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Agile Project Management using Scrum, by Ken Schwaber

Posted by Cathryn in : Book Reviews, Project Management , trackback

On Monday, I start a new contract on a project that’s run using the Scrum methodology.  That’s new for me, although many elements of it are familiar, so I picked up this book to help me prepare.
The book itself is clear, well written, and full of anecdotes that explain what can go wrong as well as what happens when it goes well, so its a good learning tool.  I’d happily recommend it to anyone contemplating Scrum, or taking on a project that’s using it.
In Scrum team members, along with a ‘product owner’, similar to a Key User or Sponsor, agree the requirements which will be delivered in a single iteration of work or ‘Sprint’.  That is kept short, to 3-4 weeks, so that there is a chance for everyone to review plans regularly.  At the end of each Sprint, a full unit of work is delivered, ready to go live. The team works out how it will deliver each Sprint, with input but not formal control from the ScrumMaster, or project manager / team leader.  Every day, the ScrumMaster holds a Daily Scrum, a quick meeting where everyone says what they’ve done yesterday, what they’re doing today and what the problems are.  This is intended to bind the team together, make sure that everyone knows what’s going on and help is given to those who need it.
Although the formal method is new to me, many of the basic ideas are simply sensible project management - making sure that those who deliver the work participate in making the estimates, keeping the status of the project transparent to all stakeholders, agreeing on the work that will be done and not letting too much change get in the way and disrupt the work, letting those who know what they’re doing work out how to do it.   Scrum gives a clear way of achieving these goals.

I’ve a few questions which I hope I’ll be able to answer over the next few weeks.

  • How do we preserve design integrity, with design, coding, testing and documentation all happening in such a short period of time?
  • How will I feel about the lack of control that I have, as ScrumMaster rather than Project Manager?
  • How do I integrate this with other aspects of project management, particularly handling risk, phase changes and non-development parts of the project?

It should be interesting.

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