A Practical Guide to the Most Popular Agile Process (Addison-Wesley Signature Series (Cohn))

Failed several times to manage weekend engineering projects for financial rewards. For the first time I'm seeing rapid R&D with just two days out of the week commitment. Great book. Scrum does work!!!

This book provides a good overview of Scrum principles. It is an easy read, I managed to make it through the whole book in about 3 or 4 sittings. My only issue with the book is that it is a little dated and it would be better if it had an in depth discussion of modern software tools for running Scrum. But I guess that will be in the next release.

Here is some Particle Hands ON advice for scrum. The writing is clear and concise and covers all the essentials at exactly the right depth for the scrum master, product owner and other key roles. This is a foundation book for all practitioners with great references to good books that do deeper dives, i.e. Ester Dreby on Retrospectives.

I first met Kenny Rubin when I attended his course, Certified Scrum Master Training, in late August, early September of 2011. That course was a fresh start for me. With 30 years of information technology experience under my belt, Scrum resonated deeply with me and provided a new spark of passion and enthusiasm for my IT career that I could have only dreamed of a short time ago. This book is the textbook that I was looking for that course, but it's also much more. Kenny Rubin has, in a 4-part book, given us a roadmap that describes the Land of Scrum, and then shown us all the major highways and byways that traverse the landscape.

Based on my recent, personal experience as a Scrum Master, this book has become an indispensable roadmap and companion for my Scrum journey. I've read it from cover-to-cover, and was able to, within a 5-week window, develop and prioritize a product backlog with our product owner and a new development team, plan and execute our first sprint, and begin developing a "potentially shippable product increment" using the Agile framework described in Kenny's book in a timeframe that no other methodology has been capable of. The events unfolded just-in-time and the timing of each step and the parallel support from the book was impeccable.

In the Introduction (Chapter 1), Kenny uses the Cynefin complexity model to describe the situations in which Scrum can be applied, and whether or not it makes sense to do so. This is immensely helpful up front to decide where you find yourself, and then, how to apply the material to bring success to your efforts. It's refreshing to read a book that tells you when NOT to use what's being described. When I read, "Scrum is not a silver bullet or a magic cure," I knew that the book would be useful to me and a realistic resource rather than a one-size-fits-all pitch.

The book is organized into four parts. Part I, "Core Concepts" (Chapters 2-8), gives the lay of the land. It would be worth buying the book for Kenny's definitions, terminology, and description of the mindset that makes up Scrum. It provides the orientation to the landscape, the major landmarks, and "true north" for the Scrum framework. Part II, "Roles," (Chapters 9-13) describes who you are likely to run into along the way as you travel around in the land of Scrum. Your enjoyment and application of the scrum principles will be more satisfying when you know who should be doing what, and the reasons behind the activity. Part III, "Planning," (Chapters 14-18) is the "trip planning" portion of your time spent touring around Scrum. Part IV, "Sprinting" (Chapters 19-22) is like the daily itinerary for your two-week trip in the Land of Scrum. Both Parts III and IV describe how the people playing the various Scrum roles apply the core concepts to deliver the business value sought by those using this framework.

The diagrams in the book are plentiful and clearly (and uniquely) capture the essence of the terms and narrative in a clean, uncluttered, and concise way. (The figures remind me of the Duplo toys my kids grew up playing with.) I have posted several of these in our Scrum team room for reference, and have been able to leverage them to great advantage in our working discussions. They build on themselves throughout the book so that by the time you reach the planning section of the text, you'll have a complete, graphical depiction of a Scrum cycle. I have used the Scrum framework (context) diagram (for example, see Figure 2.3) as the basis for presentations in my organization to not only describe my team's progress, but also to advocate for the adoption of Agile development.

If you're new to Scrum and want a birds-eye flyover of the landscape, Chapter Two, "Scrum Framework," is an excellent way to get grounded. Kenny defines and describes all of the key topics in a simple fashion so that the language of Scrum and its mechanics can be understood: the Scrum roles, activities and artifacts. Chapter Three, "Agile Principles," is particularly useful for teams and companies that are in the process of adopting Agile for their development method, and are familiar with the waterfall (plan-driven) style of development.

For example, the principles of Agile become clearer when compared to the classic, legacy style of development that so many of us cut our teeth on. One foundational section, "Prediction and Adaptation" (p. 37) is especially useful to understand the Agile mindset of keeping your options open. In the rest of Part I, you'll learn about: sprints and why a good definition of done is so important, user stories and what they have in common with and how they're different from requirements, the product backlog which following the metaphor, is like a fueling station for the vehicle you're driving around in the land of Scrum, estimation and velocity, your compass for your travels in Scrum, and technical debt, the extra weight, disrepair and drag that slows down our trip.

In Part II, Chapter 10, "ScrumMaster," what I read was particularly useful to me as a new one of these. Though the responsibilities of this role are a bit daunting, Kenny's description afforded the right perspective. An example of this balance comes in the section in which he describes being an agile coach for the scrum team. If a member faces a problem that they can solve, the ScrumMaster's attitude is, "I'm not here to solve the problems for you; instead, I'm here to help you solve your own problems." (By the way, "If the problem is an impediment that the team can't resolve, the ScrumMaster takes ownership of getting it resolved.")

If you're a product owner, member of the development team, or manager, the rest of Part II contains similar gems and pearls of wisdom to understand the part you play on the scrum team and that, to use a Jim Collins construct, you're one of the "right people on the bus."

To adopt the mindset of agile planning, I strongly recommend a read of Chapter 14, "Scrum Planning Principles" in Part III. I say this because this is one of the areas in which Scrum practitioners take the most grief from its opponents. The argument goes that agile methodology doesn't, can't or won't fit in to their organization because there's no planning involved. Kenny dispels this rumor by masterfully articulating the Zen of agile planning. I can best sum this up by citing a passage on page 248, "When developing using Scrum, we don't believe we can get it right up front, so we don't try to produce all of the planning artifacts up front." Simply put, this calls out the "elephant in the room belief" held by dogmatists of the waterfall approach that massive Gantt charts can't possibly be wrong because they're so detailed.

The rest of Part III is further support that Scrum development leverages the right kind of planning across all levels and timeframes of the product development lifecycle. Figure 15.1 on page 257 is an excellent illustration of these levels (and the description in the following pages). It shows that Scrum planning happens from the point of view of a strategy, a portfolio, a product, a release, a sprint, and down to the daily activities of the development team.
One of the areas that I was confused by when first learning about Scrum was where the actually tasks were parked. There didn't seem to be much, if any, discussion about them, and my waterfall bias rendered the expectation that no real work could be done in a scrum until the tasks were defined and assigned. I discovered, by reading in Chapter 19, "Sprint Planning" that task planning in Scrum terms defined by Kenny is called, "Acquiring Confidence." Because the development team is empowered to commit to the goal of a sprint, it's imperative that they do so with a high degree of confidence.

Often, in plan-driven development, a pile of tasks are assigned to (unloaded on) a developer without much discussion of the precision of the estimates of how long someone thinks it might take to complete the task, or with minimal regard to their current capacity. In Scrum (described on page 344), the development team breaks down "the product backlog items down into the tasks that are required to complete them to the Scrum team's agreed-upon definition of done." Because of the development team's participation in the definition and sizing of the User Stories (see "Planning Poker," Chapter 7, page 129), the work to be done, a developer's commitment to an estimate of a task's duration is much stronger, even if the estimate is wrong. Kenny paints this value quite well.

Chapters 20, "Sprint Execution," 21, "Sprint Review," and 22, "Sprint Retrospective," round out Part IV of the book. These chapters, respectively, are analogous (if you stretch the landscape metaphor) to the current Interstate being traveled, a new car showroom, and a rest area for motorists along the way. Kenny provides the key signposts to watch for along the way to ensure that your sprints go as much according to plan as possible, and avoid unnecessary hazards and detours.

In Chapter 23, "The Path Forward," Kenny concludes the book with some gourmet food for thought. Our desire when adopting something new is usually to find a pattern or template that we can copy and follow thus avoiding known hazards. We try to find those "best practices" like wild game, and shoot it, dress it and can it for later consumption. Kenny points out the latitude that exists when undertaking to use Scrum eliminates that need. On page 396 he writes, "Throughout this book I have used the term practice to mean a core or essential aspect of Scrum. An approach is a particular implementation of a Scrum practice. When people ask me about best practices, I take that to mean best approaches." Later he writes, "Approaches, therefore, are unique to each team..."

I highly recommend this book! I read the Kindle version from the store on my iPad using the Kindle app, and made extensive use of the digital highlighter, and captured several notes. It won't make you a seasoned expert on Scrum: that comes with time and experience. What it will do is provide a well thought out and insightful map with which you can start your journey in the Land of Scrum.

"Essential Scrum" is a must have book for any Agilist serious about their knowledge and skills. The book starts off with "why Scrum" and where not to use Scrum framework. In subsequent chapters Kenny has done outstanding job of outlining core concepts, roles, multilevel planning and sprint execution. This book is perfect for people who are just starting out their Agile journey and it also works great for Agilists who have been playing for years. Read it front to back or pick any chapter of your choice, this book is sure to generate insights and action steps for novices and experienced Agilists alike.

Meeta Vyas

This presents the whys of Agile but also manages to get to the practical day-to-day, nuts-and-bolts like nothing else I've picked up. It covers scaling from very small to to very large, gives pros and cons with different approaches without being overly dogmatic. There are some lean influences here, which is good. It hits the portfolio and program level planning and execution very well. It is my go to reference.

Agile is relatively new but this is lacking on true detail and data. I believe this could be greatly condensed for folks that will be participating in scrum and the additional data could be used to help individuals decide whether scrum is right for them.

I have a long workday commute via bus & subway, so I try to find kindle books that will help me on the job, to put my transit time to best possible use. I also like books that are not so cerebrally intensive that they can be read during the normal distractions that occur with public transit. This book was perfect for me--I'm new to Scrum, my team uses it, and the book provided useful reading that I could absorb during my commutes. It's pretty clear that the author is trying to give all the useful Scrum information he knows (a considerable amount) in order to maximize the book's value for the reader, and he also provides the information in an organized way that readers will benefit most from. There is some degree of repetition within the book, concepts in one chapter carry over in a different setting to others, but much of it I would say help enforces the principles of Scrum while you're reading.

The Kindle version text is formatted quite nicely, the diagrams/pictures all look good, however you usually will need to use your Kindle's image enlargement feature for diagrams you wish to read through closely. I have no regrets in choosing the digital over the paper version.

I did find distracting the author's seemingly uniform (100%) usage of "she" and "her" throughout the book whenever referring to a generic developer or manager ("The Scrum Leader can optimize her meetings by...", "The developer can use her task list...") I can understand splitting it 50/50 between "she" and "he", but whatever philosophical objections about using "he" ("developers can be female too!") occur likewise by using "she" all the time, and actually is even worse, because a solid majority of most development teams are, in fact, male.

I expected an excellent framework for agile product development (and got it), yet this book goes farther... it provides methods/attributes of leadership that are critical to Scrum success, are highly productive and leverage knowledge of the development team. It's great for managers and anyone with vested interest in getting results from highly creative teams.

Essential Scrum: A Practical Guide to the Most Popular Agile Process (Addison-Wesley Signature Series (Cohn))I had working on Scrum for a couple of years and was now about to drive an AGILE initiative and train a very large number of sw developers/product owners/facilitators in Scrum for one of the worlds largest embedded infotainment Automotive suppliers. I was guided by one of the father figures of Agile to talk with Ken Rubin author of Essential Scrum. I grabbed the book and read it, immediately hooked by the visual language. I am a visual learner and working with teams form North America, Europe, India and Japan know that a visual language really makes life easier. So much can be lost in translation. After reading the book, and reading parts of it almost every day I contacted Ken and asked him to train my first group. He is an amazing author and an amazing trainer. I sat through the scrum master training and got 34 of 35 on the certification test (dumb mistake by me - not a result of poor training).

The visual language is a large part of the books uniqueness. It is the No.1 book on Scrum in my opinion. A must read.

Ken writes elegantly and makes is point eloquently. If you plan to take on Scrum. Essential Scrum is Essential.

Awesome job Ken. 12 out of 10.

This is an extremely thorough and well thought out book about the Agile process of Scrum. I highly recommend it to anyone that wants to gain a practical understanding of this method of software development management.

This is an extremely thorough and well thought out book about the Agile process of Scrum. I highly recommend it to anyone that wants to gain a practical understanding of this method of software development management.

This book arrived at the perfect time. Although Scrum began as a simple framework, over the last ten years it has evolved and morphed. As a ScrumMaster, Scrum Coach and Trainer, I've seen an increasing number of teams practicing Scrum differently (especially lately). These differences include teams that no longer practice some parts of the original framework (or practice these original elements differently), as well as teams that have incorporated practices into their Scrum implementations that were not part of the original framework. For example practices from other disciplines have found their way into Scrum, complimenting it well. Examples would include adoption of "user stories" and "test-driven development" (TDD) from eXtreme Programming (XP), neither of which occupied the original Scrum framework but are commonly practiced as part of Scrum today.

To make things more complicated, Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland (the original "co-inventors" of Scrum) have published "The Scrum Guide", which they call the "official body of Scrum knowledge". They also modify this guide from time to time, maintaining that it is the source document that defines the "official rules" of Scrum (i.e., if you aren't following these rules, you are not doing Scrum). In July 2011, "The Scrum Guide" was revised to make significant changes to the original Scrum framework. For example, "release planning" and the "burndown charts" for product and backlog are no longer part of Scrum. One of the more significant changes was eliminating the "commit to scope" that traditionally results from sprint planning, replacing the former "commitment" with a "forecast". Other significant changes were made (and continue to be made) as well.

In Mike Cohn's blog on 6/28/12 ("The Rules vs. The Generally Accepted Practices of Scrum"), Mike completely justities continuing the practices eliminated in "The Scrum Guide" (without specifically referring to the guide) if the those practices fulfill the definition of a "GASP" (Mike's term):

"A Generally Accepted Scrum Practice (GASP) is an activity performed by many, but not necessarily all, Scrum teams. A team that does not perform the practice can still be considered to be doing Scrum...In contrast to a GASP, a rule is an inviolable thing that if a team isn't doing, they aren't doing Scrum."

Here's where Kenny's book really comes through...

Kenny covers every element of the Scrum framework (from the early days through "The Scrum Guide" changes) that provide value to Scrum and should continue to be practiced. Kenny's discussion of a "forecast" vs. "commitment", for example, makes sense of both concepts by describing how teams can benefit from having the forecast drive a commitment (which further drives the sprint "goal", especially if the goal includes specific sprint backlog items as part of the team commitment).

In addition to covering the core elements of the Scrum framework (from its inception), he also covers certain elements of Scrum adopted from other practices (e.g., "user stories" and "TDD" from XP, etc.). Kenny also describes some Scrum practices occurring today for the first time in sufficient detail. For instance, his description (with examples) of "cross-cluster collaboration" (where multiple teams resolve issues without the need for outside coordination by project managers or others) helped me to finally complete an article that was just accepted for publication by the Scrum Alliance. Kenny's book is also completely consistent with the "Learning Objectives" published by the Scrum Alliance for Certified Scrum Trainers for use in their curriculum for the Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) course. That is to say that Kenny's book covers all of the parts of the Scrum framework required to be taught by a Certified Scrum Trainer (CST) in a Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) class. This alone is good validation.

I now refer to "Essential Scrum" so often that it has become the most dog-eared book I own (although it's almost the newest). If only as a source of Scrum "best practices", this book is a must for anyone in an organization practicing Scrum (especially for ScrumMasters, Product Owners and the Development Team). Scrum Coaches will really benefit from this book as well (for example when dealing with teams that are not staying the course with Scrum this book serves as the perfect "official" referee on points of Scrum procedure).

I pity anyone that intends to publish a book on Scrum in the near future (this act will be impossible to follow for a very long time!).

One of the best written and easy to relate technical books I have read in my 30 years in information technology. As a healthcare CIO, I wish the majority of healthcare software companies had utilized the precepts and detail related in this book, it would be a better world in healthcare IT

This book is a testament to a business buzz word, i.e. scrum or agile, gone awry. Scrum is a iterative process to develop new products with a clear vision, constant feedback, and the ability to adjust on the fly before its too late. Apparently that process is so complicated the author needs 500 pages in what are seemingly random thoughts compiled over his career. Do not waste your money. Instead, read "The Scrum Guide" by Ken Schwaber and "The New Product Development Game" by Hirotaka Takeuchi, both of which are free and both of which are heavily referenced in this book. This author has taken a very simple, straightforward concept and butchered it.

overly verbose, I felt giddy reviewing just couple pages. there is no meat in it. It was totally a waste of money for me. There are so many excellent articles people have shared online directly taken from their experiences be it expanding on agile and scrum values, servant leadership, team empowerment and self- organization. it is available free online if you want to gain in-depth knowledge in specific areas. Otherwise, Scrum Study SBOK covers everything beautifully and individual knowledge comes from experience and basic common sense. You don't need to hundred books to reiterate the same thing. that has already been covered in 100+ pages SBOK

I went through every single word of the book with a group of people in the book club. Personally I do not like it very much. It does not address most of the critical issues in the development process. Maybe it is not the author's false. It might be the Scrum process itself.

This book's title Essentials Scrum: A Practical Guide to the Most Popular Agile Process, is a perfect description of what this book is. It covers every essential that you need to know about the scrum process, and the book is written to every role in the scrum process.

After a nice introductory chapter to Scrum, which includes the history of how Scrum came to be, the book breaks down into four parts. They include Core Concepts, Roles, Planning, and Sprinting. I have listed each part below along with the chapters found in each one.

Chapter 1. Introduction

Part I. Core Concepts
Chapter 2. Scrum Framework
Chapter 3. Agile Principles
Chapter 4. Sprints
Chapter 5. Requirements and User Stories
Chapter 6. Product Backlog
Chapter 7. Estimation and Velocity
Chapter 8. Technical Debt

Part II. Roles
Chapter 9. Product Owner
Chapter 10. ScrumMaster
Chapter 11. Development Team
Chapter 12. Scrum Team Structures
Chapter 13. Managers

Part III. Planning
Chapter 14. Scrum Planning Principles
Chapter 15. Multilevel Planning
Chapter 16. Portfolio Planning
Chapter 17. Envisioning (Product Planning)
Chapter 18. Release Planning (Longer-Term Planning)

Part IV. Sprinting
Chapter 19. Sprint Planning
Chapter 20. Sprint Execution
Chapter 21. Sprint Review
Chapter 22. Sprint Retrospective
Chapter 23. The Path Forward

The author's advice on when to use Scrum is a refreshing one. He is not one of the many Scrum zealots, mindlessly regurgitating Scrum mantras. He gives a nice overview of where Scrum works and where it doesn't in the introduction of the book. He also presents a realistic view on how difficult Scrum is. Scrum is not easy and the author makes that very clear.

One of the coolest parts of this book is the visual icon language used to create the diagrams. The diagrams in this book are some of the best I've ever seen. They really help to put the topic being covered with words into a visual context for better understanding.

The author's writing style is great, which makes the book an enjoyable read. Along with the visual icon language I would have to say this is the most descriptive book about Scrum I have read. Meaning the ideas were really drilled home in a very clear way.

The chapter on agile principles is great. The author really does a great job of comparing agile practice to plan driven practices and highlighting the difference. By the end of this chapter you have a great understand of the "why" agile practices are done and how Scrum implements them.

I was also glad to see the chapters on Multilevel Planning , Portfolio Planning, Envisioning, and Release Planning. When it comes to explaining how Scrum fits into the rest of the enterprise, many of the Scrum books I have read have a short blurb on Scrum of Scrums, and then move on back into topics only suited for small team development. These chapters take Scrum beyond small team development.

I like that the book has a really nice glossary for quick look ups of buzz words that may be new to you.

If you have to pick just one Scrum book, make this one your pick. If you are looking to learn Scrum, definitely start here. If you are a Scrum Master, this is the book to take your team through during training.

Ken Rubin has taught over 3,000 people Agile/Scrum, and it shows. Essential Scrum just flows. It's comprehensive, covering not only the basics of Scrum, but also background, examples, how to manage a product portfolio, economics, where managers fit in, and how to continously improve with Scrum. All written in a gentle tone and organized format, with overview starting every chapter, diagrams in Ken's own visual language for Scrum, and definitions of every term provided just in time.

No, you can't learn Scrum from a book. Ken concludes with that: you have to try it, and your first few sprints "aren't all that pretty". But seeing clearly how everything that Scrum provides is supposed to work, that can be a real help. You may be familiar with the Scrum Guide (16 pp, scrum.org). If that is the dictionary entry for "Scrum", then Essential Scrum is the handbook. Whether you're new to Scrum, or experienced and have questions, Essential Scrum is truly essential.

University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa AL - Culverhouse College of Commerce & Business, ISM Dept (MIS group) - Each May we offer a 3 week intensive (nicknamed Bootcamp) course for MBA/MS students who plan to be Scrum Masters (used to be Project Managers) for the upcoming Fall and Spring academic semesters for REAL Senior-level Customer IT/MIS projects (of all types). The teams have 5 senior students (mostly first semester but some second semester) on it with the MBA/MS student playing the role of Scrum Master. We utilized Ken's ES book this past May for the first time and believe it added real knowledge/value to the MBA/MS students playing the role of Scrum Masters this past semester which just ended last week. We had 25+ real projects and just about every one of them accomplished the goals established in the Inception (Sprint 0) phase at the start of the semester. Most teams ran 3 or 4 week sprints since the students work 20 hours/week on these projects (so half-time). A couple of teams did 2 week sprints. We also had faculty members who acted as Scrum Coaches for two to three teams which helped guide the MBA/MS Scrum Master students with their role. We plan to continue using Ken's ES book this coming May. Also, I introduced some of the Scrum concepts from the ES book in my MIS 320 Advanced Software Development course this fall in order to better prepare the students who will be entering their first senior-level project next month, Spring 2017 semester.

This is the place to start your journey to reforming the way your team's perform work. Help your organization become more Agile, more relevant, and more productive by reducing the amount of unnecessary work, and maintaining a priority focus on essential work. Jen Rubin lays out the groundwork here in this book, a must read for organizations wanting to become more Agile.

As an Agile Coach, I reference Ken’s book regularly. It is a fantastic resource to help me better communicate specific Scrum topics and practical advice to the teams I coach. The visual icon format makes it very easy to understand and communicate to others, and the language is straight forward and gets right to the point without a lot of fluff. The book is organized well, which makes it easy to find what I’m looking for.
Although the Scrum framework is simple, it can be complex to become really good at it. Ken helps make the complexities of transformation more simple to understand and implement. Great read!

Recently, I've started to lead a product development team in a small entrepreneurial organization where the focus is on creating an innovative product from scratch using agile methodologies and advanced technology, on a shoe string budget. I read this book over 4-5 days, a few chapters a day, cover to cover. I think that this book gave me all the tools to get started on adopting the Scrum methodology to help me manage expectations and clearly communicate with various stakeholders in the organization, including the product owners, the potential clients, and the development team. The book is very deep, has a fantastic organization and build up of concepts, has excellent examples to illustrate ideas, lots of intuitive pictures to explain difficult concepts, and has a broad scope, covering everything from product vision to daily planning, from team organization to day-in-the-life of a typical role. The book provides concrete guidance for a variety of situations. I highly recommend this for advanced beginners.

I downloaded my Kindle copy of this book specifically to read during a lengthy trip to the UK. I found both the navigation through the chapters and the general reading of the text on my iPad to be extremely easy. My only criticism of this book is that I would have liked to have been able to benefit from Kenny's wisdom and experience eight years ago when I first started Scrum. Kenny gives us so much insight not only into the Scrum process, the concepts and the principles but also the reason behind its success and adoption in many IT organizations.
Starting with the Core Concepts of Scrum is an interesting twist that quickly introduces the reader to the fundamental terms and activities of the process. With this knowledge the reader is better able to understand how Scrum employs them to follow the principles of the manifesto.
From this foundational knowledge Kenny then explains in detail the activities of the Sprint, how to write and manage user stories, the product backlog and story estimation. Interestingly there is also a very useful chapter on technical debt that is rarely included in a book dealing with the Scrum process.
The chapters on team roles are especially helpful since this is one area where many teams have issues. In particular the upfront discussion of the role of the traditional manager in building, nurturing and supporting the Scrum team is addressed in a way that will hopefully reduce the natural apprehension that managers and directors feel.
This book has quickly made the list of recommended reading to the students in my Agile and Project Management classes. I certainly have no hesitation in recommending everyone to get a copy for their library.

In early 2012 our company brought Kenny in to train us on Scrum. He trained our entire development team and also did a focused session for our Product Owners. We were impressed with Kenny’s experience in software development and his ability to teach and share with us what he has learned. He was very articulate, clear and motivational in his presentation. When this book came out we purchased it right away and we use it as a reference guide. We have been equally impressed with his book as we were with his training. Currently as a management team we are reviewing it again chapter by chapter to see what we are doing well and where we need to improve. I have been surprised how much insight I have received this second time.
In this book Kenny includes great analogies that help solidify key concepts and principles. These analogies are also helpful when explaining the benefits of agile development to people outside of the development team such as executive management.
Over the years I’ve read several books about agile development. I’ve also read various Scrum handbooks and guides that describe the Scrum framework and its value. This book excels at explaining the “why” and provides many examples of the “how” to implement Scrum and important agile practices. It is the best book I’ve read on the subject.
If you are implementing Scrum or interested in doing so, I highly recommend this book.

I have the Kindle edition of Essential Scrum, and found it not only an engaging book, but very easy to read.

If you are a manager trying to understand a scrum framework or a team member that needs a refresher on the essential foundations of Scrum, this is a great resource book. This book is well written and laid out, so that the reader can go immediately to the relevant chapter and get a nugget of wisdom. Or, if you are new to the Scrum framework, the book reads well from front to back.

Kenny's work is not prescriptive, but written more from real world experience helping readers not just to understand what to do, but why it is the most effective. If you are looking for an in-depth discussion of the core Scrum principles, values, and practices - Essential Scrum is a must read.

I highly recommend Essential Scrum as a must have book. Go get it now! Essential Scrum: A Practical Guide to the Most Popular Agile Process (Addison-Wesley Signature Series (Cohn))

I have refered people to Schwaber's Agile Project Management with Scrum book for years. This book is slowly but surely replacing that recommendation. Rubin's book is fresh, up-to-date and provides people with a new perspective on Scrum that is all encompassing. It does not set out to solve immediate problems like some books, or give you detailed advice on a specific topic like others - instead it is a well rounded package similar to Craig Larman's Agile and Iterative Development.

Like most agile books, Rubin talks about the "why" - the principles and values - and he does a great job. He continues this trend by giving people information on updated agile practices like Velocity and, as Mike Cohn put it, grooming the product backlog. I am also impressed that Rubin talks about engineering practices, as these are key to any good Scrum implementation.

All in all this is a well rounded, well written book, one that everyone should have on their bookshelf.

Kenneth does an amazing job in this Scrum masterpiece. In the past, I've been a little deflated when I pick up a Scrum related book, as it simply regurgitates the basics. I was looking for a book that I could essentially read/give to a manager type person and provide them with the understanding of what it would TRULY take to implement Scrum in the organization.

I am now a CSP, but was trained as a CSM and CSPO by Mike Cohn, so I may be a bit biased (he was the one that initially mentioned this book to me prior to it being published), however, along with Mr. Cohn's books, this one is part of my arsenal! I would highly recommend it to any person that is interested in learning Scrum and how it truly works from the ground up.

The graphics (Visual Icon Language) is one of the best parts. It takes a process and gives you something that allows you to easily explain the process (or put in training decks with permission) for the rest of your organization. I just don't think you could find a more complete depiction of Scrum from the artifacts to handling technical debt all in one place.

No matter what your level of expertise, you WILL learn something beneficial from this book. My only complaint is that I didn't pick up the electronic version to have on me at all times.

"Essential Scrum" is a great teaching text and a great desk reference on second-generation Scrum/Agile. A perfect book for a ScrumMaster, team, or manager to keep in the library. Our coaching team is constantly being asked tough questions about how to apply Scrum and Agile effectively in the real world. I scanned this book for the last five questions I'd heard; Ken's answers were spot-on in my opinion.

If you are helping your team or your department adopt Scrum, this book is a must-have. Dive in to understand all the mechanics and principles, including the real-world adaptations that we've all tried with success. Hand it to your leader/exec/mgr to read Chapter 3 and understand the Lean economics and the why of Agile. Keep it around for advice when technical debt, role confusion, estimating challenges, or other difficulties pop up.

I've been doing and teaching Agile since 2003, as a Change Agent, Certified Scrum Trainer, Product Owner, and Solutions Evangelist. This book includes all the core points I make, with the graphics I try to draw when teaching. He's collected the key bits that I think are, indeed, essential to understanding how to make Scrum and Agile bring great results to your group.

Essential Scrum is a 'must buy' for all Agile practitioners. Mark my words, this is going to be the 'Go-TO' book on Scrum in the years to come. It is enormously practical, deeply insightful, and a pleasure to read. With 'What', 'Why' and 'How' of Scrum along with actionable techniques, I admire how Kenny brings his personal experiences, and references to materials from others together. Chap. 3 is a must read for any senior stakeholder looking forward for Scrum Implementation in his/her Organization.

Note: I've updated my earlier review. I'd received a copy of the book from Kenny to give my earlier review a second thought, and, looking back now, I think it was worth the effort.

This is an excellent Scrum reference book for any scrum practitioner, either a novice who wants to learn and adopt Scrum or an experienced ScrumMaster who is looking for solutions to complex issues in Scrum implementation. This book provides nice introduction to Scrum framework, roles and responsibilities, and detailed practical guidelines for successful Scrum implementation for small to large sized project teams.

I have been using agile methodologies esp. Scrum at work for more than 8 years and this book has provided solutions to most of the complex problems I have faced while working with small to big sized teams even on globally distributed projects.

The chapters for Managers, Planning, and Sprinting helped me a lot. Essentially to understand the role of a Project Manager in agile setup which is a big question for any Project Manager in agile environment since this role is not defined in the Scrum Team. Chapters on Planning and Sprinting provided practical guidelines for effective product and sprint planning to ensure successful implementation of Scrum on the projects.

Thanks Kenny for creating this excellent single source Scrum reference and especially the Visual AGILExicon which helps a lot in communicating agile and Scrum concepts easily to team members. I would highly recommend this book to any Scrum team for effective implementation of Scrum to deliver higher business value.

I took Kenny's Scrum Master training class and loved it. In particular I like his realistic approach to Scrum. There are many in the Scrum community that seem to be far removed from the realities that most of us encounter in developing software. The Scrum methodology has much to offer, but it also has many challenges in making it work in a real-world environment.

Kenny's book is organized in such a fashion that if you are struggling with a particular area of Scrum, you can pick up his book and get some ideas for the particular area. For example, if you are having a hard time getting your developers to spend time doing Retrospectives, you can turn to his book and quote to them the following: "The sprint retrospective is one of the most important and least appreciated practices in the Scrum framework. It is important because it gives teams the chance to customize Scrum to their unique circumstances. It is under appreciated because some people have a misguided view that it takes time away from doing "real" design, build and test work. The sprint retrospective is a crucial contributor to the continuous improvement that Scrum offers."

If you use Scrum, or think you might want to, I recommend getting a copy of this book and keeping it on your bookshelf so that you can refer to it frequently, as I am now doing

I consult to product development organizations on improving their productivity, based upon principles that have come to be called Lean Product Development. On a particular assignment, my client, who has a software background, wanted to include some of the benefits of Scrum development in the work we were doing on the hardware side of his product development operation. To prepare for discussions and as a first step in my learning, I visited a local bookstore, screened about 10 books on Scrum and selected "Essential Scrum" as the one that looked both most comprehensive and most easily accessible. It was a great choice.

The book is very well structured. It layers information sequentially so that you feel well informed by earlier sections as you progress deeper and deeper in the material. Ken Rubin's brilliant application of visual communication, through a unique and rich collection of graphics, further illuminates the points of the text. I highly recommend this book to those who are looking for a coherent approach to understanding Scrum development.

Kenny Rubin has written the definitive book on Scrum, which includes not only core Scrum but agile and lean concepts. I was delighted to find references to Cynefin, Lean, and Lean Startup practices. This is the only book that I know of that presents Scrum from a holistic viewpoint, and provides a current and practical look at how the Scrum framework is intended to be used.

Rubin rightly recommends that even if you already know Scrum, you should read Chapter 3 on Agile Principles before you start skipping around. As a big advocate of the underlying values of agile and lean, I wholeheartedly agree! But I also found great information in the first chapter, where Cynefin is explained; and in the second chapter, where the overall graphic representation of the Scrum framework, which is used throughout the book, is first displayed and discussed. While this is a good book to use as reference/refresher, I think those new to Scrum will benefit the most from this book, and they'll be better served by reading it from start to finish. It's an easy read, as Rubin has a nice conversational tone that takes the reader from one idea into the next logical idea, drilling deeper into important concepts and practices.

And for those PMI members who wonder what happens to their job as a project manager in Scrum, Rubin has a whole chapter that should put you at ease and help you to start making the shift to your new role. I've started pointing these folks, who I work with extensively, to lucky 13 -- the chapter on Managers in Scrum. Fingers crossed that Rubin will make this a free preview or white paper excerpt one day (hint, hint).

As a Scrum trainer, this book is one of two on Scrum that I recommend to my classes -- the other is Mitch Lacey's "The Scrum Field Guide." Both books should be part of the Scrum practitioner's basic library.

Edna St. Vincent wrote: "A person who publishes a book willfully appears before the populace with his pants down. If it's a good book, nothing can hurt him. If it's a bad book, nothing can save him". After reading Essential Scrum, I can confirm that nothing can hurt Kenny Rubin.

An enormously ambitious concept, Essential Scrum aims to be the single-source reference, capturing everything you need to know about Scrum in one convenient book. What's impressive is not just that he accomplishes this lofty mission with aplomb, but that he does so in a manner that adds to the profession and will strengthen the growth of the agile community at large.

One of the problems with Scrum has been that there are so many different sources through which to piece together a coherent whole. If there ever was a 'ScrumBOK', this is it: Rubin goes through the Scrum framework and its underpinnings through practical examples, helpful illustrations and interesting anecdotes from the world of work. He also makes sure to identify controversial topics - analyzing the origins and merits of each before explaining his position on the issue.

Although there is lots to love about this book, there are three gems that by themselves is worth the price of the book in my opinion:

1) Chapter 3: "Agile Principles" does a masterful job of explaining the origins of Scrum and the agile philosophies that underlie it. Reading this chapter and understanding the mindset and reasoning behind the Scrum practices will be of tremendous value to any serious agile practitioner.

2) Visual illustrations: Rubin is very generous with his illustrative language; this ensures clarity to the text and adds a visual dimension I think books in this category often lack.

3) Exhaustive Glossary: Scrum and Agile are full of terms that may be confusing or daunting to newcomers to the profession - this book includes a glossary that is among the best I've seen in a business book. Not only is there a comprehensive list of terms included, the explanations for each term is thoughtfully written and easily stand on their own.

I have to admit I was concerned that a book of this scope could not be written at such a high level of quality - I'm happy to see I was wrong; Rubin has written a book newcomers and veterans of the Scrum and agile communities will enjoy for years to come.