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A review by bittersweet_symphony
Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time by J. J. Sutherland, Jeff Sutherland
4.0
Scrum is the second-most important book I have read regarding my professional development. Our team has been using a scrum approach to project management and team culture for the past several months--our production "velocity" has increased significantly since we started. Scrum fits neatly in the same camp as Lean Start-up and any other "agile" methodology or framework.
I recommend this book to anybody looking for a more human-centered approach to personnel management and product/service delivery. Scrum allows for team members to be more autonomous, creative, and inspired. It books team morale and a powerfully enriching team culture. Or, rather, applying Scrum principles to the proper culture leads to a very productive and successful team--organization and society (toward the end of the book Sutherland even talks about how Scrum is being used to improve schools, civil society, and alleviate poverty).
This framework was codified in the 90's, and has been implemented by some of the most successful companies in the world (Google, Amazon, Toyota). Scrum moves beyond Gantt Charts, embracing "uncertainty and creativity." Removing waste is a moral imperative--doing so allows us to live/work purposefully toward creating something that improves our lives and those of everybody around us.
At the heart of Scrum lies a frequent focus on feedback. Effort (and heart) is not wasted on going the wrong direction. The mantra is "fail small, and fail often." I can't recommend this book enough to people who tackle projects as a team.
The secret to Scrum is that "humans want to be great. People want to do something purposeful--to make the world, even if just in a small way, a better place. The key is getting rid of what stands in their way, removing impediments to their becoming who they're capable of becoming."
I recommend this book to anybody looking for a more human-centered approach to personnel management and product/service delivery. Scrum allows for team members to be more autonomous, creative, and inspired. It books team morale and a powerfully enriching team culture. Or, rather, applying Scrum principles to the proper culture leads to a very productive and successful team--organization and society (toward the end of the book Sutherland even talks about how Scrum is being used to improve schools, civil society, and alleviate poverty).
This framework was codified in the 90's, and has been implemented by some of the most successful companies in the world (Google, Amazon, Toyota). Scrum moves beyond Gantt Charts, embracing "uncertainty and creativity." Removing waste is a moral imperative--doing so allows us to live/work purposefully toward creating something that improves our lives and those of everybody around us.
At the heart of Scrum lies a frequent focus on feedback. Effort (and heart) is not wasted on going the wrong direction. The mantra is "fail small, and fail often." I can't recommend this book enough to people who tackle projects as a team.
The secret to Scrum is that "humans want to be great. People want to do something purposeful--to make the world, even if just in a small way, a better place. The key is getting rid of what stands in their way, removing impediments to their becoming who they're capable of becoming."