Scrum is simple, just use it as is!!

Scrum is a mindset, an approach to turning complex, chaotic problems into something that can be used. Jeff Sutherland and I based it on these pillars: Small, self-organizing, self-managing teams; Lean principles; and, Empiricism, using frequent inspection and adaptation to guide the work of the teams to the most successful outcome possible. The Scrum Guide … Continue reading →

Scrum @ 21

Scrum at 21 – A Look Back Through the Eyes of Ken Schwaber, its co-creator I’m told that it has been 21 years since Scrum became public when Jeff Sutherland and I presented it at an Object-Oriented Programming, Systems, Languages & Applications (OOPSLA) workshop in Austin, TX in October of 1995. Time sure does fly. Things … Continue reading →

Quality, Done Increment

Every Sprint in Scaled Professional Scrum requires a completed, ready to ship increment of functionality. The ubiquitous “definition of done” spells out the characteristics of such an increment. The end result should include software that has: Presence of valuable functionality for customers to use; Absence of low value functionality that must be maintained and sustained regardless; … Continue reading →

Nexus

I will be conducting a Nexus workshop in Boston on November 17-18, with Richard Hundhausen and Rob Maher, fleshing out the Nexus Guide with examples, case studies, practices and tooling –         Why Nexus? The word Nexus refers to a connected group or series that are integrated, linked together. When I use the phrase Nexus. I also … Continue reading →

Greed and Control Can Ruin an Industry and Movement

It has come to my attention that Scrum Alliance is trying to register a trademark on, “SCRUM USER GROUP,” at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.  Word on the street is that that the Trademark Office has indicated that it will publish this trademark shortly for opposition.  If no one opposes, I understand that the … Continue reading →

Agile Fad?

At a recent conference, one speaker stated that the days of the agile movement are just about over. He said that the software industry has new fads every ten years, and agile was over ten years old. The Agile Manifesto was written to express shared values of people who saw a new way of developing … Continue reading →