I'm new to Scrum and Agile but wanted to know if I could use this methodology/practice for like a general "Project Management Solution" not just development?
Pros/Cons/Suggestions?
Any FREE software available to help out with the process? Small user group, about 10
Thanks!
Any project which can be broken down into sub-tasks with measurable time frames can be driven as Scrum.
SCRUM is an iterative process, so if your project is likely to have stages that build up on previous iterations of work then it could well apply. The reason I like using SCRUM is because it allows my team to quickly and regularly produce customer ready features for our products.
Is there a specific project you had in mind? I think something like a Formula 1 team might use methods very similar to SCRUM as they're pushing out upgrades/features for their racing package every 2 weeks at a sustainable pace. This is conjecture on my part but it does give an example of a non software (in some part at least!) product that is produced iteratively and requires quick turnaround.
The core elements of Scrum are:
Elements of Scrum that I think would be useful to many projects (software or non-software):
the sprint - a short period of time where well-defined units of work are completed. At the end of each sprint you have a product that the stakeholders agree is shippable (or the work item is not considered complete). Planning at the start and Review & Retrospective at the end help ensure that the sprint does (or did) the work it's supposed to do.
the daily standup - a short meeting where everyone discusses daily status and impediments. This is meant to keep people who are producing the work product able to focus on that work instead of dealing with things that get in their way. the Scrum master is supposed to make sure that other people (ie., managers) deal with the impediments
The key benefits are that the work on the backlog can be seen at any moment, the work that people are doing is not hidden behind some 'long-range' goal, and what features/items get worked on can change drastically and very quickly in response to customer needs.
So yes, this can be applied to many types of projects, not just software.
Scrum can be applied to any project where the cost of change is not prohibitively expensive. It's advantages shine best where there are a lot of unknowns that will need to be worked out during the project. That is why it is so good for "Creative" work like software development. It doesn't work so well say to build an office tower. You can't pour a concrete foundation just-thick-enough to get the first story on and then come back and refactor it when you decide to add 60 more.
Scrum has been used for wedding planning so I guess it goes fine...
http://devblog.point2.com/2009/09/18/how-scrum-saved-my-wedding/
Managers from EATEL, a local telecommunications company, recently gave a presentation at the Baton Rouge SQL Saturday about just that. They've adopted SCRUM for all projects throughout the company. During the presentation they described how they've used SCRUM for not only software projects, but also for rolling out new sets of HD Channels and new coverage areas.
SCRUM is an iterative work management process, and as such can be applicable to work outside of just software.
Scrum is based on empirical process control model (as opposed to defined process). It is a simple inspect and adapt framework for managing complicated and complex projects (most creative processes, e.g. software development projects, are complex and this is why Waterfall, which is a defined approach, doesn't work for them1).
In other words, Scrum is well suited for projects with a lot uncertainty, not only software development projects (note that, unlike XP, Scrum isn't prescriptive about software engineering practices and this is intentional). Actually, Scrum has been used:
Regarding software to help with the process, FORGET THEM during learning/adoption phase (what the hell do people have with tools?). Don't let a tool drive your process i.e. how you should do Scrum, you want to learn Scrum, not how to use a tool. So start with the simplest thing that could possibly work: a spreadsheet and a whiteboard and post-its.
1 Applying waterfall to software development again and again and expecting it to work because, this time, you won't tolerate any change always reminds me of the following quote: "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results" --Albert Einstein
Absolutely. Lean and agile practices are even working to organize your family business if you like ;-) Think about not giving task to your children, but make them choose what they can do to support the house keeping stuff ;-) The guys from agile42 created and developed a lean management training which is for the IT as well as for other departments or branches.