Scrum Methodology

Scrum Users Group Update

Posted by admin under Uncategorized

If you missed our original post on this topic, InfoQ has published a follow-up to the Scrum Users Group controversy here. After the Scrum Alliance issued a notification to Scrum users group nationwide that it held rights to the use of the phrase “Scrum users group,” a wave of confusion ensued. The Alliance’s Cory Foy weighed in on our comments section to better explain what was happening. It seems that Foy has now been appointed “community liaison” and will interface with the various users groups to help Scrum continue to flourish on a grassroots level. Key to this outreach effort is an inclusive mailing list to get the word out about events and groups, while generally fostering a dialogue focused on Scrum. Sounds like the situation’s definitely improving, but InfoQ reporter Mark Levison still concludes his article by wondering if anything’s really changed.

This seems like a step in the right direction to me. What do you think?

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Another Scrum Success Story

Posted by admin under Agile and Scrum, Scrum Discussion, Scrum Transitions

For folks who are contemplating a Scrum transformation, the most compelling testimony usually isn’t found in a blog or a whitepaper, but in a case study. When an organization can read a detailed, step-by-step account of how another company did it and ended up better for it, it can give organizations the confidence they need to move forward. And the more granularly such case studies document the process of adoption, the more valuable they are for organizations following in their footsteps.

Samir Bellouti has just published a very detailed success story on the Scrum Alliance that covers the first year of Scrum adoption for an unnamed airline and travel agency. Tasked with rebuilding its travel booking application—from scratch—Bellouti suggested they use Scrum to manage the project. He then goes on to describe the team’s lack of understanding of Scrum (they understood the concept of daily meetings, but nothing else) and how they got off the ground for those initial sprints. The fact that the project is then examined a year later adds another dimension to the piece, showing that these things take time, but are worth the patience they require.

Here’s another great and very detailed success story I found on Danube Technologies’ website, which describes how a division of Intel used Scrum to manage an especially chaotic project.

Tags: scrum success, scrum success story