Have you ever dreamed of doing twice the work in half the time?  Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time by Jeff Sutherland seeks to address that question.  The origin of Scrum comes from Rugby and it emphasizes “. . . careful alignment, unity of purpose, and clarity of goal . . .” (p. 8).

Scrum made its debut in software development as an iterative and incremental  method for managing product development.  The development team works as a unit to reach a common goal and realizes that the traditional, sequential approach is unrealistic since end users are prone to change their minds about what they want. Scrum acknowledges that the problem cannot be fully understood at the onset so it focuses on the team’s ability to deliver a product quickly and respond to emerging requirements.

“Scrum is based on a simple idea:  whenever you start a project, why not regularly check-in, see if what you’re doing is heading in the right direction, and if it’s actually what people want?”  (p. 9).   The author provides several examples how Scrum was used to cut costs and complete the project on time or early.  He references articles from the academic community citing the efficacy of Scrum.  He also shows how the OODA (observe, orient, decide, and act) loop , developed and by fighter pilot John Boyd, incorporates the basic principles of Scrum (p. 185):

Sutherland shows how the principles of Scrum are applicable to education, government, business, and even remodeling a home.  The book contains a helpful appendix presenting an overview of Scrum methodology:

If you work on detailed projects that involve others then you may find Scrum a helpful resource to enhance your productivity.  (I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review).

Associate Pastor – Discipleship.  The Church at LifePark

Professor of Discipleship, Columbia International University

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