Welcome to Scrummerfall

Let me set the scene. You’ve joined a company that has expressed a desire to move to Agile. Or perhaps, they’ve already started the journey, but aren’t yet at full adoption. You assess the situation and find: the design/UX team is running around like chickens with their heads cut off, developers are releasing code that no one else is aware of, and executives are completely in the dark.

Welcome to Scrummerfall.

Scrummerfall is the unholy love child born of scrum advocates and diehard waterfall fans. As the Product Manager, you are stuck raising said love child. You have to answer to your development team that is anxiously awaiting direction, and executives who are used to fully scoped projects. If you do not give developers direction, they will infer from previous knowledge and develop what they think you need. If you do not get executive buy-in, you risk not having a budget.

I do not envy you, my friend. I have been there and know the path in front of you. I’m sure I don’t need to point out that Scrummerfall is the worst of both Agile and Waterfall worlds. Plus, you’re already painfully aware of the chaos. But let me let you in on a little secret. All that chaos is actually good. The biggest hurdle of getting the company to agree to Agile/Scrum is already cleared. And as the person in the middle of that maelstrom, YOU actually have a large hand in shaping its future. Consider it your dues, paid in advance.