Page 149 - Straight Talk On Project Management IV

Which IT Project Methodology? Scrum – Why and Why Not?

In a recent introductory piece on IT Project
methodologies, I promised to follow up on each
individual methodology and investigative its advantages
and disadvantages.
Having looked at Waterfall and Agile, let’s now turn to
Scrum.

Scrum. What Is It, When Should You Use It?

Normally, when you talk of scrums you think of a bunch
of well-built players, huddled together and yet working
alone to achieve their goal – a rugby scrum. In IT Project
Management, when thinking of scrum, one word jumps
out and connects the two nicely - Interlocking.

In rugby, players will interlock with one another and push against their opponents in an attempt to
win possession of the ball. IT teams who utilise the scrum methodology rely on five interlocking
values, these values are relied upon when developing software.
In the introductory piece, I wrote the following on Scrum

I've deliberately placed Scrum just below Agile. Many Project Managers don't see Scrum as a stand-
alone methodology but instead a branch of Agile thinking, Scrum certainly offers more solid
steppingstones to the Agile manifesto.

Scrum is based on the values of ...
•Commitment

•Focus

•Openness

•Respect

•Courage
Whether used alone or as a hybrid Agile approach, Scrum adds to the iterative value of Agile and,
used right, can add increased transparency, governance, accountability and collaborative value.

When Is It Most Effective? Great for mid-sized to smaller teams who need (paradoxically) both
greater flexibility and greater structure.

Scrum is built around key roles. The Scrum Master ensures execution based on Scrum principles, the
Product Owner is the representative of the stakeholders and the Development team who, well,
develop and deliver the product.

Delivery is broken into events, such as sprints, giving a clear and transparent real-time view during
the project lifecycle.