Review for: Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time
Book By: Jeff Sutherland and J.J. Sutherland
Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time
Publisher: Crown Currency
Pages: 248
Edition: First Edition
Authors Pages:
Cost/Purchase Price:
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Who Should Read?
SCRUM: The Process of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time should be a mandatory reading for all project managers, agile project managers, tech teams, and anyone who is looking at implementing Scrum or agile project management into their organizations.
This is also a great book for PMP students since project managers today must understand agile methodologies on top of the traditional waterfall method. With the PMP now being 50% agile and 50% traditional/waterfall, you are bound to get some form of Scrum type question on the exam.
So, if you are either studying for the PMP, the PMI-ACP, or got the PMP before 2021, you need to pick up this book, give it a good read, and definitely take some notes!
Overview of Key Topics:
J.J. and Jeff Sutherland (For this review, I will refer to the authors as Sutherland or Jeff if talking about him directly) successfully explain the scrum process from front to back. Their game-changing approach and, at the time, a new system to project management in Scrum delivers both efficiency and effectiveness for project managers across the community.
Chapters one and two are a historical account of how Jeff, with Ken Schwaber, developed Scrum.
Starting with an analysis and explanation of the failure of traditional waterfall methods of project management. Through a case study surrounding the FBI and a mega-failed project, Sutherland details the issues with putting in millions of dollars of work to run over schedule and not deliver.
When Jeff took on a new project manager role in 1993, he saw the opportunity to make an overall change in project management. Knowing that the company used traditional methods, he challenged the status quo by running the program in a new way – bringing his first deliverable in early and under budget.
And Scrum was born.
Over the next six chapters, Sutherland goes into detail on each aspect of Scrum:
Teams
Time
Waste is a Crime
Plan Reality, Not Fantasy
Happiness
Priorities
Teams:
Sutherland starts with the center of the Scrum process, the small teams. In detailing the purpose behind using small, cross-functional teams, he compares the teams to those of the US Army Special Forces. Each team is small and has the following characteristics:
Small
Cross-Functional
Transparent
Autonomous
Time:
Here, work is done through “Sprint,” and these sprints are done continuously over and over again. Each sprint is a way to deliver a fully implemented feature.
The emphasis around time goes back to the team – the team needs time to work, and there is only one meeting a day between the team, The Daily Standup, which consists of only three questions:
What did you do yesterday to help the team finish the Sprint?
What will you do today to help the team finish the Sprint?
What obstacles are getting in the team’s way?
Waste is a Crime
Scrum focuses on doing things right the first time with the complete deliverable. Sutherland discusses multi-tasking and how Scrum preaches heavily against it.
Goals need to be reasonable, and the team needs to be able to determine the work, not management. Flow is the key, as Scrum should move smoothly through the process, focusing on one thing at a time, allowing for fewer interruptions and slowing down progress.
Plan Reality, Not Fantasy
Sutherland narrows into the work and understands exactly what needs to be done in each sprint through the Sprint Planning ceremony. Each sprint deliverable’s stories need to meet the “INVEST” criteria:
Independent
Negotiable
Valuable
Estimable
Small
Testable
Each Sprint should have the appropriate set of work that the team agrees with an unwavering commitment to complete. This commitment is driven by the Definition of Done and the commitment to maintain a consistent velocity across sprints – allowing the team to know how long the overall project will take.
Happiness:
The Happiness advantage is productive teams. Happy teams are more productive, and productivity comes through happiness. Teams are encouraged to measure success through transparency, honesty, and making their work visible – all factors that have proven to boost morale.
Teammates should be autonomous, allowing them the flexibility they need to reach the definition of done. This allows them to grow and improve quality, efficiency, and happiness.
Priorities:
Lastly, we have the most popular aspect of Scrum: priorities. Leaders wrestle with this concept, and Scrum tackles it through things like the Backlog.
The backlog is where the priorities are kept and monitored by the Product Owner, who decides what work should be done. They own the backlog and the priorities associated with it.
Priorities are key in Scrum; teams work in sprints to pull priorities off the backlog and into the done column. Changes, unlike in waterfall, are encouraged in Scrum as they can just be added and prioritized in the backlog.
Change the World:
In the second to the final chapter, Sutherland emphasizes the impacts Scrum has had on the world since its inception. Impacts on third-world communities in poverty and occupations within education and the government, such as the constant iterative improvement of Scrum, are becoming increasingly popular.
Sutherland shows how a dedicated team can give any organization enormous productivity in their projects. Through Scrum, fewer managers, and accountability – Sutherland believes we can have a better, more productive world.
At the end of the book, Sutherland goes through how to begin the implementation of Scrum. Less than a blueprint, it summarizes the book on the roles, ceremonies, and terms associated with Scrum.
Scrum, as seen in the quick synopsis above, is extremely practical. Avoiding a completely formal process, Scrum focuses on team interaction and the internal judicial decision-making of the team. Scrum is a team and deliverable-focused – working to provide a functional product quickly and with all the right parameters required by the customer.
What I Enjoyed About The Book:
Overall, the Scrum Book is an easy read that will just as easily end up on your bookshelf for quick reviews in the future.
I liked the breakdown in this book about how Jeff Sutherland came up with and developed Scrum throughout his career. This book goes beyond just explaining Scrum and how to use it for running your project. They give details around the origins, development, and applicability to Jeff’s work at the technology companies he worked at during this time.
The logical flow of the book allows you to understand where Scrum started to where it is today. It provides a good foundational knowledge of Scrum that would prepare any student for the Certified Scrum Master certification course.
This book truly is a must-read for project managers who want to move into agile. If you do not have an understanding of what the difference is between agile and traditional project management. This book will help you understand why people like scrum over waterfall methodologies – and why agile is growing in popularity amongst project teams.
What I Didn’t Enjoy About The Book:
As good as this book is, it did have some downsides. Jeff being a member of the introductory first scrum team with Ken Schwaber, you can feel the passion for the scrum approach as you turn the book’s pages.
Sutherland explains, in detail, the origin of Scrum through the limitation of traditional waterfall project management – something he is proud of accomplishing.
Maybe it’s me, and maybe it’s in a different book, but I would have liked to see more stats on Scrum vs. traditional projects. Also, I would have liked the authors, Jeff and J.J. Sutherland, to have provided observations where Scrum would not or has not worked.
I’m sure if you were to talk to the Sutherlands, they would agree that Scrum is not always the right fit, but the project team and organization must be flexible about which methodology they choose for their projects. If they had provided some information on this, I could have easily pumped this up to a 5-star book!
Overall Rating:
About the Author
Jeff Sutherland
(From Scrum, Inc) Scrum Inc Founder and Chairman of the Board
Jeff is the inventor and co-creator of Scrum. He is a West Point graduate, former fighter pilot, and cancer researcher. He launched the first Scrum team in 1993 and has shepherded its growth into almost every industry: finance, healthcare, higher education, and telecom. He co-authored the bestselling book Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time. His latest book is A Scrum Book: The Spirit of the Game.
J.J. Sutherland
(From Scrum, Inc) As CEO of Scrum Inc, JJ is responsible for the strategic direction of the company. He is the author of The Scrum Fieldbook: A Master Class on Accelerating Performance, Getting Results and Defining the Future, and the co-author of Best Seller, Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time.
A Scrum Inc. Trainer and leading expert in Enterprise Agility, JJ works with companies around the world to help them adapt to change, accelerate value delivery, reduce waste, and increase profit.
Before joining Scrum Inc., JJ was an award-winning Correspondent and Producer with NPR.
Other Book By Author(s)
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Software in 30 Days: How Agile Managers Beat the Odds, Delight Their Customers, and Leave Competitors in the Dust. By: Jeff Sutherland and Ken Schwaber
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First Principles in Scrum. By Jeff Sutherland
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The Power of Scrum. By Jeff Sutherland, Rini Van Solingen, and Eelco Rustenbe
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A Scrum book: The Spirit of the Game, By: Jeff Sutherland and James Coplien.
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The SCRUM FieldBook: Faster Performance. Better Results. Starting Now. By J.J. Sutherland
Link to Author Website:
Link to Author Blog:
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The Risk Blog
Thank you for checking out this book review for: Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time.
I highly recommend you pick up this book, take notes, and apply some of its contents in your daily life and projects!
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