The Lonely Scrum

How am I going to implement my project? Well getting my scrum certification is going to be just the start of the implementation of its practices. Where the real challenge is going to be is using scrum in the workplace. Traditionally Scrum is used by software development teams. Where I work, most of our product lines are part of a depot environment and a lot of the processes are based upon not knowing the reason the unit is not working correctly. This leads to stratification of production lines. And while the type of work if similar, there could be hundreds of different units being worked at one time all with their own process and procedure. There are use cases where Scrum is used in manufacturing plants and I can see how it can be implemented there easier than in a repair facility. One of the hurdles is, that five of the same units may be broken in five different ways. How do you break that out? can you scrum the process? the execution? What do teams look like in that sense? Would ...

For years I would always say that I was good working within a system. Whether it was in school growing up or during my time int he military, I always seemed to do when when I was working within a system. But Looking back on it all, I don't think that my strengths come from just being in a system. An established system has processes for just about every aspect of the work it is built to cover. I think that it is my ability to understand process and why processes are set the way they are that give me a leg up in a system. Give me a process or directive and it will act as both my sword and shield when it comes to executing my job. I learn it quickly and retain it for use in my day to day duties. Sometimes though process can be wielded to produce some"unintended results". I like to think of it as a "Clever use of game mechanics". I don't break the system but it can be occasionally be bent to clear a roadblock. Now wielding process on its own requires a ...

So here I am at the start of my project. It is kind of silly to think that I am beginning a project to learn a form of project management. But here we are... What is is exactly that I plan on doing here? Well if I had to do an elevator pitch to someone whom was stuck with me in an elevator, It would probably go something like this: "My senior project is to study and get my Professional Scrum Master certification. Scrum is a project management technique that I learned about last year in my 400 level Project management class. We only spent a week or two on it, but I would like to learn more. I also think it would be interesting to apply its methodologies to more traditional manufacturing/repair work, rather than software development where Scrum has quite the market share already." To properly pursue the certification, I need to hit the books and do some research into Scrum and what it takes to be a Scrum Master. There are a number of resources that out there I have had my...

My prompt for this week:  Write a journal entry that addresses your expectations for this class Where to start... This is the start (obviously) of both this blog and my senior project. I have chosen the name "The Lonely Scrum" because I am the only person in my cohort at school, as well as department at work that has any interest in looking at Scrum as a project management tool. In the case of my work, I am very likely the only one who knows Scrum exists (short of my boss who I have talked directly to about it). I hope to spend this quarter researching and studying with the hopes of getting my Professional Scrum Master (PSM) or Certified Scrum Master (CSM) certification. With it I would like to also explore how scrum could be used in more of a production / manufacturing environment. As Scrum is usually used in a software development capacity, it should be interesting to see how it can be applied to a physical product. Wish me luck!