Scrum Methodology

Share Your Story

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

One of the best ways to illustrate how agile and Scrum can transform the way an organization manages its development is through case studies. Rather than simply saying that agile methods will streamline processes, reduce cycle time, and improve product quality, a case study illustrates how agile and Scrum can achieve those things. Moreover, they’re inspirational. When you can see that someone at another organization has experienced the same challenges and worked through them to successfully implement agile, it gives you the confidence to embark on that journey yourself.

Do you have an agile or Scrum transformation story you’d like to tell? If so, please post them here in the comments. To make things interesting, the person who submits the best one will receive a free iPod Nano.

Please make sure that the story you submit contains the following three sections:

• The Problem. What was going wrong at your organization that made you decide to implement agile or Scrum?
• The Application. Once your organization decided to use Scrum to surface dysfunction and transform its processes, how did you go about doing it? What were the first steps you took? Was it an organization-wide adoption or just on the team level? Did you use training or tools?
• The Solution. What was the result? Can you quantify the improvements that Scrum and agile helped realize? Have other teams at your organization begun adopting agile management techniques?

I look forward to reading your stories. Deadline for submission is Dec. 31, 2009 and please try to keep your case studies to between 500 and 750 words.

Tags: Scrum case studies, success with Scrum

Free Agile Resources

Posted by admin under Agile and Scrum, Scrum Basics

I always like to point out valuable resources for those who are beginning to use agile and Scrum at their organization. While I’d always recommend that those who are serious about Scrum consider taking a Certified ScrumMaster course with a knowledgeable and experienced Trainer, it’s always good to have supplemental resources like the Refcardz produced by DZone to give developers a helpful cheat sheet on a wide array of topics. Previously, DZone published an introductory guide to Scrum authored by Michael James, one of Danube Technologies’ Certified Scrum Trainers. If you enjoyed that one, they just published a related Refcard on agile adoption and how it improves software quality. You can download it here.

Tags: agile adoption, free agile resources, Scrum Basics