Succeed with Scrum in Even the Largest, Most Complex Distributed Development Projects

This is the first comprehensive, practical guide for Scrum

practitioners working in large-scale distributed environments. Written

by three of IBM’s leading Scrum practitioners–in close collaboration

with the IBM QSE Scrum Community of more than 1000 members

worldwide–this book offers specific, actionable guidance for everyone

who wants to succeed with Scrum in the enterprise.

Readers will follow a journey through the lifecycle of a distributed

Scrum project, from envisioning products and setting up teams to

preparing for Sprint planning and running retrospectives. Each chapter

presents a baseline drawn from “conventional” Scrum, then discusses

additional issues faced by distributed teams, and presents specific

best-practice solutions, alternatives, and tips the authors have

identified through hard, empirical experience.

Using real-world examples, the book demonstrates how to apply key

Scrum practices, such as look-ahead planning in geographically

distributed environments. Readers will also gain valuable new insights

into the agile management of complex problem and technical domains.

Elizabeth Woodward is a Senior Software Consultant with IBM Quality

Software Engineering under the Corporate Headquarters Office of

Innovation and Technology. She has served as the project manager or

development leader on more than 100 globally distributed projects for

IBM and other development companies. Elizabeth coaches distributed

software development teams to improve efficiency and effectiveness of

their development practices. She has co-chaired the IBM Academy of

Technology Conference on Agile Methods, teaches courses on Disciplined

Agile Development, and co-leads the IBM Agile Community.

Steffan Surdek is a User Experience Lead and Agile Champion in IBM.

He has worked in the software development industry for over fifteen

years as a software developer, architect, project manager, and team

leader. Steffan has managed and coordinated large-scale projects with

teams distributed in as many as five countries–India, Egypt, Israel,

China, and Canada. He coaches distributed agile teams, is a co-leader of

the IBM Agile Community, and teaches Disciplined Agile Development

workshops. He is an active member of the Montreal Agile Community and

has written on agile methods and globally distributed development for

developerWorks and Dr. Dobbs Journal. In his spare time, he does some

writing on his website at www.surdek.ca.

Matthew Ganis is an IBM Senior Technical Staff Member and ibm.com

site architect. Matt was was co-founder of the Agile@IBM Community and

was an early adopter of agile within IBM. He currently teaches

Disciplined Agile Development and has published numerous articles and

papers on the use of agile methods within ibm.com–both within its

traditional web development and the development/support of their Second

Life Island. Matt has been the co-chair and chair of the Academy of

Technology’s Agile Conferences for the past two years and is a Certified

Scrum- Master and Practitioner. Outside of IBM, Matt serves on the

editorial board of the International Journal of Agile and Extreme

Software Development and is a steering committee member of New York

City’s Agile Project Leadership Network (APLN) chapter.