Another year has passed. As an industry, we’ve done better. Our customers are more satisfied. One industry source reports that projects using agile practices are three times more successful than traditional, waterfall projects*. Success was defined as delivering all of the planned functionality on the planned date for the planned cost. Much of the success of Agile and Scrum comes from delivering only the most valuable functionality earlier for a lower cost, so 3x may be an understatement.
I thoroughly appreciate all of the work everyone in the Scrum community and the wider Agile community has made to improve our profession. The insights that have moved us forward from the failures of the past are a good starting point, but only the courage, good will, and hard work of the last ten years have moved us forward. Look back, and take heart at what we have accomplished, together. Our insights and determination have been greater than our differences.
For the New Year, I propose a toast to the next ten years, as we rise to the challenges of increasingly complex and critical products for our increasingly complex societies.
Bottoms up!!
Ken Schwaber
December 24, 2011
* The Chaos Report (2011), The Standish Group International
Best wishes to Ken & entire Scrum.org team for making the path transparent to Scrum Community as a whole. Your vision & guidance has been of tremendous impact to many & I am no exception. :) I really look forward to that day when I will be able to meet you in person…a dream come true.
Cheers!!!