Customer Reviews
sales pitch not information 
2008-02-08
This book is a sales pitch for agile project management, not a book on how to use it. There is chapter after chapter with the same format. 1) describe long list of problems company has, 2) implement agile 3) magic happens. There is a small amount of information on agile and how to use it.
SCRUM from ScrumMaster 
2008-01-23
As a newly appointed ScrumMaster I have chosen this title to gain overview of the methodology. The book indeed gave me basics. Examples and stories helped me to build up my own approach (and maybe to avoid some troubles). Now I run the scrum process and through its iterations I improve myself. However, it is not an in depth manual or how to" cookbook. Gaining proficiency is left on your own work experience or some of suggested training courses. For me the book was fine and I would recommend it. I am only in doubt whether the pricing is set appropriately.
Simple introduction to Scurm. 
2007-08-01
This book provides a simple introduction to Scrum. Author briefly explains basic Scrum concepts based on real life case studies. However this book is not sufficient to start practicing Scrum in real projects. You will need at least a Scrum Master training course in order to fully understand Scrum techniques.
Coming from PMI PMP background I have noticed that the author does not understand the foundations of "traditional project management". For example on page 88 he draws a Network Diagram and refers to it as to Gantt chart... He also very often mentions PERT charts as one of his painful memories from waterfall projects.
Being such an expert in software project management Ken should know that there is no PERT chart, just the PERT technique (for estimating the duration of a task). PERT chart is a name of Network Diagram, wrongly introduced by Microsoft Project. It really strikes me how many people confuse MS Project with project management.
All in all, this book is worth reading if you need a brief introduction to Scrum.
SCRUM time! 
2007-07-02
This book did an amazing job of entertaining me and pumping me up to know more about scrum. Unfortunately, i haven't been able to practice any of this stuff at work becauase i'm not the project manager. I can't wait to learn more about scrum so i bought ken's other book "Agile software development using scrum" and am reading it now. It's much of the same material just more in depth and i'm loving it as well.
5 stars for the book! i'll let you all know how the methodology is after i find out!
From Product backlog to sprint review, you see how scrum is implemented and how each Chicken plays their role to it's fullest in this book!
Learn by example 2007-06-25
This is a great book on Scrum. In a light, enjoyable series of anecdotes about real-world projects, it succeeds in communicating the deeper principles rather than just the surface-level practices.
It's a good overview of Agile, but feels a bit contrived 2008-07-17
I generally like this book, and find it's content helpful. However, the examples chosen for the book focus on "broken" situations that seem to go beyond just project management and development methodology, and demonstrate that somehow magically, Scrum saves the day.
While I like the optimism and positive-thinking these examples encourage, it doesn't match reality. When I walk into a messy, complex situation, apply Scrum, and the world doesn't turn to pink roses, I'm left wondering if I did something wrong...I'm frustrated...I'm angry...I'm confused. The examples setup an expectation of outcomes that is too high to be reached generally, and I think some examples of failures and lessons learned would have rounded out this book much better.
In the real-world, "perfection is the enemy of success" and I think that's what I find missing from this book. All of the outcomes represent a perfect implementation of Scrum to solve the problem in the example.
Good intro to Scrum 2008-05-03
Great introduction to Scrum, what situations are ripe for Scrum and examples of where it has been successful - I heartly recommend.
Our new project really benefited from this book 2008-05-03
I've been doing .NET programming for 5 and a half years now, and have practiced Agile in various degrees - all well short of what I believe Agile methodologies recommend. I have wanted to implement many more Agile methodologies, but not yet been in a manager/CTO position to ensure that these practices would be implemented.
Recently, I have been hired to do just that with a startup company. I turned to this book to help me understand the roles, meetings and project artifacts that I need to introduce to truly have an agile development environment (Scrum in particular) as our team grows.
This book really helped me to do just that, and also did it in a way that I found to be very intuitive. By relating past experiences, Ken showed me how using Scrum - in the various positions and responsibilites - moved projects forward in positive and very visible ways. I am still reading the later chapters, and still loving it.
Helps get the grasp of what scrum is 2008-03-09
I've read this book short after taking Boris Gloger training of Certified ScrumMaster. It has numerous case studies of Ken's role as ScrumMaster in several companies. I don't know if it's a good book for someone that was not trained or studied scrum at all, but for someone that already has some small background on the topic it's a very good book.
Complete overview of Scrum process 2008-03-08
I have enjoyed reading this book. The overview of Scrum is based on analysis of case studies and provides a complete vision on how to manage the software development using "art of possible". The book targets beginner as well as intermediate experienced Scrum practitioners. Being not new to the Scrum process I had several practical "How to?" questions. While answering some of them, some questions remain unanswered. The questions remaining were:
* would Scrum work when requirements are complex, and code is complex?
* Is Scrum the best method for developing complex products which comply to complex industry standards and regulations?
* What to do with defects encountered during the SPRINT? Write them into Backlog List? Etc.
* Usability of Scrum approach: The overlapping nature of Team member role implies that he analyzes requirements, architects and designs the software, tests the software, writes documentation. It is hard to find people with skills all-in-one.
I decided to take a ScrumMaster Certification Course from www.scrumalliance.org. Co-incidentally Ken Schwaber will be the speaker :D
