In the recent thread "Scrum in the News", Mike Cohn wrote:
> Yes, Yahoo absolutely uses Scrum on many of their projects, > with more and more moving in that direction each month.
I tried not to respond to this comment (really, I did) but after some internal debate, fueled by some off-list comments I received, I decided I could not let it slide. Quite frankly, having been a part of the initial Yahoo! Scrum effort and witnessing firsthand the sham it quickly became, this comment was seriously jarring.
Yahoo! is a command and control driven corporation, hiding behind a facade of "...Teamwork-Community-Fun", and now behind an added facade of "doing Scrum". I discussed this type of facade in an earlier post: "Is Scrum a block to Agile?" - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scrumdevelopment/message/8654 so won't go further into that here, except to say that nothing I have seen or heard of the Yahoo! Agile effort since that posting inspires me to reassess those earlier comments. Yahoo!'s software development practices are deeply flawed; they are characterized by Oppression, Fear, Arrogance and Waste, ref: http://blog.360.yahoo.com/tobiasgmayer?p=4. Saying "we are doing Scrum" does not magically change that.
I do get it, that association with companies like Microsoft, Yahoo! and Siemens helps promote Scrum to others (usually a good thing for the Scrum community) and helps to sell books (always a good thing for the authors and publishers). What concerns me here is how this community seems hell bent on heralding Scrum (and by it's association, Agile) as a success in every company that says "we're doing Scrum". If Yahoo! is being held up as a paradigm of Scrum, as a Scrum success story, then, to quote the words of a recent slash-dot commentator, "I'd hate to see a Scrum failure".
At Agile 2005 I heard a lot of talk about honesty and courage, as being fundamental Agile principles. What I feel is happening with this whole "Enterprise Scrum" movement, is the antithesis of that. Many in this community seem to be satisfied with putting the Scrum veneer on companies and walking away claiming another success. It starts to look like smoke and mirrors; it starts to smell like bullshit. We do Scrum and Agile a disservice by pretending it is enough to just "do Scrum". It isn't. Becoming Agile requires a deep cultural change: a paradigm shift. That shift may be occurring in smaller companies where there is less to lose, but it will not - it cannot - happen in big command/control organizations while those with power cling so tightly to that power. There is no true breakthrough without a preceding breakdown, and I am not convinced that any large corporation has the collective guts to undergo such a
transition.
With many consulting organizations recently jumping on the Agile bandwagon, new "Agile Specialist" companies being formed, and countless individuals offering Scrum training and competing for consulting gigs, I see Scrum looking more and more like a money-making machine, and less and less like a passion for fundamental change. But perhaps I'm just jaded. Tell me I'm wrong. I hope I'm wrong.
... I tried not to respond to this comment (really, I did) but after some internal debate, fueled by some off-list comments I received, I decided I could not...
Well-said, Mishkin. Tobias-- As you know, I've been doing training classes for Yahoo, not doing any hands-on consulting with the teams so I don't get to see...
Hi Mike, You are correct in that there have been some improvements in some teams at Yahoo! as a result of adopting Scrum. I have personally worked with teams...
It seems time to throw in my 2c worth. I agree it all depends how you term "success". We have 21 teams using Agile/Scrum at Yahoo. It's a voluntary program...
... So what would you say are the roles for managers in a company using Scrum? What are other things have you said that work? That don't work? I suppose...
... I would add energy to that list. I am a director and find that one of the things I need to do most is be the "pep talker" and cheerleader. Now you might...
Hi Carlton, I don't think there is any room at all for managers in a company practising Scrum - actually, in any company, doing anything, anywhere. Manager is...
Hi Tobias, Have you ever worked for a good manager? Clarke _____ From: scrumdevelopment@yahoogroups.com [mailto:scrumdevelopment@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of...
I've worked for good people, but the preposition changes to "with" in such cases. Tobias Clarke Ching lists <lists@...> wrote: Hi Tobias, Have you ever...
... Well, while I share some of those feelings, Tobias, there are these things to consider: 1. Even if managers are outmoded, not many companies have come to ...
Hi Ron, ... need to be managed. I work with a lot of people, including myself, and there are aspects of all of us where a little touch of management would be...
... Tobias, I don't think you could have said that any better. That's part of why I think what we're doing is much "bigger" than changing a process...we're...
Hi, As a businessman (I work for money), the idea of unmanaged geniuses is a nightmare. It's like fighting a battle with nobody in charge. As a lawyer, I never...
... Why? You said it yourself, they are geniuses, do you think they need your guidance? Highly unlikely. Do you think you know more about what they are doing?...
... guidance? Highly unlikely. Do you think you know more about what they are doing? Highly unlikely. Most of the time during 36 years, I knew better... ... ...
Hi David H., This is an interesting discussion to follow. I'm kinda conflicted because I've often in the past said that we'd be better off without managers,...
... Yes to all of the above and I do think that this is a necessity that we cannot deny. However, the problem in my eyes is that managers today start blurting...
Yes, I identify the target for you I brief you I sign for the (non-Geneva) ammo I fly you in YOU walk in YOU pull the trigger YOU walk out I fly you out I take...
... cannot deny. However, the problem in my eyes is that managers today start blurting at the "team" while they are in "battle mode". I do think it is...
... Great post Tobias. Gives me an avenue to put forth a question I've been struggling with as I move my organization over to Scrum. That is, if the answer to...
A little over a year ago, SD magazine published an article by Esther Derby and I titled, "You're Still Needed." http://tinyurl.com/ab6p5 The point being that...
... When I went on a tour of a toyota plant, they said that their plant (with hundreds of employees) is made up of teams of 6, each with a team lead. Every 20...
news.gmane.org
mr.d.poon@...
Nov 19, 2005 7:35 pm
In Japan or in the West ? ... From: scrumdevelopment@yahoogroups.com [mailto:scrumdevelopment@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of news.gmane.org Sent: Saturday,...
... In the west. Just went on a public tour. Toyota in Japan is a customer of ours, and there are interesting cultural differences when doing work for them. ...
news.gmane.org
mr.d.poon@...
Nov 20, 2005 5:08 pm
Most of the language on this thread is "tainted" by the old-school principle that any organization needs to be Pyramidal. That's maybe why we are discussing...
... practising Scrum - actually, in any company, doing anything, anywhere. Manager is an outmoded role. Good people do not need to be "managed". (If you have...
... Hash: SHA1 ... Impossible! How will the emperor maintain control without the bureaucracy? - -- Jim Hyslop Dreampossible: Better software. Simply....
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