Scrum in the Real World

By Angela Johnson, CST

The phrase I hear countless times in teaching Certified Scrum and Agile classes is “Yes, but in the REAL world…”

This is an indicator to me that the person has not fully grasped that Scrum and Agile frameworks are different. Doing something differently requires change. Or it may mean that the person is hesitant to raise the tough questions back at their organization that should be raised in looking at adopting Agile or Scrum.

Many view Agile as another “methodology” that they may or may not use in addition to their traditional methodologies. A cultural clash occurs because Agile approaches are different. They are often contradictory to traditional ways to approaching work.

And let’s not forget that change is hard. Some people make changes very easily while others resist change or simply will not change. This is also true of organizations. The organizational culture and size both factor into how easily the company is willing to make changes.

In Certified ScrumMaster courses I remind participants that the Scrum Alliance slogan is “Transforming the World of Work”. Adopting this way of working means doing things differently. Many are fearful of affecting change. I urge class participants to identify what they ARE willing to do in order to begin their transformation and to plant seeds for change in their organizations.

My challenge to anyone saying or thinking “Yes but in the REAL world…” is to rephrase this to “In my current reality…” and ask what they are willing to do in order to be successful in their Agile or Scrum adoption.

Want to learn more? Join us in Minneapolis for our upcoming Certified ScrumMaster courses.