Scrum for the Rest of Us!: A Braintrust Field Guide - Softcover

Brian M. Rabon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1457525801 ISBN 13: 9781457525803

Publisher: Dog Ear Publishing, 2014

Synopsis

Are you... Trying to implement Scrum outside of software development? Looking for specific answers to your deepest Scrum questions? Wanting modern advice that will benefit your organization?

Scrum For The Rest Of US offers practical advice, questions and answers, and tips that will help you avoid costly mistakes with Scrum. Don't waste hours searching the web, reading references that are outdated, when you can have everything that you need in a single guide. 

It's THE first book written specifically for anyone interested in Scrum outside of the software development industry. Regardless of what field you are in, this book specifically points out areas that may challenge you and your organization with adopting Scrum.

Perhaps you are new to Agile/Scrum, have heard a few buzzwords, but the core concepts are not familiar yet. Perhaps you are an Agile/Scrum veteran who wants to avoid roadblocks or improve implementation. Regardless of where you are on your path to mastery, this book is intended to help you maximize the benefits of Scrum. 

What you'll find in this book:      

• When and why to use Scrum
• In-depth coverage of the roles, meetings, and artifacts in Scrum
•  Clear answers to frequently asked questions
• Common pitfalls and how to avoid them
• Practical case studies and examples
• Tips and tricks for maximizing success
• Full glossary of terms and definitions

What you won't find in this book:      

• Technobabble and industry jargon
•  Software references
• Boring charts and meaningless statistics

About this title

About the Author

Brian M. Rabon, CST, PMP is an IT professional with over 16 years of industry experience. Brian holds a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science from Auburn University and a Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Information Engineering and Management program.

Brian is President of The Braintrust Consulting Group, a worldwide leader in Agile transformations. Through practical, hands-on training and enterprise and Team coaching, Brian helps his clients learn, plan, and implement Agile processes, such as Scrum and Kanban. His goal is to teach his clients how to increase predictability of delivery, decrease time-to-market, and improve overall client satisfaction.

When not in the classroom, Brian can be found around the globe evangelizing the benefits of Agile to the likes of conferences such as Agile 20XX, the Project Management Institute's (PMI) many Chapter symposiums and professional development days, and the Scrum Alliance's Scrum Gatherings. Brian is a founding member of Agile Birmingham, a current member of PMI Northern Utah Chapter, and a professional member of the National Speakers Association (NSA).

Brian does laundry in Salt Lake City, UT where he ocassional sees his beautiful wife, Elizabeth, and their miniature schnauzer, Madison. Brian occasionally finds time to enjoy his summer passion of relaxing at the beach and his winter passion of snow skiing.

From the Back Cover

They say that knowledge is the great equalizer. That's true, but having a base level understanding of Scrum is just the start. There is so much more to learn along your journey. Some things you can pick up from reading, others will need to be learned from experience. I highly encourage you to go out there and practice Scrum. Don't be afraid to mess it up - experiment, play, and, most importantly, have fun!

I truly hope this book helps you in your noble quest to improve your life and those around you. My personal slogan is, "Passionately helping others grow". I hope you felt my passion come through in these pages and hope my passion is contagious. Go out there and make something happen, fight the good fight, and never give up hope for a better tomorrow!

From the Inside Flap

There is a saying "it takes a village to raise a child"; that is particularly true for the development of our company, Braintrust, and this book. You wouldn't be reading this book today if it wasn't for the efforts (more like blood, sweat, and tears) of many wonderful individuals. I dedicate this book to the entire Braintrust Team and to our supporters:

• Kate and Dan, my business partners. Thank you for being there for me every day. Even when times get tough, I always know you have my back.
• John, Lonnie, and Erick for helping delight our clients and transform so many organizations
• Kristyn and Scott for helping us define our sales voice and providing such great service to our customers
• Kim and Tess for supporting all of us while in the field
• My Agile/Scrum mentors--Dave, Jimi, Lyssa, Michele, and Tom--thank you so very much for helping me when I needed it most
• Paul McGuire for helping me get this book started
• My business mentor, Dale--if it wasn't for you pushing me out of the nest, I wouldn't have founded Braintrust
• My family--Mom (Judy), Dad (Charles), Jonathan, Megan, and Adam
• My wife, Elizabeth, my greatest supporter and lifelong friend and confidant (I LOVE YOU "E"!)

Before this group of talented individuals got hold of my manuscript, it was full of typos, bad grammar, and lots of hard to read sentences. A special thank you to the following people who gave their time to make this a better book: Darlena Battle, Sarenna "Cocoa B" Benjamin, Jeffrey "Jeff" Van Brunt, Balagee Govindan, Mark Kilby, Paxton Lamons, Stephen Maldony, Fred Mastropasqua, Lynn Mettler, John Miller, Jill Moller, John Pruitt, Jerry Rajamoney, Marat Rikelman, Thomas Soltau, John Stenbeck, Ken Sawyer, and Andrew Webster. You guys rock. Thank you so very much!

A special thanks to my professional editor, Lauren Mix, for putting the final polish on this book.

Last, but not least, I dedicate this book to all of you who are in the trenches every day struggling to make things better at your organization. Please never give up or stop fighting the good fight. You can do it!

Edition details

• Publisher: Dog Ear Publishing
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1457525801
• ISBN 13: 9781457525803
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 92