Agile Scrum. What else?

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Probably the first indicator that lets me know as an Agile Coach that people don’t really know about the Scrum Framework or the Agile mindset is the way they describe what they are doing. “Yes we do Agile Scrum”. Every time someone tells me that they are doing Agile Scrum the small hairs at the back of my neck start to rise.

Why you may ask is this the case. For this you have to know the difference between the two. Agile is a mindset. It’s a way of thinking and not a way of doing. If you understand the Agile Manifesto, the four simple guidelines are just not more then what they are just four good ideas. Agile doesn’t say anything about how to work, plan, act or do. It is they way you might approach a challenge. You can’t apply Agile. You can’t implement Agile (trust me, this has been asked of me in the past). It is a way of thinking.

The second is Scrum. And Scrum is nothing more then a very simple framework. Scrum has just nine basis ingredients that if you apply them correctly you might get some things done. Scrum is about how you are going to communicate and get transparency within your work. For as far as I know there is only one kind of Scrum (if you leave the Football out of it). So if you work for example in ICT, none will expect that you show-up in shoulder pads and an egg shaped ball if you say you are working with Scrum.

So when I meet people who say they are doing Agile Scrum, I know that they don’t really understand what’s what. It is a very good signal for a coach to start helping people in explaining what Agile really means. To start explaining how Scrum works. And why they are connected but are not the same thing. Keep in mind that there is no other way of Scrum. And when you do it right, you might be Agile without knowing it. Don’t use them in the same sentence and know them for what they are en what their place is in your team, company or where ever you might use it.

And yes, the same goes for telling people that you are an Agile Scrum Master or Agile Product Owner. Off course you are. But hey you might say. How about you? In the first sentence you present yourself as an Agile Coach. True. But as a coach I like to look at a bigger picture. Having an Agile mindset and explain and train in Scrum, Kanban, XP or what ever it takes to get to a better way of communicating and collaborating.

So. You can think Agile and do Scrum. If you do Agile Scrum, I might ask you if you also do sporting football, water swimming or parachute jumping with a parachute. Get the idea? I know. It’s a mindset but very important that you get it.

© Erwin Verweij for Agile things, 2014. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Agile, intelligence, Manifesto, Scrum