The Story Behind “Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions” - Agile Transformation at an Entertainment Company | Part 8
15 April 2019
Agile Workflows
The Story Behind Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions — Agile Transformation at an Entertainment Company
Scott M. Graffius, CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™, helps companies achieve their strategic objectives and business initiatives through project management leadership. A fantastic agile transformation outcome with a client organization in the entertainment industry was the inspiration for Scott's award-winning book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. This is the story behind the book—told by Scott. Identifying details have been changed and certain elements are not included.
This article is the final installment of the eight-part story. If you haven't already read the earlier parts, you can find them here:
- Part 1: The Call;
- Part 2: The Goals;
- Part 3: The Environment;
- Part 4: The Options;
- Part 5: The Pilot – Vision, Roadmap and Release Plan, and Product Backlog;
- Part 6: The Pilot – Sprint Planning and Sprint Execution; and
- Part 7: The Pilot – Sprint Review and Sprint Retrospective.
Part 8: The Success
By adopting an agile mindset and providing improved engagement, collaboration, transparency, and adaptability via Scrum's values, roles, events, and artifacts, the results were excellent. After one sprint, satisfaction ratings for the Development Team and stakeholders were higher than the target. After three sprints, the output of the Scrum Team became consistent and predictable, satisfaction increased even further, and all of the seven goals mentioned earlier were achieved. Here's an overview:
🎯 Goal 1
- Source: This goal was identified by the EVP (executive vice president)
- Desired outcome: Develop and deliver products and services faster than 6-12 months
- Result: The goal was achieved (with the agile transformation, delivery occurred as often as every two weeks)
🎯 Goal 2
- Source: This goal was identified by the EVP
- Desired outcome: Improve the satisfaction of the Scrum Team
- Result: The goal was achieved
🎯 Goal 3
- Source: This goal was identified by the EVP
- Desired outcome: Improve the satisfaction of the stakeholders
- Result: The goal was achieved
🎯 Goal 4
- Source: This goal was identified by the Scrum Team (Scrum Master, Product Owner, and the Development Team)
- Desired outcome: Meet or exceed the expectations of management
- Result: The goal was achieved
🎯 Goal 5
- Source: This goal was identified by the Scrum Team
- Desired outcome: Deliver valuable products/services
- Result: The goal was achieved
🎯 Goal 6
- Source: This goal was identified by the stakeholders
- Desired outcome: For stakeholders or their representatives to be more involved in requirements
- Result: The goal was achieved
🎯 Goal 7
- Source: This goal was identified by the stakeholders
- Desired outcome: Get useable products delivered more frequently than 6-12 months
- Result: The goal was achieved (with the agile transformation, delivery occurred as often as every two weeks)
The EVP, Scrum Team, and stakeholders declared the pilot a success and they made this implementation of Scrum the preferred approach for the development and delivery of products and services going forward.
In addition to achieving the goals summarized above, the agile transformation also supported the organization's efforts to innovate and drive their competitive advantage. It became more successful. As the business grew, so has the number of Scrum teams. Originally numbering one, the division presently has six Scrum teams.
This concludes The Story Behind Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions — Agile Transformation at an Entertainment Company. The agile transformation experience was the inspiration for Scott M. Graffius’ book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. The publication helps technical and non-technical teams develop and deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, continuous improvement, and more. It has garnered 17 first place awards and credit is shared with Chris Hare and Colin Giffen, the technical editors on the publication. Scott and Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions have been featured in Yahoo Finance, the Boston Herald, NBC WRAL, the Dallas Business Journal, the PM World Journal, Learning Solutions, Innovation Management, and additional media publications. A trailer, high-resolution images, reviews, and a detailed list of awards are in the digital media kit.
About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions
Shifting customer needs are common in today's marketplace. Businesses must be adaptive and responsive to change while delivering an exceptional customer experience to be competitive.
There are a variety of frameworks supporting the development of products and services, and most approaches fall into one of two broad categories: traditional or agile. Traditional practices such as waterfall engage sequential development, while agile involves iterative and incremental deliverables. Organizations are increasingly embracing agile to manage projects, and best meet their business needs of rapid response to change, fast delivery speed, and more.
With clear and easy to follow step-by-step instructions, Scott M. Graffius's award-winning Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions helps the reader:
- Implement and use the most popular agile framework―Scrum;
- Deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement; and
- Support innovation and drive competitive advantage.
Hailed by Literary Titan as “the book highlights the versatility of Scrum beautifully.”
Winner of 17 first place awards.
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle worldwide. Some links by country follow.
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