The Land that Scrum Forgot

http://www.scrumalliance.org/articles/300-the-land-that-scrum-forgot

Scrum is a starting point. In fact, it’s a great starting point. But, as a framework rather than a full-blown methodology, Scrum is deliberately incomplete. Some things—such as the best technical practices to use—are left for individual teams to determine. This allows a team to create the best fit between their project and environment and an assortment of technical practices.

While that selection of practices should belong to the team or organization rather than to a group of methodologists, the benefits of some practices are becoming so compellingly obvious that they warrant consideration by any Scrum team. But, too many Scrum teams become complacent after achieving some early productivity gains with Scrum. And they stop seeking ways to improve. Many fail to try the technical practices necessary for long-term success. In the following article, Robert Martin (perhaps better known as "Uncle Bob") tells us why so many Scrum teams fail to sustain the promise of their early successes.

Bob’s article is the first in a series of articles we will publish in this newsletter. Because Scrum is a starting point with deliberate gaps to be filled by knowledgeable teams, we are looking to those outside the core Scrum community to provide advice to those of us within it. What do leading agile thinkers from outside the Scrum world think our teams need to know or do? I’ve asked a few to share their thoughts with us. And who better to start with than Bob Martin?