Scrum: It's Not Just For Software Development Anymore

For many years now, Agile techniques and particularly Agile Scrum have really taken over how software projects are managed. I’ve been fortunate to work in software companies using these techniques, and for creative work there may not yet be anything better.

If you’ve not worked in Agile Scrum, it’s first important to understand that one of the most important aspects of working this way is the need for everyone to communicate...EVERY DAY. To the uninitiated this sometimes seems wasteful; Shouldn’t our workers have their heads down working? Shouldn’t they be concentrating on the tasks at hand? Certainly, it may be possible to work quickly in that way. But those “heads down” techniques simply do not afford the opportunities for the team to work closely together, to learn from one another, to create a common vision of success, and perhaps most important to innovate TOGETHER. For indeed, two heads ARE better than one, and seven or so better still. But the benefits of Agile Scrum need not be limited to simply software development. These techniques can work well in almost any creative venture.

I recently had the opportunity to work with Bob Winter as the Technical Editor of his new book: Agile Performance Improvement: The New Synergy of Agile and Human Performance Technology. In this book Bob describes a way that learning and development oriented performance consultants or technologists can work with their clients and their creative teams in the solution of performance problems. I urge you to take a look.

As an executive coach, Agile coach, performance consultant, and leader I’ve found Scrum a powerful way to solve problems and get things done. Scrum has taken the world of software development by storm. Scrum is making inroads in learning and development and other circles and may be poised to a make a major impact in how creative work is done. Please let me know what you think and if you’d like to talk more about this.