Quotes on Scrum and Agile Project Management
“If the team is uncertain about how to achieve the sprint goal or if experimentation or prototypes need to be done, then the sprint should be shorter. Uncertainty implies that the work eventually required for the sprint might be significantly different from what was anticipated at the start. If this is the case, it’s better to change direction after two weeks than four.”
It’s important for people to believe that openness given can lead to openness received. This openness must extend to admitting mistakes when necessary. […] When people admit to mistakes, others in a group are more apt to do so as well. It’s always better to know about mistakes earlier than later. Being open about them has the added benefit of giving critics less ammunition.
“After working for some years in the domains of large, multisite, and offshore development, we have distilled our experience and advice down to the following: Don’t’ do it.” “Scaling Lean & Agile Development – Thinking and Organizational Tools for Large-Scale Scrum”, Craig Larman & Bas Vodde, Addison -Wesley
“Behavior change happens, but it happens slowly. It may take several tries from different angles before a team changes their stand-up behavior. Be patient. Keep trying. They will change when they need to, but only if you don’t shield them from natural consequences that follow from poor stand-ups.” Reference: “Coaching Agile Teams”, Lyssa Adkins, Addison Weisley, 315 pages, IBSN 978-0-321-63770-3
“Perhaps you’ve read a book, on Extreme Programming and have decided that is the right approach for your company. Or maybe you attended a Certified ScrumMaster training course and think Scrum sounds good. Or maybe you read a book on a different agile process, and it sounds perfect for your organization. In all likelihood, you’re wrong. None of these processes as described by their originators is perfect for your organization. Any may be a good starting point, but you will need to tailor the process to more precisely fit the unique circumstances of your organization, individuals, and industry.” Reference: “Succeeding With Agile”, Mike Cohn, Addison-Wesley, 463 pages, IBSN 978-0-321-57936-3
“After working for some years in the domains of large, multisite, and offshore development, we have distilled our experience and advice down to the following: Don’t’ do it.” “Scaling Lean & Agile Development – Thinking and Organizational Tools for Large-Scale Scrum”, Craig Larman & Bas Vodde, Addison -Wesley
“Self-organizing teams are at the core of the agile management, but the concepts have become corrupted – and counterproductive – in parts of the agile community. Although self-organizing is a good term, it has, unfortunately, contingent within the agile community who encourage an anarchistic management style and have latched onto the term self-organizing because it sounds better than anarchy. As larger and larger organizations are implementing agile methods and practices, the core of what it means to be agile – an empowering organizational culture – may be lost because large organizations will reject the cultural piece of agile.” Reference: “Agile Project Management”, Jim Highsmith, Addison-Wesley, Second Edition
Scrum Expert Copyright © 2009-2025 Martinig & Associates