

Stories from my experiences learning Scrum - hak
http://www.ericsink.com/entries/agile_2011_paper.html

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lucisferre
Scrum is a decent place to start, but it really isn't the be-all of agile and
in many cases, one could argue, it becomes the anti-thesis of "lean". On the
bright side Scrum has done much to get agile into places that probably
wouldn't have considered anything without a certification and consultant-based
training attached to it. The bad thing about Scrum is that has also done more
to facilitate cargo-cult agile than anything else.

Iterations? We don't sell iterations around here we sell software, software
features specifically. Planning releases around iterations often results in
more pain than pleasure I'm afraid, but it is still usually a step up from
most traditional waterfall processes (on that note, most traditional waterfall
shops really have no idea how to do waterfall either).

Stand-ups? Great when there is no more than 5-8 people, more than 10 and they
quickly become a way to bore the entire team for 15 minutes.

Velocity? A useful planning tool, but often seen by managers who have "drunk
the Scrum kool-aid" as a way to measure team performance. It's not, and in the
end planning poker is simply another euphemism for task estimation, which in
turn is a euphemism for performing magic tricks.

Scrum certainly has it's place, but it's important for teams learning it to
treat it as just a few steps along a much longer path.

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DanielRibeiro
Whenever I see people doing Agile/Scrum, I urge them to understand its limits,
its purpose, and the agile Next[1][2], where, for instance, learning about
products and users is more important than working code.

[1] <http://yfrog.com/h3qqxdij>

[2] [http://www.slideshare.net/HackerChick/lean-startup-how-
devel...](http://www.slideshare.net/HackerChick/lean-startup-how-development-
looks-different-when-youre-changing-the-world-agile-2011)

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wpietri
It is nice to see people trying to learn Agile methods, and I'm glad these
guys have found something that works for them. I think they've done a great
job getting started.

But to set the context for others, this is adopting circa 25% of what I'd
consider a serious Agile approach. That's fine to start, and many stop there.
But I hope they keep at it, as there's a lot more benefit to be gained.

~~~
shaggyfrog
Your second paragraph is the kind of wording that gives me, as a developer,
the heebie-jeebies. If a development group is improving their workflow and
structure with the addition of a few thoughtfully chosen changes to what they
had before (a morning standup meeting, shorter iterations, tracking burndown),
then that to me sounds like a very pragmatic approach. Implementing even
_more_ changes, merely for the sake of having a capital-A "Agile" designation,
just sounds like cargo cultism.

~~~
LeafStorm
Reminds me of a message I saw once on the "LuaForge Development" Google group.
Literally 96 hours after the current LuaForge leadership and some people on
lua-l decided to team up and create a new LuaForge, a buzzword-filled e-mail
was sent to the mailing list entitled, "Request to use Agile Development
Methodology." [1] Jim Whitehead responded, "You don't need agile development
to have clearly defined roles, responsibilities and standards. A long time ago
that used to be called 'project management' and it worked just fine =)"

[1]: [http://groups.google.com/group/luaforge-
development/browse_t...](http://groups.google.com/group/luaforge-
development/browse_thread/thread/d577b49ade8f33f5)

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JoeAltmaier
Speakerphones? Chat rooms? There are lots of tools that work better than that
for Agile development, Scrums in particular.

~~~
shaggyfrog
For the daily meeting with developers in multiple locations? What are all
these other "lots of tools"? If you mean Skype, iChat, etc., wouldn't those
just be variations on a theme?

~~~
JoeAltmaier
One is Sococo - a tool designed with Agile in mind. Disclaimer: I contracted
with Sococo for 3 years, then joined them as Client Architect.

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sschueller
Download Veracity here <http://veracity-scm.com> for anyone interested

