Scrum User Group

We kick off this week’s link fest with sex orgies.

Jurgen Appelo’s post on how scrum uses peer pressure in a positive way can be found here.
I enjoy his writing and he uses a cool technique for creating a scrum team, by getting them to cook dinner for him. I like it ‘cos I worked as a chef for a while and having everyone working together to produce a meal for several people at the same time is a good way to teach people how to self-organise. Plus you get free food out of it

There’s a good article by Clinton Keith here about the factors influencing your sprint length.

Mike Cohn clarified the ‘Release Backlog’ concept and why it really isn’t a good idea. He draws attention to the use of velocity as a predictor of the shipping date.

He has another good article up about story points. Many teams struggle with the move from time based estimates to story points. I think this may help clarify what story points are, given that they are a more abstract measure of effort.

Having to support the software we ship while building new functionality is probably one of the most challenging aspects of implementing scrum. Boris will tell you that the answer is not to write bugs. But if you do, how to handle the support requests while not changing the scope of the sprint or endangering the ability to deliver the commitment? Kelly Walters at ‘All About Agile’ has some good suggestions here.

If you can’t wait till next week for more links, you can also follow me on twitter. Till next week.

Carlo

Popularity: 3% [?]

For those whose wallets can buck the recession, the upcoming Scrum gathering offers an impressive line-up of speakers. It’s guaranteed to be awesome!

I am particularly encouraged by the range of people and institutions that are engaging with the Scrum Alliance and embracing Scrum…from XP and Crystal to the PMI!

For more information visit http://www.scrumalliance.org/events/19–orlando-scrum-gathering

Popularity: 5% [?]

I’m starting a hopefully regular feature here where I will be posting links to articles elsewhere on the web, with content about scrum and agile that I find interesting.

First up is Kent Beck’s ‘State of Agile’ presentation.
http://www.infoq.com/news/2009/01/Agile-Trends-Kent-Beck
He has some very interesting things to say about the alignment between agile’s values of transparency and how they help business, particularly in our current difficult economic climate.

Mike Cohn posted what amounts to a “Requirements Koan”
http://blog.mountaingoatsoftware.com/?p=77
This challenge was like a brain worm that I kept thinking about for days after. It is intended to get you to think about the fact that all new requirements can be thought of as merely improvements. Or something. Go read the post.

Also, Mike Cohn’s presentation on what scrum is has received a small update and a face lift. You can find it at:
http://www.mountaingoatsoftware.com/scrum-a-presentation

Martin Fowler has an interesting piece on the importance of using engineering practises that support agile development
http://martinfowler.com/bliki/FlaccidScrum.html
Of particular interest to me was his statement that team’s who do not adopt these practises are risking the reputation of scrum as a whole, but that he’s not worried about it.

Boris Gloger posted a review of the VersionOne software:
http://scrum4you.wordpress.com/2009/02/03/scrum-tools-version-one/

Lastly, if you’re looking for a comprehensive rundown on the tools available for supporting scrum in your organisation, Mike Cohn has started a website at:
http://www.userstories.com/
Coming later in the year will be samples and examples of stories and backlogs.

Popularity: 1% [?]