The Sprint Process

Diagram summarizing the five ceremonies as a flow chart, with a loop from the Retrospective back to PlanningThis section and its related step sets will walk you through implementing the Full Scale agile™ version of Scrum in any type of project team.

First, I have an important bit of advice for you: Prepare for a long haul, as the American saying goes. The transition to Full Scale agile™ is like any major change in your life, such as going to college or getting married. It will take more hours, sweat, and hassle than you think it should. (I tell protégées often, “Everything takes longer than it ‘should.’”) At times you will want to give up. After you think you have FuSca™ down cold, frustrating problems will occur. After you have it down, some problems will reoccur!

But you decided to make major changes because you knew they would make your life better in the long run—that the benefits were worth the personal costs. When you get discouraged, re-read the “Benefits of Agile and Scrum” section and just keep going. Research dating back to 2007 by Angela Duckworth at the Univ. of Pennsylvania and other researchers proves that “one personal quality is shared by the most prominent leaders in every field: grit.” They explain that “grit” is “perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Grit entails working strenuously toward challenges, maintaining effort and interest over years despite failure, adversity, and plateaus in progress.”[1]

Sound like fun? Then you’ve got what it takes! Let’s get started.

↑ System | ← Gain Buy-in | → Points to Remember


[1] Duckworth, A., C. Peterson, M. Matthews, and D. Kelly (2007), “Grit: Perseverance and Passion for Long-Term Goals,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 92(6): 1087.

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