Scrum – a methodology used in software development to make sure the important stuff gets done with a focus on continuous process improvement. Agile, Scrum, Backlog, Artifacts, Sprint, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, and Sprint Retrospect… all words that are commonly used in Scrum based software development, but are mostly foreign to everyone else because no one thinks they can apply to other areas of our lives, i.e. Hiking and Home… until now. Below are these Scrum words with a short definition and examples of how they can be applied in your daily Hiking and Home life.
Agile: being flexible and able to adapt to changes. In Hiking; it’s the ability to change routes or speed based on the weather or team member conditions. At home; it’s keeping a flexible open mindset when you have plans with family, projects, trips, etc.
Scrum: a Rugby term for when a team locks arms to move as a group down the field with the football. In Hiking; it’s moving together in unison as a team, keeping a pace that keeps everyone together. At Home: it’s moving together with the same goals, plans, priorities. So, may I ask you: “Are you being Scrum today?”
Backlog: a list of things to get done. In Hiking; it’s the hikes you want to do, the 14’ers you want to climb, the new routes to explore. At Home; it’s the books you want to read, the house projects you want to get done, the trips you want to take. The Backlog should never be completed; it’s your dreams, goals, things you want to do in your life.
Artifacts: items understood by everyone that are used to get the Sprint done. In Hiking; it’s the trail maps, weather reports, trail conditions. At Home; it’s the paint colors, a garden layout plan, maps. The key here is that everyone understands the artifacts being used, so everyone is in agreement.
Sprint: the set time to get something done. In Hiking: it’s the time the hike needs to be done by. At home, it’s the time determined to be finished with your project on a Saturday. So, you can be Agile during the Sprint and adjust things, but if one thing is added, you may need to remove another item, so you can still be done by the set time. I.e., “Let’s explore that new canyon, but we may need to skip another part or a summit, so we get off the trail before dark” or “Yes, we can finish cleaning up the rest of the garage, but the back-deck clean-up will have to wait for another Sprint.”
Daily Scrum: A 15-minute meeting to discuss: what got done, what will be done today, and are there any impediments that will prevent me from meeting the goal. In Hiking; it’s a review of your monthly hiking goals. At home; it should be the first 15 minutes you use to plan your day: what did I get done yesterday, what are my plans for the day, and what impediments am I going to face that will be hindering me.
Sprint Review: A review at the end of the Spring to discuss what you got done during the Sprint. In Hiking; it’s a discussion of the trail taken, did we accomplish everything we wanted see, i.e. did we fail to summit, so we need to add that 14’er back onto the Backlog. At Home: it’s a review of what got completed in the Sprint project, i.e., the crown molding looks great, but we need to add “filling in the nail holes” to the Backlog.
Sprint Retrospect: A review of the what worked or didn’t work during the Sprint. In Hiking; did we have the latest weather report, did we know a stream was going to be at flood stage, did we have the proper hiking gear. At Home; it’s deciding that we should call and get buried utilities marked before we plant more trees and bushes.
Living the Agile and Scrum life is all about being flexible and putting guidelines in place to help you get the important things done on a daily basic. It’s taking the time to make sure everyone is in alignment on goals and doing reviews/retrospects to strive for CONTINUOUS improvements in your daily activities.
Al Andersen 