Today we begin the re-read of Fixing Your Scrum, Practical Solutions to Common Scrum Problems, by Ryan Ripley and Todd Miller, published in 2020 by The Pragmatic Programmers. I interviewed Ryan and Todd when the book first came out and they sang praise for Dawn Schanafelt who edited the book. As a point of context, I consider the front matter all of the pages numbered using small Roman numerals. In this book, there are 14 chapters, albeit a chunk of those are in the table of contents and I am not re-reading the table of contents UNLESS I am looking for advice on a specific Scrum issue. The important parts we will cover today are the Forward and a Preface. The remainder of the book consists of 14 chapters and an index covering 208 pages. This a relatively concise book; densely packed with text. I personally could have used my white space, but those that I have discussed the book with are far more sanguine on the topic.
The approach to the re-read will follow the typical chapter a week approach with a twist. I am going to group the first two chapters together. Chapter 1 is an overview of Scrum which we are going to gloss over in the re-read. That said, please take the time to refresh your memory, there are PLENTY of Scrumdamentalists that make up their own version of Scrum only to find they have to tweak the framework even further to cover the weaknesses they introduced. A quick refresh is warranted.
The Foreword is written by Steve Porter of Scrum.org. Steve makes the point that we all learn from our mistakes and the trials that we face. Todd and Ryan’s book provides advice on how to shorten many of those learning opportunities. Newly minted Scrum Masters (whoever is playing the role) need to learn by doing, inspecting, and adapting. Fixing Your Scrum provides a good starting point (remember Shu Ha Ri). More experienced agilists should view the list as a set of prescriptions that are applied when you recognize a symptom, but rather a set of recipes that can be used to hone your approach to situations. As Mr. Porter points out, the book is full of advice based on hard-won experience. Having advice will not remove the need for learning, but it will make your journey different.
The Preface lays out who the book is for, summarizes the chapters, and provides advice on using the book. The structure of the chapters is important (once past chapter 1). Most chapters are presented as a set of scenarios based on a theme. For example, Chapter 10 Sprint Planning, covers four common planning problems. In each chapter, the authors focus on a few specific items in sidebar format titled “Joe Asks” and then conclude with a section titled “Coach’s Corner.” The book is organized for use when addressing real-life scenarios. Even though we are reading it linearly, I don’t use it that way nor do I expect that you will.
Your to-dos this week:
- Buy a copy of Fixing Your Scrum, Practical Solutions to Common Scrum Problem
- Read or re-read the front matter and Chapter 1
- Listen to my interview with Todd and Ryan on SPaMCAST587
- Check out Ryan’s Podcast https://ryanripley.com/agile-for-humans/
- Have a great week!
