Scrum Training
What is Scrum
Today was the first day of my 3 day Scrum Master Certification Training for my day job. Yes, I kid you not, Scrum training. It’s all the rage in the software development world. And no, scrum is not an acronym as you might expect from the software world, but instead it’s just like the term might be used in rugby – a bunch of folks trying to get stuff done in a way that might seem to be a bit of a jumble.
In short scrum is a framework for managing software development. It’s "agile software development " in that it’s adaptive and intended to respond quickly to changes in the market place. If you are really interested (or more likely bored or procrastinating) you can read about it on wikipedia here.
Why Scrum
The idea of Scrum is to not plan out an entire year or 2 year software release in it’s entirety before starting work. Requirements for a release always change as software is developed and in the old models of development responding to these changes was difficult and costly and always met with resistance from all parties.
With Scrum only a few of the features are decided up front (the highest priority ones) and after they are implemented, the next highest priority features are determined and then implemented. In addition each feature is completely implemented and tested before it is called done and the team moves on to something else. This ensures a high quality product by not leaving about bits of unfinished work.
Is This Topic Even Remotely Related to Art
In previous years I listed my annual goals in January, spelling out everything I wanted to do with my art and my art business for the year up front. Then spent 12 months attempting to get it all done, and occasionally changing my mind. Pften leaving bits unfinished, which is never very satisfactory.
This year I decided to take a different approach. In January I posted my annual goals and they were quite simple – do the most immediate and high priority tasks and when they were finished I would figure out what came next. See my 2008 Art Goals post for details.
Turns out what came next was moving. Now that I’m moved I have another month before I move out for my remodel. So art isn’t the top priority this year. That’s not to say I’m not working on it a lot, I’m just not setting big goals and getting upset about not meeting them.
Apparently I’m an early adopter of scrum for my art business and it’s worked out pretty well. I’m not all stressed out that I have a long list of goals for the year that will not be met. When the move and remodel are over I’ll just pick back up again with my next highest priority art business goal and get to work on it.
There are some similarities between Scrum and David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD), which I really like, such as single list of all projects. I can see that some of the way I manage my GTD project and next task lists fit neatly into the the scrum methodology.
So in a way, this is kind of an art related post. It was also something to do as my new printer aligned the print head.
Posted by Lisa in: Goals and Intention
Tagged: Getting Things Done, goals, scrum
Lisa, funny that you bringing up scrum. My husband has adopted scrum in his company and I found a little scrum book laying around the house explaining the whole thing. Even though I am not remotely associated with software development, I devoured the book and have been applying those principles since. I works great for all sorts of projects, including home remodeling:-) It brings clarity to the execution of a project and helps you feel good and stay motivated.
Hi! Lisa,
Scrum appeals to me and when I thoght about it I figure it’s how I work by nature. If srum is what I do Ihave found it helps me look at the big picture from a whole lot of things srummed together for a time.
Well, I’m interested! Never heard of Scrum (other than in rugby) but will go read the Wikipedia bit now. I like when artists share business and organisational ideas too – we’ll all trying to run businesses so it’s completely relevent. :)
scrum sounds like working in the now and then doing the next thing that becomes obvious to be done. Interesting.
I’m actually interested myself and like how you related it back to your art goals of the year. In fact, I like it a lot!
How funny Angela! It really is quite interesting.
Judy – scrum really is about common sense so not surprising you are doing some of it!
Tina – then you’ll like my next few weeks worth of posts – lots of scrum
Cher – Yes – I agree – it’s very related to staying in the now
Thanks Cynthia!
What model is your printer?
I really do adore this kind of “out of the box” thinking. I appreciate you sharing your thought process with us.