During the last few weeks when thinking about Scrum and the current movements in the markets, I remembered this fairy tale written by Hans Christian Andersen in 1837.
Like in the fairy tale it seems to me things are the same with Scrum. Conferences, trainings, consulting and specially based event agencies operate in this fast growing market. Developers, team leaders, even CTOs and managers scrum to everything and everyone. Scrum is in. No matter where or how or with whom. Certificates, awards, theses, theories and consulting approaches flood the market. Whoever approximately knows how to spell Scrum is part of the game. Because now you can really make a lot of money with Scrum.
Publicity seeking combined with operative doubt and excessive demands meet with the need for showmanship and the desire to make money. Ask your domestic consultant – also he will, if you ask him, be able to advise you with long-standing experience and intensive know-how concerning Scrum. Because it brings money. To the consultant. And somehow we all have been doing Scrum for all those years anyway. Only we called it something else.
As if that was not enough, some self appointed authorities seem to want to possess sovereignty and omniscience concerning Scrum themselves. Or early on have only deftly collected, well capitalizable assets like trademark rights and domains containing the word Scrum.
If everybody is happy with the authorities justifiably marketing their trademarks, the trainers quickly slipping into the consultants’ roles (a good piece of advice is quickly given), classical consulting worldwide pressing the next process topic into the portfolio and to the customer (one process is as easily sold as another one), customers pointing out that they are also already practicing Scrum in a cutting-edge manner and with millions upon millions of Euros circulating, which in monetary theory is held to be a sign of a healthy (at least national) economy – if everybody altogether is doing business in a flourishing market, what should be wrong with that?
Nothing. If it’s only about keeping the market alive. Everything, if we as strong and efficient businesses, want to develop products and satisfy customers in the agile markets also the day after tomorrow.
Everything goes wrong if we don’t change things fundamentally and generate real gain in productivity to truly further develop oneself, one’s own business as well as clients and partners in a serious way.
Scrum is big business. As head of sales I can justifiably say that. But please do me and yourself a favor: treat Scrum as a real business and not as a para-religious phenomenon of belief or even worse, as an ideology.
Challenge us and fight with us for the substantial advancement of your organization. Examine whether you only get a piece of scratch paper or if you receive valuable information concerning the qualification and further development of your employees. Check if this gain is worth the cost. Consider if what we offer can truly contribute to a really sustainable growth in your business. Ask yourself and us if Scrum and what we suggest as providers is enough in experience, skills and knowledge to meet your challenges. Be hard on the market. And look at yourself if you are ready for that step.
We believe in productivity gain in product and software development through Scrum.
We started Scrum in 2004 when it wasn’t a business because we could successfully realize projects with it.
We live the force of product visions in cooperation with product owners and see that with less quantity and stronger focus we get better software.
We want facts and signs of improvement. Scrum (Training and Consulting) is measurable. When it delivers and when it doesn’t. Because finished – is finished.
The fairy tale in a very short version:
An emperor in his greediness gets tricked by two crooks who pretend to weave him a cloth which can only be seen by very competent and broad-minded people. In fact they deliver nothing. Oozing vanity and trying not to show any weakness the emperor struts the streets of town in nothing but his underwear followed by an equally vain and uncritical court who even cheers the emperor’s non-existent clothes. Only a small girl – allegory of impartiality – cries out of the crowd: “…but the emperor is naked!”
Jürgen Margetich
Head of Sales, bor!sgloger