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Essential Scrum – Kenneth S. Rubin

by | Nov 22, 2013 | Agile, Blog, Book Review, Scrum

In the introduction to Essential Scrum, Ken Rubin writes,

This book, Essential Scrum, is an attempt to be the missing single source for essential Scrum knowledge. It includes an in-depth discussion of Scrum’s principles, values, and practices–one that in most cases agrees with other agile thought leaders and “The Scrum Guide.” (Where this book offers a different perspective from what is widely promoted elsewhere, I point it out and explain why.)

Given this, the question is, does it deliver on its promise?

Absolutely.
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Agile Marketing at EMC

by | Nov 21, 2013 | Agile, Blog, Marketing, Scrum

This is a fascinating video to watch. David Quinn, Senior Marketing Director at EMC, reveals the intimate details of how his organization introduced Agile to the marketing group. I’ve been through this process twice now, and repetition doesn’t make it less interesting.

I think it’s worth watching, but be a critical listener. He has some interesting interpretations of Agile and Scrum… They aren’t wrong, per se. But don’t assume his approach will be “right” for your organization (teams don’t have daily standups/daily Scrums, apparently).


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Do We Need a Full Time Tech Writer?

by | Oct 30, 2013 | Agile, Blog, Scrum, Writing

One of the perennial questions that development teams face is the struggle to staff a full time technical writer. Of course, I have an opinion on this…but I was quite stricken by Kenneth S. Rubin’s analysis of this very question in his book, Essential Scrum. He frames the discussion in the context of cost-of-delay calculations, and the difference between idle work and idle workers. Consider:
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