How We Create eCommerce Websites with Scrum?

You asked and we answered. Today we are excited to share how we empower and equip eCommerce brands to build high-performing, customer-centric websites that boost conversions with the Agile scrum model.

Over the past few years, since our inception, we’ve worked closely with e-commerce brands to large-scale retail giants and helped them grow from their roots. From web and app development to digital marketing and running campaigns, we have been an end-to-end web development partner of top companies.

Here we give a complete trip to how we develop a robust eCommerce website built in frequent sprint cycles, able to be tested on dedicated UAT systems.

What Is Scrum? How the Process Starts.

Know the terms used:

1. Product Owner (PO)-

• The direct point of contact with the client, stakeholders, developers, customers, users, etc.
• PO is the person who collects input from all stakeholders, defines stories, and ensures the stories meet the user’s needs.
• PO streamlines the execution of the program, and addresses the technical integrity, features and components.
• PO collaborates with the team and takes stand-up gatherings to improve the processes.

2. Product Backlog

The product backlog contains the list of new features, changes to new features, infrastructure changes, bug fixes, and an ordered list of all activities that a team needs to complete to deliver the project.

Here’s how the process with a single scrum sprint starts…

• The product owner conducts a planning meeting with a developer team. Collectively, they create user stories, list of tasks or key activities to be done known as the product backlog.
• This dynamic product backlog enables developers to break it down into small iterations to be completed in a short timeframe called “sprints”.
• Once the timeframe of sprint runs out, the sprint is considered complete. The undone tasks are moved back into the product backlog.
• Then at the point of tracking the sprint progress of each developer, the Product owner holds a stand-up meeting with the development team (aka scrum meeting) where the outcome of the sprint is reviewed.
• The team discusses what worked well and what didn’t and finally the points that need improvement are processed to the next sprint. This is also known as “Sprint Retrospective”.

Why Agile Scrum Methodology is best for eCommerce Development?

Every mobile eCommerce application comes with its own set of challenges depending on its unique features. To prepare a better product that allows regular and rigorous quality checks ‘Agile methodology’ works best. It allows the team to improve product quality at incremental stages and gives full flexibility to make changes, and requirements and adapt to any environment at any stage of product development.

• The Agile strategy empowers quick and flexible reactions to change.
• It encourages the website development processes to accept the new changes at any phase of the project. This increases the scope of improvement at any time.
• We can deal with our clients independently as our team members and recognize and iron out the unpreventable developmental changes.
• Gives our clients clear visibility of the project development progress.
• Issues are identified in advance and hence can be resolved rapidly.

Agile Software Development Lifecycle Phases

Now underneath the Scrum, there goes a six steps approach to eCommerce solution and development known as ‘Agile SDLC’ that empowers the software with efficiency and high performance.

1. Requirement Analysis

The first stage of six steps design process starts from requirement analysis where the Product Owner creates the initial documentation of the project that lists non-functional and functional requirements. The activities done during these stages are:

Non-functional:

• Who is your target audience (location, preference, needs, gender, and age)?
• What are your marketing channels and selling points?
• Who are your closest competitors?
• What is your app scaling plans 3 years down the line?

Functional:

• Analyzing user roles and giving access to them
• Capturing user actions on the website (like searching and sorting the products, adding products to the wish list, making promo offers and discounts, and other stages)
• Knowing the third-party integrations to integrate
• Figuring out currencies, and languages, to work on
• Types of payment gateway integrations
• Resource planning for both the Development and QA team

2. Planning

In the project planning phase, the Product Owner refines the project objectives gathered during the requirement analysis phase, establishes cost, list of deliverables, and delivery dates and obtains management approval. Activities conducted during this phase are:

• Project schedule development (we list the entire schedule of the activities and detail their sequence of implementation).
• Resource planning (who will work, special skill set required).
• Roadmap building- with an estimation of the timeline and cost of the deliverables also known as budget planning.
• Work-breakdown structure (WBS) (breaking down the project into tasks and sub-tasks).
• Technical infrastructure requirements (planning the technologies and third-party APIs).
• Service Level Agreements and their conditions.

3. UI/UX Designing

At this stage, our design team which involves UX Analyst, UX Architect, and UI designer creates rough mockups of the UI after having a brainstorming session in a design thinking workshop. This process helps us understand and create an Interactive Customer Experience. The major activities done during this phase are:

• Wireframe creation (sketch on paper)
• Prototype building (Low fidelity- UX)
• High-fidelity design and working prototype
• Usability Testing

Also Read: Know How We Developed A UX of an On-demand Delivery App – Groceeri

4. Development

This is the longest stage of SDLC and is the backbone of any software development. It involves stages like:

• Writing code (converting design to development)
• Search engine optimization to improve website visibility

5. Integration and Testing

At this stage of integration and testing, we test the application product’s performance, functionality and reliability. It helps us to identify all the bugs and errors in the software. Which are later resolved by the development team and then the product is pushed for deployment. Activities involved during this stage are:

• Test case development (based on specific features and requirements test cases are created)
• Testing environment setup (consists of testing conditions such as hardware and software specifications. The environment of the end-user is imitated)
• Test execution (testing is carried out as per the test plans and test cases created by the team)
• Software testing in the performance lab (to make sure no bug gets through, we conduct software testing services like unit testing, integration testing, system testing, and acceptance testing.)

6. Implementation and Deployment

We deploy the application on the servers and do testing with real users. Introducing new features, and resolving bugs is a continuous or ongoing activity post-deployment.

7. Review

Once the development phase is complete and the application is deployed, the following activities take place:

• Product owner does standup gathering with the development team.
• Reviews the progress and discuss the ideas to resolve the issues in previous phases.
• A new iteration or next scrum starts and scaled Agile.

So… what does this all mean for you?

With the agile software development approach, you can now:

1. Design and build eCommerce or any website with full flexibility and scalability by leveraging the scrum model and customizable workflows.
2. Fulfill customers’ needs and satisfy them as you are open to giving constant feedback to the team and making continual progress in software on the go.
3. Get clear visibility into the project and identify what you want and what not as you see the real-time development.

For eCommerce brands that are looking to develop a stunning, customer-centric eCommerce website with a great user experience, customized as per your brand needs and wants, we’ve got you covered. Our agile scrum model and incremental web development technique allow you to customize the web platform the way you need it.