From Middle-Earth to Agile Earth: A Tale of Hobbits and Scrum Teams

Picture this: A guy, let’s call him me, stuck in the grind of the daily hustle, working as Country Manager at Agilar Benelux . Life's a jigsaw, and I'm piecing it together, one Agile piece at a time. Then there’s the home front - a couple of great kids, one’s all starry-eyed about wizards and dragons, the other is all about video games and football and couldn’t care less about the printed word.

Enter my friend Rico Trevisan Trevisan, Agile Coach, my kid's godfather, and the guy who throws "The Lord of the Rings" into my lap. “Here,” he says, “something for the little one.” Little did he know, he wasn’t just handing over a book; he was opening a door to a world where I'm not just a dad trying to get his kids to love stories and building lasting memories, but a guy finding parallels between my work life and a fantasy epic.

So, there I am, reading Tolkien to my kids at bedtime, thinking about Scrum teams and Agile frameworks. Odd, isn’t it? How a tale about a bunch of mismatched folks – hobbits, a wizard, a couple of humans, an elf, and a grumpy dwarf – trying to chuck a cursed ring into a volcano, have me daydreaming about my job.

Then suddenly it hits me – this thing reads like a playbook for Agile. You’ve got this motley crew – hobbits, a wizard, an elf, a dwarf, and men – banding together like they’re booting up a Scrum Team.

The Agile Fellowship

First you have Gandalf, he’s not your average, garden-variety wizard. In this Agile saga, he's the heavyweight, the big-wig stakeholder and the real Product Owner. He’s got the brains, the vision, and he’s seen more years than any of us will. Gandalf lights the fire under the whole quest, then steps back like some puppet master watching his show unfold. He’s there, in the shadows, his hand steering the course when things get dicey, but mostly, he lets the gang figure their own mess out. That’s Gandalf – wise, mysterious, a guiding hand from afar.

Then you’ve got Frodo. This little guy, he’s more than just a hobbit with a heavy piece of jewelry. He’s the “reluctant” Proxy Product Owner progressively empowered by Gandalf, holding the fate of the whole damn world on his shoulders. He didn’t ask for this gig, it just fell into his lap, but he takes it on. Every day, he’s making choices, tough calls, all while this cursed Ring weighs him down. It's like he's carrying the weight of a thousand deadlines. Frodo, he’s the heart of the operation, quietly driving things forward, one step at a time towards the ultimate goal.

Finally, meet Aragorn, The Cool-Headed Leader – He’s your quintessential Scrum Master. Doesn’t look like much at first, but he’s got servant leadership in his blood. He keeps this ragtag bunch on track, resolves squabbles, and has a knack for getting them out of tight spots. Aragorn’s the guy who’s always cool under pressure, the one who knows when to step up and when to let others shine. He’s got this quiet way of steering the ship, making sure the Fellowship is barreling down the right path without losing anyone along the way.

Enter Legolas, Gimli, and Boromir, and you've got the Fellowship, a standout Scrum Team:

• Self-organized - with Gandalf igniting the spark but letting them stoke the flames.
• T-shaped - each with their specialties but all ready to adapt beyond them.
• Compact and cohesive unit - facing Middle-Earth's chaos in unison, a perfect reflection of a well-oiled Scrum Team.

So, there you have it. Gandalf, Frodo, Aragorn & Co – they’re not just characters in a book. They’re the embodiment of an Agile team, each playing their part in this wild, chaotic ride to save their world. It’s a lesson in how to tackle just about anything – with a bit of wisdom, a lot of responsibility, and some cool-headed leadership.

The Sprints to Mount Doom:

The similarities with Agile do not end there. In this Tolkien saga, every leg of the journey, it’s like a Sprint in the Agile world. Think about it. They start off with a plan – a map, a direction, a goal. That's your Sprint Planning. They're off to chuck this cursed Ring into a fiery mountain. Simple, right? But the road, it's a mess – full of twists, turns, and ugly surprises.

Then comes the Review part. Every time they complete a stage – The Moria mines, The Fangorn Forest, The Lorien, etc. –? they dodge an orc or escape a dark cave, they're taking a hard look at what went down. “Did we get closer to Mount Doom? What did we learn? Are we still alive? Good.” That’s their Sprint Review, right there in the thick of it, under the shadow of some gnarly tree or in some dank, dripping cave.

But here’s the kicker – the Retrospective. It’s not some sit-down meeting with coffee and doughnuts. Hell no. It’s on the go, in the heat of the moment. “That path through the marshes? Bad idea. Let’s not do that again.” These guys, they’re rolling with the punches, changing plans on the fly. It’s learning from each scrape, each near-miss. They adapt, they change tactics, they survive. They keep their eyes on the prize, just like a Scrum Team, figuring it out Sprint by Sprint, battle by battle.

Living the Agile Principles & Scrum Values:

In Tolkien's world, as I'm reading it out loud to the kids, the Agile principles and Scrum values, they're not just fancy terms. They're the meat and bones of the Fellowship's journey. These guys, they're a testament to valuing individuals and interactions over rigid processes. They're not working off some polished playbook; they're winging it, relying on each other, their guts, their wits.

And talk about responding to change over following a plan. Every step they take, it’s improvisation. The road’s a curveball – one minute it's clear skies, next it's a storm of orcs. They adapt, they shift, they stay on their toes. It's like jazz, all rhythm and reaction.

Last but not least, the Scrum values – commitment, courage, focus, openness, respect – the whole gospel. It's not just lip service with these guys. Frodo’s commitment? It’s as heavy as that Ring he’s lugging. And courage? They’ve got that in spades – facing down spiders, wraiths, and all sorts of nightmares. Focus? Their eyes are on the prize – Mount Doom or bust. Openness and respect? It’s there in every argument, every decision. They listen, they argue, they figure it out.

Beyond Bedtime Stories

I’m reading this, and I’m seeing it – Agile and Scrum… it’s in this epic tale I’m reading to my kids. It’s about adapting, sticking together, pushing through the mess. It’s about getting things done, together, against all odds. And as I’m turning these pages, it dawns on me – I’m doing more than just telling a story. I’m teaching my kids, and hell, maybe even teaching myself, about tackling life, Agile-style.

So there you have it. “The Lord of the Rings”, Agile principles, Scrum values, all tangled up in bedtime stories and real-life chaos. It’s a strange world – one minute you’re just a dad reading a book, the next, you’re seeing your work reflected in a bunch of fictional characters trying to save their world. Life’s a trip, and sometimes, it takes a wizard and a few hobbits to show you the ropes…and a friend to hand you over a book.