{"id":2954,"date":"2014-12-15T16:32:21","date_gmt":"2014-12-15T16:32:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cmwlab.com\/blog\/?p=2954"},"modified":"2026-01-06T13:43:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T13:43:09","slug":"scrum-beyond-software-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cmwlab.com\/blog\/scrum-beyond-software-development\/","title":{"rendered":"Scrum Beyond Software Development"},"content":{"rendered":"Scrum project management is usually associated with the software development process, but its flexible, iterative approach has been drawing interest lately from many non-IT teams.\r\n

\r\nA recent study by the Scrum Alliance revealed that 36 percent of organizations with active Scrum projects are using it outside of IT in some capacity.\r\n

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\r\n\"CMW<\/a><\/p>\r\n\"Scrum\r\nEssentially, Scrum project management (PM) is a functional subset of the overarching \u201cagile\u201d development philosophy. The term \u201cscrum\u201d was derived from the rugby play, \u201cscrummage,\u201d which is used to restart game play after an accidental infringement. This is a fitting parallel to the development of software through a series of iterative \u201csprints,\u201d bookmarked on both sides by planning meetings and retrospective meetings. It\u2019s expected that each sprint will yield a somewhat complete version of the software\u2014a \u201cpotentially shippable increment.\u201d\r\n

\r\nThe process looks like this:\r\n

    \r\n\t
  1. Product is selected from the backlog<\/li>\r\n\t
  2. Team holds a planning meeting to decide sprint goals<\/li>\r\n\t
  3. Team works through the sprint, holding daily meetings, using burndown charts to track progress<\/li>\r\n\t
  4. Team holds a sprint review meeting to analyze the current software iteration, goals accomplished, and to discuss future iterations<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nScrum borrows many traits from the Agile Manifesto, such as a premium on early delivery and customer satisfaction, simplified workflows, adaptability over prediction, and face-to-face communication.\r\n\r\n

    Alternative Scrum Use Cases<\/h2>\r\n\r\nMarketing<\/strong>\r\n

    \r\nMarketing teams can use Scrum to organize their campaigns and draw \u201cusers\u201d (readers) from the top of the funnel down toward conversion. Campaign phases can be broken apart into sprints of varying scope\u2014either dealing with the entire funnel stratum or dealing with a set of content that needs to be created. Marketing-software company HubSpot has used Scrum to achieve greater transparency and prioritization in their own campaigns. They measure their team\u2019s daily progress with a point system based on completion of \u201cUser stories\u201d with the overall aim of converting free trial users to committed customers.\r\n

    \r\nSupply Chain Optimization<\/strong>\r\n

    \r\nScrum Alliance provides a hypothetical example of how a distributorship could optimize their supply chain in their paper on alternative Scrum uses. If a company wanted to open a new warehouse, for instance, traditional PM would lay out a detailed plan replete with several hundred tasks and milestones for selecting vendors and products, negotiating contracts, and building inventory. A Scrum approach would mean breaking the work down into basic, repeatable flows that can be attacked in 1-2 week sprints (i.e. product validation, supply chain, contract, fulfillment). A \u201cpotentially shippable increment\u201d in this case, would equal completing a checklist for a selected vendor.\r\n

    \r\nManufacturing\/Prototyping <\/strong>\r\n

    \r\nWikispeed\u2019s 100 miles-per-gallon, road-legal prototype car is a great example of using Scrum to speed up design and manufacturing. Wikispeed founder Joe Justice used his 44-person team to develop a functional prototype of the car in just three months. He used weeklong sprints to produce a new iteration of the car every seven days until completion. The car tied for 10th<\/sup> place in the Progressive Insurance X competition and has been featured by Discover Channel, Popular Science, and the New York Times. Steve Denning of Forbes wrote, \u201cWikispeed has more in common with Salesforce, Google, and Twitter than with GM or Chrysler.\u201d\r\n

    \r\n*\r\n

    \r\nThese are only a few examples of the non-IT uses for Scrum. Some talk of using it for music recording, editorial work, personal productivity, and even wedding planning with event management software. If traditional PM has choked your projects in the past, and you\u2019re looking for a strategy that keeps progress organized but adapts to change and focuses on delivery, your team may be a candidate for this innovative methodology.\r\n\r\n
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