Skip to content

Lessons from the Yahoo!'s Scrum Adoption

November 14, 2008 by Artem Marchenko

Tips and facts after from the company wide adoption of Scrum at Yahoo! Captured during the Gabrielle Benefield's keynote on Scan-Agile. During the adoption period, Gabrielle Benefield was Senior Director of Agile Development at Yahoo!, co-leading the company’s large-scale corporate adoption of Scrum, which now encompasses more than 200 teams projects and over 1,500 employees in the US, Europe, and India. Tips should be mostly applicable for similarly sized enterprises, though generally useful for smaller companies as well.

  • Bribe with snacks, seriously
    • You will be surprised how many minds free food can open.
  • Get total commitment from all parties or they will shoot you.
    • Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
  • Change costs money - invest in coaching, otherwise it is too easy to go back to waterfall.
  • At Yahoo! each Scrum Trainer was starting up and was coaching about 10 Scrum teams a year.
  • Average velocity increase due to the Scrum adoption across the company was estimated conservatively at 35%  per year (measured from team impressions since before Scrum velocity wasn't measured). In reality in many cases it was more like 300%-400%.
    • Even under conservative estimate that made net development cost reduction of over $1 million a year and Return of Investment in transition and expensive trainers was about 100%.
  • No design out of the sprint cycle? That doesn't always work. Even Scrum authors (at least one of them) changed his mind about this rule.
  • Make 20% of the teams very good, rather than improve 80% of the teams to the mediocre level.
  • 15% to 20% of people don't like Scrum consistently (18% in 2005, 19% in 2006, 17% in 2007).
  • There might be just a single window of opportunity. Do a deep dive, train managers as soon as possible.

    About the Author: As the Editor-in-Chief for AgileSoftwareDevelopment.com, Artem is charged with overseeing the direction for content, advertising, and the overall management of the site. Nowadays in his day life, Artem is a product manager in a global telecommunication company where he leads the development of a product developed in extremely distributed environment. Artem has been applying Agile and researching Agile since 2005. Contact Artem

    Comments

    Bribe with food!

    November 17, 2008 by Kevin E. Schlabach (not verified), 4 years 26 weeks ago
    Comment id: 2000

    I believe it was Linda Rising at Agile 2007 that had data in her presentation (deception & estimates) from psychological studies showing that feeding people will make them more likely to agree with your position.

    So bribing with food is not only a way to get them to come to your meeting, but it's a good way to get agreement amongst the parties involved.

    Great pointers, Artem. I

    January 9, 2009 by James Expert (not verified), 4 years 18 weeks ago
    Comment id: 2155

    Great pointers, Artem. I couldn't agree more with food as a way to steer people. However, I think people will somehow know that you're just 'bribing' them. Not all can be bribed, you know.

    Who said that?

    March 24, 2009 by peterstev, 4 years 8 weeks ago
    Comment id: 2403

    No design out of the sprint cycle? That doesn't always work. Even Scrum authors (at least one of them) changed his mind about this rule.

    Who said that? Is that online anywhere?

    Cheers,

    Peter

    Schwaber or Sutherland :)

    March 24, 2009 by Artem, 4 years 8 weeks ago
    Comment id: 2404

    I am quoting Gabrielle Benefield here. I don't clearly remember, but I think she referred to talks to Ken Schwaber, not to Sutherland.

    Hi Enrico. At the bottom of

    March 2, 2012 by NOnn (not verified), 1 year 10 weeks ago
    Comment id: 21148

    Hi Enrico. At the bottom of the article there is a link to view the spreadsheet in google docs. Go to that link and the click the down arrow on the Issues Log tab. Select Copy to... to copy it to a different workbook. Once there. rename it from Copy of Issues Log to Issues Log. Do the same thing for the Iteration 1 tab. You may need to fix some of the formulas as the Iteration 1 sheet refers to the Issues Log sheet but it might be ok. forfait mobile forfait sans engagement forfait illimite sms illimite forfait mobile internet comparateur forfait bloque rio bouygues rio orange rio sfr code rio bouygues rio virgin calcul imc portabilite du numero

    Excellent article. Very

    May 24, 2012 by dvd to iTunes (not verified), 51 weeks 2 days ago
    Comment id: 22514

    Excellent article. Very interesting to read. I really love to read such a nice article. Thanks! keep rocking. dvd to iTunes

    I really appreciate the kind

    May 27, 2012 by Anonymous (not verified), 50 weeks 5 days ago
    Comment id: 22575

    I really appreciate the kind of topics you post here. Thanks for sharing us a great information that is actually helpful. Good day!
    buffet catering

    Thanks for providing recent

    May 30, 2012 by Anonymous (not verified), 50 weeks 2 days ago
    Comment id: 22663

    Thanks for providing recent updates regarding the concern, I look forward to read more. reviews

    The information you have

    June 3, 2012 by Anonymous (not verified), 49 weeks 6 days ago
    Comment id: 22724

    The information you have posted is very useful. The sites you have referred was good. Thanks for sharing.. loansrated.com

    I really appreciate this

    June 3, 2012 by dasdsd (not verified), 49 weeks 6 days ago
    Comment id: 22725

    I really appreciate this wonderful post that you have provided for us. I assure this would be beneficial for most of the people.
    develop Android apps

    All the contents you

    June 5, 2012 by Anonymous (not verified), 49 weeks 4 days ago
    Comment id: 22786

    All the contents you mentioned in post is too good and can be very useful. I will keep it in mind, thanks for sharing the information keep updating, looking forward for more posts.Thanks
    loans for bad credit

    Nice to read your article! I

    June 9, 2012 by dasdsd (not verified), 49 weeks 13 min ago
    Comment id: 22845

    Nice to read your article! I am looking forward to sharing your adventures and experiences.
    MGMT

    Fantastic blog! Do you have

    June 10, 2012 by Anonymous (not verified), 48 weeks 5 days ago
    Comment id: 22857

    Fantastic blog! Do you have any tips and hints for aspiring writers? I’m planning to start my own website soon but I’m a little lost on everything. Would you propose starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many options out there that I’m completely overwhelmed .. Any suggestions? Many thanks!
    how much should i weigh

    I think this is an

    June 11, 2012 by Anonymous (not verified), 48 weeks 4 days ago
    Comment id: 22871

    I think this is an informative post and it is very useful and knowledgeable. therefore, I would like to thank you for the efforts you have made in writing this article.
    lpg conversions

    Im no expert, but I believe

    June 17, 2012 by Anonymous (not verified), 47 weeks 6 days ago
    Comment id: 22939

    Im no expert, but I believe you just made an excellent point. You certainly fully understand what youre speaking about, and I can truly get behind that.
    dvd to mp4 converter

    Excellent article. Very

    June 18, 2012 by Anonymous (not verified), 47 weeks 4 days ago
    Comment id: 22947

    Excellent article. Very interesting to read. I really love to read such a nice article. Thanks! keep rocking.
    rouse hill

    Nice to read your article! I

    June 21, 2012 by Anonymous (not verified), 47 weeks 1 day ago
    Comment id: 22994

    Nice to read your article! I am looking forward to sharing your adventures and experiences.
    Kolikkopelit

    I have bookmarked your blog,

    June 25, 2012 by Anonymous (not verified), 46 weeks 4 days ago
    Comment id: 23041

    I have bookmarked your blog, the articles are way better than other similar blogs.. thanks for a great blog! cap credit

    Excellent information on your

    June 30, 2012 by Anonymous (not verified), 45 weeks 6 days ago
    Comment id: 23124

    Excellent information on your blog, thank you for taking the time to share with us. Amazing insight you have on this, it's nice to find a website that details so much information about different artists. simon

    No doubt this is an excellent

    July 1, 2012 by Anonymous (not verified), 45 weeks 6 days ago
    Comment id: 23166

    No doubt this is an excellent post I got a lot of knowledge after reading good luck. Theme of blog is excellent there is almost everything to read, Brilliant post.
    Ciao Cap Credit

    I appreciate everything you

    July 2, 2012 by Anonymous (not verified), 45 weeks 5 days ago
    Comment id: 23180

    I appreciate everything you have added to my knowledge base.Admiring the time and effort you put into your blog and detailed information you offer.Thanks.
    One Piece on iPhone

    I havent any word to

    July 5, 2012 by Anonymous (not verified), 45 weeks 2 days ago
    Comment id: 23213

    I havent any word to appreciate this post.....Really i am impressed from this post....the person who create this post it was a great human..thanks for shared this with us.
    Sky Loans

    I am definitely enjoying your

    July 8, 2012 by Anonymous (not verified), 44 weeks 6 days ago
    Comment id: 23259

    I am definitely enjoying your website. You definitely have some great insight and great stories.
    convert wmv to dvd

    Wonderful article, thanks for

    July 8, 2012 by Anonymous (not verified), 44 weeks 6 days ago
    Comment id: 23268

    Wonderful article, thanks for putting this together! This is obviously one great post. Thanks for the valuable information and insights you have so provided here.
    funny videos

    Most of the time I don’t make

    July 19, 2012 by Anonymous (not verified), 43 weeks 1 day ago
    Comment id: 23437

    Most of the time I don’t make comments on websites, but I'd like to say that this article really forced me to do so. Really nice post!
    more games here

    I think that thanks for the

    July 31, 2012 by Anonymous (not verified), 41 weeks 3 days ago
    Comment id: 23603

    I think that thanks for the valuabe information and insights you have so provided here.
    cyprus offshore

    During the adoption period,

    September 25, 2012 by qoter (not verified), 33 weeks 4 days ago
    Comment id: 24027

    During the adoption period, 642-661 exam Gabrielle Benefield passguide 642-661 was Senior Director of Agile Development at Yahoo!, co-leading the company’s 642-661 practice exam large-scale corporate adoption of Scrum, which now encompasses more than 200 teams projects and over http://www.passguides.com/642-661.html 1,500 employees in the US, www.passguides.com/642-661.html Europe, and India. Tips should be mostly applicable for similarly sized enterprises, symante Certification though generally useful for smaller companies as well.

    Proftech

    November 12, 2012 by Proftech (not verified), 26 weeks 5 days ago
    Comment id: 24580

    Excellent Post and keep posting such a nice posts.

    Join this website please.....this is amazing..
    http://www.prooftech.com.sg

    Shaungxile

    November 12, 2012 by Shaungxile (not verified), 26 weeks 5 days ago
    Comment id: 24587

    Very good post and keep posting such a nice articles.

    Join this website please.....this is amazing..
    http://www.shuangxile.com

    Sondexsea

    November 12, 2012 by Sondexsea (not verified), 26 weeks 5 days ago
    Comment id: 24594

    Nice post.

    Join this website please.....
    http://www.sondex-sea.com

    katalog stron suknie

    January 15, 2013 by Anonymous (not verified), 17 weeks 3 days ago
    Comment id: 25501

    Like a butcher they punish

    January 29, 2013 by AnonymousAJSTTT (not verified), 15 weeks 3 days ago
    Comment id: 26038

    Like a butcher
    they punish fighters
    mod loader minecraft
    world of tanks promo code

    MB6-889 || CUR-008 || HH0-230

    April 24, 2013 by jetlii (not verified), 3 weeks 2 days ago
    Comment id: 27176

    Nice post. Info spending some

    May 15, 2013 by billing specialist salary (not verified), 3 days 2 hours ago
    Comment id: 27506

    Nice post. Info spending some time to publish this useful! As a former exploring story books such as this for a way a long time. I'm also really pleased we stumbled upon the one. Looking forward for your upcoming write.

    Post new comment

    The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
    • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <b> <i> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <img> <br> <blockquote>
    • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
    • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
    • You can enable syntax highlighting of source code with the following tags: <code>, <blockcode>. Beside the tag style "<foo>" it is also possible to use "[foo]".

    More information about formatting options

    By submitting this form, you accept the Mollom privacy policy.

    Best of AgileSoftwareDevelopment.com