Scrum Gets Things Done

Scrum is the most prominent of the Agile frameworks.  In many instances its concepts and vocabulary have become synonymous with Agile.  Why?  Because the Scrum framework brings to life all of the values and principles promoted by the Agile Manifesto.

What is Scrum?  I particularly like this description from Scrum.org:

Scrum is a simple framework for effective team collaboration on complex projects.  Scrum provides a small set of rules that create just enough structure for teams to be able to focus their innovation on solving what might otherwise be an insurmountable challenge.

Scrum is often mistaken for a method just for building products. Nothing could be further from the truth – it is a methodology whose primary objective is to get things done – first by defining “done” and then by steadily progressing the forward through short increments known as “sprints”.   Each sprint burnsdown a backlog of work until the entire project is "done".   

Other beneficial aspects of Scrum include:

•       Good planning and review

•       Agreed user stories

•       Small self-organizing teams

•       Improved communication (daily standup)

•       Better workflows and fewer bottlenecks

•       Reduced work in progress

•       Improved responsiveness

•       Measurable accomplishments

•       Shorter feedback loops

Scrum is deceptively simple, yet difficult to master.   Is Scrum the only Agile framework?  No.   The use of Kanban is also rapidly growing – giving rise to another emerging framework called Scrumban.    Stay tuned to future blogs for more on this.

I strongly believe that everyone in IT should learn about Scrum.   Let’s get things done!

The New Jayne Explains - Let's Talk About Agile, Agile SM, Lean and DevOps

For several years  now, I have been blogging about updates in the ITSM industry.   “That’s interesting, Jayne” some of my followers have recently said “But what we really want to know is what the next generation of IT and ITSM will or should look like.”   OK - I may have an opinion or two about that.

It’s taken a while, but the trends are becoming clearer.   Individuals and organizations are starting to  look at complementary frameworks, methods and movements such as DevOps, Agile, Lean, Agile Service Management® and others in order to take their IT and ITSM efforts to the next level. 

What does that mean?  Are ITSM processes no longer going to be relevant?  Of course not.  It means that we will have to  build on what we have already accomplished by doing it faster.   It means we will have to break down some pretty significant silos.  It means we will have to integrate the best of Dev and Ops’ processes, practices and vocabularies into a universal system that spans the entire IT supply chain.  It means we will have to actively reduce bottlenecks, waste and work in progress.  It means we will have to accept automation as a member of our teams.  It means that ITSM processes will have to be more agile, more lean, more “modern”.    It means we have to learn and share and assimilate all good ideas into a custom framework that specifically fits the needs of your business.  A little scary?  Perhaps.  Exciting? Definitely.

Let’s embark on this new knowledge journey together.  Some of the frameworks, methods and movements mentioned do not (yet) have definitive bodies of knowledge but good practices are starting to emerge.  I will now use Jayne Explains to share my observations, insights as well as bits and pieces about what I learn along the way.    Hopefully we can also use this blog as a forum to engage interesting discussions and help shape the future of IT learning.  ITSM Academy’s  introductory DevOps Overview course is already available with more detailed DevOps Fundamentals and Agile Service Management courses on the way.  Stay tuned.   

The future is here - welcome to NextGen ITSM®

What Does it Mean to "Be Agile"?

It seems like the term “agile” is surfacing everywhere lately.  While originally intended for software developers, the term has permeated our IT culture and become part of our vocabulary.   While the word is commonly used, do we also have a common understanding of what it means to “be agile”?  Particularly in the context of service management?

Agile is primarily a state of mind that is reflected in a set of core values and principles.  By itself, it is not a framework, standard, set of practices or methodology.  It is more of a perspective than a prescription.  Agile values are embedded  into and brought to life through approaches such as Scrum, Kanban, DevOps and Xtreme Programming.  The concepts reach way beyond software development.  Agile is now recognized to be equally relevant to other domains such as service management or business process management.

At the heart of Agile is the Agile Manifesto – the output of a set of frustrated developers in 2001 whose collective goal was to refocus their community to what really matters.    

The Agile Manifesto is supported by a set of twelve principles that further elaborate on the core values.  The Manifesto and its principles can be viewed here.

At first glance, the Agile Manifesto may seem to diminish or obsolete everything we have taught and worked so hard to achieve in service management.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The authors acknowledge that they do value the items on the right, they just value the items on the left more.  Don’t we also? 

In order to “be agile”, we may have to refocus our community too.  Refocus it to be more business-centric than it-centric.  To refuse to prize flowcharts, documentation, tools and plans over successful business outcomes.  To collaborate with our customers and ensure that we understand and are delivering ongoing value.  

Mostly, we need to do JUST ENOUGH of the items on the right to deliver the items on the left consistently.   Agile doesn't negate what we do and teach in service management, it actually lightens our load and allows us to be true business enablers.  Awesome!

What would an Agile Service Management Manifesto look like?  Here is my vision:

This is certainly not perfect. I hope it is a starting point that opens a forum for healthy discussion and collaboration.   Let's do what the developers did - agree on a set of core principles that focus on what really matters.   

ITSM Academy recognizes that being agile is and will be an important aspect of the next generation of rapid innovation.  We have created a line of training for Agile Service Management  and are introducing new Agile and DevOps courses that marry agile values and frameworks to service management practices.   We are already actively delivering Certified ScrumMaster,  Certified Process Design Engineer (CPDE) and DevOps Overview.  Coming soon:  DevOps Fundamentals  and Agile Service Management: Essentials.  Stay tuned!