Working in an Agile / SCRUM environment

N2IT

This is the first job I have actually worked in a true agile Scrum environment and from what I have seen it has been amazing. Our "product owner" AKA program manager a few months back held essentially a kickoff meeting but this meeting was facilitated by our product owner but was driven by the team. We came up with a about 10 product improvement ideas. Well I thought this was going to be your run of the mill consolidated list which would eventually find its way into a trash can or somewhere out of site. I couldn't be more wrong. The nominal group actually drove the product. Executive management didn't interfere they only require updates and direction. In fact the SCRUM team actually had a direct impact on the product. It was great I couldn't believe it. Of course customer requirements were leveraged and analyzed but at the end of the day the team is what made the decision and the program manager allowed this. They question and all the other things a manager would do but product is moving in a direction that is already yielding results. Executive staffs and managers who pretend to know it all are failing to organization. I am forever entrenched in this framework. If you have a chance to work in this type of team do yourself a favor and go for it. Wow it's impressive and (realistic)

hellolin

I had to do scrum when I first came into my school as a junior, and I had never did any software development. The whole scrum idea is great as it takes IT projects by how IT is done: Object oriented instead of subjectively manage it like the rest of the world does it. If you have time, read the book "Essential scrum", I had to read it very quick in my short 3 month class in order to be the product owner for my team, well the scrum master is the one who really does the dirty work, as the product owner severs as the direct connection between the customer and the team.

CCNTrainee

FYI, IT Masters have a free class based on Agile / SCRUM environment this month...

N2IT

Thanks a lot for chiming in. I wish more of my day was spent on the team but hopefully moving forward that will happen.