Mark C. Layton - Scrum For Dummies

Scrum For Dummies, 2nd Edition

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Copyright 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2018938627

ISBN: 978-1-119-46764-9 (pbk); 978-1-119-46768-7 (ebk); 978-1-119-46769-4

Welcome to Scrum For Dummies. Scrum is an agile project management framework with proven results in decreasing time to market by 3040 percent, improving product quality, and heightening customer satisfaction all while lowering costs 3070 percent. Scrum accomplishes these results through integration of business and development talent, improved communication models, increased performance visibility, regular customer and stakeholder feedback, and an empirically based inspect-and-adapt mentality. You can manage even the most complex project more effectively by using scrum to increase your bottom line.

The goal is to demonstrate explicitly how you can use scrum for any project, not just software development. This book is intended to be a field manual for the application of scrum in real-world situations. Although it covers scrum fundamentals in detail, this book also delves into how to get out and experience the amazing benefits of scrum.

Scrum is by design easy to explain, but application and mastery are often difficult. Old habits and organizational mindsets need to be shifted and new ways embraced. For this reason, weve included success stories so that you can see how scrum can fit into your situation.

The main thrust of understanding scrum lies in the three roles, three artifacts, and five events that form its foundation and that we cover thoroughly. We also include common practices that we use and that others in the field use so that you can choose what works best for your project.

Scrum isnt technical. In fact, its basic tenet is common sense. In many cases, weve wrapped this information within the world of technology and have used technical terms to help explain this. Where useful, weve defined these terms.

We also cover common practices from scrum experts throughout the world. You can learn so much from others who use this framework in a seemingly limitless spectrum of projects.

Scrum falls under an umbrella of project management called agile project management. Neither scrum nor agile practices is a proper noun. Scrum is a framework for organizing your work, whereas agile is an adjective used to describe a variety of practices that conform to the values of the Agile Manifesto and to the 12 Agile Principles. Scrum and agile are not identical or interchangeable, but you frequently see them written in many sources, especially online, interchangeably. In this book, you will see terminology from both descriptions, because scrum is a frequently used subset of agile practices.

Several books about scrum are available, but this one differs in its practicality. Each of the authors has more than a decade of experience with agile methods and scrum, and we bring this experience to you in a practical guide. We make no assumptions about what you already know: You dont need to be a rocket scientist or a whiz programmer; all you need are a project and passion to get it done in the best way possible. We give you examples from building jet fighters to a family organizing a vacation. We focus on the steps necessary to get scrums magic working for you.

Our audience includes code programmers, sales professionals, product manufacturers, executives, and midtier managers, as well as educators who are looking for a way to engage their students.

If youre in a technology industry, youve probably heard the terms agile and/or scrum. Maybe youve even worked in a scrum environment but want to improve your skills and vocabulary in this area and to bring others in your firm along with you. If youre not in technology, you may have heard that scrum is a great way to run projects, which is true. Perhaps scrum is new to you, and youre searching for a way to make your project more accessible, or maybe you have a great idea burning inside and dont know how to bring it to fruition. Whoever you are, an easy way exists to run your project, and that way is called scrum. Within these pages, we show you how to use it.