Scrum - Simplified
Occam’s Razor and Simplifying Scrum
The “Occam’s Razor” concept is attributed to William of Ockham (if you want to dive into THAT rabbit hole, start with Wikipedia heh).
Basically, it says:
“Stop over-complexifying.”
(per Michael of Vizdos lol).
Yeah.
Good luck with that fellow human.
Focus. #deliver
Simplify Scrum
In a recent email to my weekly Saturday morning subscribers (subscribe.mvizdos.com), I wrote about THE secret of success when Implementing Scrum.
Limit. WIP (Work in Process or Work in Progress).
This post is not about HOW to do that.
This post is about how to keep Scrum super simple.
Want more than my simple recommendation of, “Limit WIP”?
OK…
KISS Scrum.
Implementing Scrum in Four Easy Steps
Create a list of the things you think you need to do (don’t bother checking it twice because, sadly we have all come to realize that there is no Santa Claus).
Pick one thing from that list and work on that one thing until it’s done.
Deliver that one thing.
Reflect on how to get better.
Repeat and rinse.
Simple.
Right?
Yeah…
If only people (you) could even just do that without over-complicating shit stuff.
Remind yourself of this simple sentence: “Limit WIP.”
Occam’s Razor.
So.
Want to go a bit deeper?
Because, well, you still might want help figuring that out….
Implementing Scrum with “Scrum Words”
Here is a bit more complicated / complex version of the Simplified Version of Scrum in Four Easy Steps (above).
Figure out your vision (Product Goal).
Gather a list of stuff that might be needed to meet that vision (Product Backlog).
Refine / order / prioritize that list of stuff (Product Owner and Developers).
Figure out what the Scrum Team is gonna accomplish during this Sprint (Sprint Planning).
Work on ONE thing at a time (Sprint Backlog).
Adjust as needed (Daily Scrum).
Focus to get the work / increment DONE that meets the objective (Sprint Goal).
Deliver (Sprint Review).
Reflect (Sprint Retrospective).
A Scrum Master can also help the team (and your organization) understand Scrum Theory and the Scrum Values.
Spoiler Alert:
The Scrum Master accountable person is usually on their own journey of Implementing Scrum — so please remember context matters!
What Next?
Stop over-thinking this.
Stop using the “excuse” that, “Scrum is simple but difficult to master”.
Keep it Simple Stupid (KISS).
If you want to dive a bit deeper into the abyss, keep poking around this site or jump directly to scrumguide.mvizdos.com, where you can listen to a free Scrum Guide Audio Book, view the Interactive Scrum Guide, or watch the entire Scrum Guide Video Playlist at InteractiveScrumGuide.com
All three ways to listen, view, or watch the 2020 Scrum Guide are:
1) Free. Really. No email or paywall required (you CAN subscribe anytime!)
2) The most current version (2020) as of this writing, and
3) Are authorized by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland (the two co-creators of Scrum)).
Need some help with this?
While it looks simple (and really is), we humans can make it more complicated than it needs to be (read more at darkscrum.com by my colleague and friend Ron Jeffries).
I can help you keep it simple. Really.
I am a consultant (and trainer and mentor).
Contact me or connect with me on LinkedIn to discuss this more together.
Also, check out AgileMentoring.com while you are here; it’s a great community of agile practitioners from around the world who are figuring things out together!
One final thing…
Subscribe to my weekly Saturday morning emails about Implementing Scrum in the real world. And get an “every two week” check in from me too.
What could be better?
About the Author: Michael Vizdos
Hi. I sincerely appreciate you reading this article. My name is Michael Vizdos and I’ve had the privilege of working with thousands of people on teams all around the world over the past 30+ years of my professional career.
You can read more about my background or contact me.
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Scrum - Simplified by Michael Vizdos.
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