for the module to be executed, and it is uploaded into production.

Maintenance

19. Once the project has been delivered, follow-up will be carried out to ensure that the software is solving the problems initially raised through weekly meetings during the first month for conflict resolution and then once a month for quality control. Other services such as control, maintenance, and evolution of the project can be offered depending on the case.

20. The product owner must always be present and in communication with the dev team to address all the concerns of the stakeholders and explain the decision-making and changes that take place when developing the software.

The product owner can only make decisions by consulting the dev team to avoid unnecessary commitments, always considering the stakeholders’ expectations.

Now that you know our methodologies and tools to create your software, we are ready for you; start your business software now!