Scrum is application of common-sense to work that uses productivity producing techniques applied to software engineering.   Scrum places highest priority on doing work and producing releases.

To implement the Scrum process for a specific area of work:

  1. Start the Scrum Process
  2. Appoint a Scrum Master
  3. Identify Backlog
  4. Establish and Conduct Daily Scrum Meeting
  5. Why Scrum Is Powerful
Start the Scrum Process
A chicken and a pig are together when the chicken says, "Let's start a restaurant!".
The pig thinks it over and says, "What would we call this restaurant?".
The chicken says, "Ham n' Eggs!".
The pig says, "No thanks, I'd be committed, but you'd only be involved!".

Define the team consisting of pigs (people who are assigned work) and chickens (people who are interested, but are not working).  Identify pigs that will compose the Scrum team:

  • No more than 6-9 members per team
  • If more members than manageable, break into multiple Scrums
  • Each Scrum focuses on one, self-contained area of work
  • All staff performing work in this area
Appoint Scrum Master


The Scrum Master is the person who conducts the Scrum meetings, empirically measures progress, makes decisions, and gets implediments out of the way of slowing or stopping work.   This is often the engineering or marketing manager for this product or system area.

  • Person who asks all pigs three questions (should also be a pig)
    1. What did you do since last Scrum
    2. What got in your way of doing work
    3. What will you do before the next Scrum
  • Must be able to make immediate decisions
  • Better to ask forgiveness than ask permission
  • Must resolve work impediments ASAP
  • Identifies initial backlog
Identify Backlog


Backlog is all of the work that is outstanding for a product area, both immediate and well-defined, and long terms and visionary.

  • List the known work to be done
  • Group it into increments that should take no more than 30 days
  • In areas where work is volatile or cannot be fully defined for up to 30 days, establish an increment for known horizon
  • Lists all outstanding work to be done
  • Only one person in charge of backlog prioritization
  • Team chooses backlog for Sprint
    • Sprint is an increment of work that can be completed in less than 30 days and is well enough defined that it can be accurately estimated
    • Can be completed in less than 30 days
    • Can be reasonable estimated by backlog item
  • Backlog is signed up for by team members
  • Only this backlog is worked on during this Sprint for this area
Establish and Conduct Daily Scrum Meeting


The daily Scrum meeting is a status check where the team meets and updates each other about what's going on.   It provides a daily focus on the work being done:

  • Same time and place
  • Avoids overhead of finding a place daily
  • Avoids overhead of team trying to figure out where and when is toda's meeting
  • Let's chicken's know where and when
  • No more than 30 minutes
  • Daily Scrum Meeting
  • Scrum master asks pigs the 3 questions
  • Scrum master is responsible for making decisions
  • Scrum master is responsible for noting and resolving work impediments
  • All discussion other than replies to 3 questions deferred to later meetings
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Why Scrum Is Powerful
  • Focus is on team's work, and team's work only
  • Daily communication of status occurs
  • Enables low-overhead empirical management
  • Makes impediments visible
  • Someone is willing to make decisions and remove impediments real-time