Scrum walks like a duck, talks like a duck — but is not a duck

Even though Scrum terminology tells you that Scrum is for product or software development only, the truth is that Scrum is a generic framework that offers “adaptive solutions for complex problems.”

Do you wonder why is a part of a subtitle in quotation marks? That’s because it is a quote from the Scrum guide, an official document on Scrum. So, even the Scrum creators think about Scrum as a generic framework. The problem is that lot of people are fooled by Scrum terminology.

Product backlog and Product owner

A Product backlog is an ordered list of all upcoming, valuable work for a group of people. A Product owner is a person who owns this list and is accountable for priorities on it.

But what if your team does not work on a product but on a service? It really doesn’t matter! Think about a “product” as something that a group of people works on. It is the same with a Product owner — they simply “own” this list.

If it’s easier for you to understand, rename it in your head as Backlog and Backlog owner.

Developers

Developers are committed to delivering something usable at least once during a sprint.

Again, the word “Developers” can mislead you into thinking it is only for software development. And again, this is wrong. It’s much better to think about it as a group of people working together towards the same goal. E.g., sales team or marketing team.

Can we call them team members? Why not? Just keep in mind that the Product owner and Scrum master are team members, too.

Getting the Scrum out of the cage

Indeed, Scrum is a versatile organizational tool to handle complex work. So, although it walks like a duck and talks like a duck — it is a “human”.

What is your next Scrum implementation?