What do you think?
The Professional Scrum Series #5
Zombie Scrum Survival Guide
Escape "Zombie Scrum" and Get Real Value from Agile!
"Professional Scrum and Zombie Scrum are mortal enemies in eternal combat. If you relax your guard, Zombie Scrum comes back. This guide helps you stay on your guard, providing very practical tips for identifying when you have become a Zombie and how to stop this from happening. A must-have for any Zombie Scrum hunter."
--Dave West, CEO, Scrum.org
"Barry, Christiaan, and Johannes have done a magnificent job of accumulating successful experiences and sharing their inspiring stories in this very practical book. They don't shy away from telling it like it is, which is why their proposals are always as useful as they are grounded in reality."
--Henri Lipmanowicz, cofounder, Liberating Structures
Millions of professionals use Scrum. It's the world's #1 approach to agile software development. Even so, by some estimates, over 70% of Scrum adoptions fall flat. Developers find themselves using "Zombie Scrum" processes that look like Scrum, but are slow, lifeless, and joyless. Scrum's just not working for them.
Zombie Scrum Survival Guide reveals why Scrum runs aground and shows how to supercharge your Scrum outcomes, while having a lot more fun along the way. Humorous, visual, and extremely relatable, it offers practical approaches, exercises, and tools for escaping Zombie Scrum. Even if you're surrounded by skeptics, this book will be the antidote to help you build more of what users need, ship faster, improve more continuously, interact more successfully in any team, and feel a whole lot better about what you're doing. Suddenly, one day soon, you'll remember: that's why we adopted Scrum in the first place!
Learn how Zombie Scrum infects you, why it spreads, and how to inoculate yourself Get closer to your stakeholders, and wake up to their understanding of value Discover why Zombie teams can't learn, and what to do about it Clear away the specific obstacles to real continuous improvement Make self-managed teams real so people can behave like humans, not Zombies Zombie Scrum Survival Guide is for Scrum Masters, Scrum practitioners, Agile coaches and leaders, and everyone who wants to transform Scrum's promises into reality.
Register your book for convenient access to downloads, updates, and/or corrections as they become available. See inside book for details.
"Professional Scrum and Zombie Scrum are mortal enemies in eternal combat. If you relax your guard, Zombie Scrum comes back. This guide helps you stay on your guard, providing very practical tips for identifying when you have become a Zombie and how to stop this from happening. A must-have for any Zombie Scrum hunter."
--Dave West, CEO, Scrum.org
"Barry, Christiaan, and Johannes have done a magnificent job of accumulating successful experiences and sharing their inspiring stories in this very practical book. They don't shy away from telling it like it is, which is why their proposals are always as useful as they are grounded in reality."
--Henri Lipmanowicz, cofounder, Liberating Structures
Millions of professionals use Scrum. It's the world's #1 approach to agile software development. Even so, by some estimates, over 70% of Scrum adoptions fall flat. Developers find themselves using "Zombie Scrum" processes that look like Scrum, but are slow, lifeless, and joyless. Scrum's just not working for them.
Zombie Scrum Survival Guide reveals why Scrum runs aground and shows how to supercharge your Scrum outcomes, while having a lot more fun along the way. Humorous, visual, and extremely relatable, it offers practical approaches, exercises, and tools for escaping Zombie Scrum. Even if you're surrounded by skeptics, this book will be the antidote to help you build more of what users need, ship faster, improve more continuously, interact more successfully in any team, and feel a whole lot better about what you're doing. Suddenly, one day soon, you'll remember: that's why we adopted Scrum in the first place!
Learn how Zombie Scrum infects you, why it spreads, and how to inoculate yourself Get closer to your stakeholders, and wake up to their understanding of value Discover why Zombie teams can't learn, and what to do about it Clear away the specific obstacles to real continuous improvement Make self-managed teams real so people can behave like humans, not Zombies Zombie Scrum Survival Guide is for Scrum Masters, Scrum practitioners, Agile coaches and leaders, and everyone who wants to transform Scrum's promises into reality.
Register your book for convenient access to downloads, updates, and/or corrections as they become available. See inside book for details.
320 pages, Paperback
Published November 25, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 31, 2020
The book gives a deep understanding of how to spot and fight “Zombie Scrum” with many hands-on experiments based on Liberating Structures.
My takeaway: what does healthy Scrum look like?
1. Build What (Your) Stakeholders Need
The best products are created when developers and stakeholders work together. Everything that gets in the way of this dynamic should be removed.
2. Ship Results Fast
At the end of the sprint, the Increment should be in such a state that it can be released with the proverbial press of a button. And remember that there is a whole field of options between “release nothing at all” and “release everything to everybody”.
3. Improve Continuously Based on What You Learn
The desire to deliver valuable outcomes to one’s customers drives one’s learning. People take time to see the forest and the trees: while making improvements in their own teams, they also reflect and improve how the system as a while is making it possible to deliver value.
4. Self-Organize around Impediments
Adding more teams invariably increases complexity, but the decision on whether or not to scale work (and how) is up to the Scrum Teams. In healthy Scrum environments, managers don’t force alignment through top-down control, but focus on setting larger strategic goals (the “why”).
My takeaway: what does healthy Scrum look like?
1. Build What (Your) Stakeholders Need
The best products are created when developers and stakeholders work together. Everything that gets in the way of this dynamic should be removed.
2. Ship Results Fast
At the end of the sprint, the Increment should be in such a state that it can be released with the proverbial press of a button. And remember that there is a whole field of options between “release nothing at all” and “release everything to everybody”.
3. Improve Continuously Based on What You Learn
The desire to deliver valuable outcomes to one’s customers drives one’s learning. People take time to see the forest and the trees: while making improvements in their own teams, they also reflect and improve how the system as a while is making it possible to deliver value.
4. Self-Organize around Impediments
Adding more teams invariably increases complexity, but the decision on whether or not to scale work (and how) is up to the Scrum Teams. In healthy Scrum environments, managers don’t force alignment through top-down control, but focus on setting larger strategic goals (the “why”).
March 10, 2021
Eén ster voor de voorbeelden aan het begin van elk hoofdstuk.
Eén ster voor de geinige tekeningen, licht overdreven maar zeer herkenbaar.
Eén ster voor de heldere beschrijving van de werkvormen.
Een vierde ster had dit boek verdiend wanneer het een aanvulling zou zijn van de blogs van de auteurs in plaats van de verzameling die het nu is.
Een vijfde ster wanneer er meer werk was gemaakt van de onderliggende principes en met verwijzingen naar recente onderzoeken. Her en der putten de auteurs wel uit de oudere psychologie- en anthropologie-onderzoeken, maar dat is ook maar toevallig omdat ze dat ooit gestudeerd hebben.
Eén ster voor de geinige tekeningen, licht overdreven maar zeer herkenbaar.
Eén ster voor de heldere beschrijving van de werkvormen.
Een vierde ster had dit boek verdiend wanneer het een aanvulling zou zijn van de blogs van de auteurs in plaats van de verzameling die het nu is.
Een vijfde ster wanneer er meer werk was gemaakt van de onderliggende principes en met verwijzingen naar recente onderzoeken. Her en der putten de auteurs wel uit de oudere psychologie- en anthropologie-onderzoeken, maar dat is ook maar toevallig omdat ze dat ooit gestudeerd hebben.
November 26, 2023
"Zombie Scrum Survival Guide" serves as a practical and insightful guide more for understanding the “Why not” rather than the “What not” of implementing Scrum.
The main audience of the book are Scrum practitioners, delving deep into the common misunderstandings and dysfunctions that arise from wrongful Scrum implementations.
For those who are not familiar with Scrum or Liberating Structures, I recommend to first read an overview of the above topics before reading the book.
In addition to the above I also recommend a read of "Gamestorming".
Answering questions such as "Whats the novelty and difference between Gamestorming and Liberating Structures?" will surely present meaningful insights.
The authors skillfully dissect the major confusion areas in Scrum, such as viewing it through an efficiency-focused lens, misinterpreting the problem-space it addresses, and implementing Scrum mechanically.
They categorize these issues into four key areas:
* misunderstanding or not knowing stakeholder needs,
* slow shipping,
* lack of continuous improvement,
* and failure in self-organizing.
Each chapter tackles one of these dysfunctions, revealing its causes as "symptoms" and linking to specific solutions, tailored as experiments, using Liberating Structures.
As a reader and a practitioner, I found the book enlightening. It highlighted patterns I've encountered in my Scrum practice and offered plenty experiments to try.
The book’s emphasis on self-organisation, how it is rooted in Systems Theory, and the critical role of collaboration in complex environments were revealing.
Analogies like “shipping faster” and “meeting stakeholder needs” being two sides of the same coin were useful in better remembering the interconnected nature of these concepts.
The references to notable theories and models, such as Chris Argyris’ single and double loop learning, Kurt Lewin's "Force Field" model, and Edgar Schein's conceptualisation of organisational culture, not only enriched my understanding of Scrum but also underscored its depth and relevance in broader organisational contexts.
The discussion on the inherent human desire to belong to a social group and its role as a force of change was another great takeaway, as was the concept of “Stigmergy" :)
In conclusion, "Zombie Scrum Survival Guide" is more than just a book about Scrum; it's a journey through its underlying principles, offering a roadmap for transforming theoretical knowledge into organisational change.
The main audience of the book are Scrum practitioners, delving deep into the common misunderstandings and dysfunctions that arise from wrongful Scrum implementations.
For those who are not familiar with Scrum or Liberating Structures, I recommend to first read an overview of the above topics before reading the book.
In addition to the above I also recommend a read of "Gamestorming".
Answering questions such as "Whats the novelty and difference between Gamestorming and Liberating Structures?" will surely present meaningful insights.
The authors skillfully dissect the major confusion areas in Scrum, such as viewing it through an efficiency-focused lens, misinterpreting the problem-space it addresses, and implementing Scrum mechanically.
They categorize these issues into four key areas:
* misunderstanding or not knowing stakeholder needs,
* slow shipping,
* lack of continuous improvement,
* and failure in self-organizing.
Each chapter tackles one of these dysfunctions, revealing its causes as "symptoms" and linking to specific solutions, tailored as experiments, using Liberating Structures.
As a reader and a practitioner, I found the book enlightening. It highlighted patterns I've encountered in my Scrum practice and offered plenty experiments to try.
The book’s emphasis on self-organisation, how it is rooted in Systems Theory, and the critical role of collaboration in complex environments were revealing.
Analogies like “shipping faster” and “meeting stakeholder needs” being two sides of the same coin were useful in better remembering the interconnected nature of these concepts.
The references to notable theories and models, such as Chris Argyris’ single and double loop learning, Kurt Lewin's "Force Field" model, and Edgar Schein's conceptualisation of organisational culture, not only enriched my understanding of Scrum but also underscored its depth and relevance in broader organisational contexts.
The discussion on the inherent human desire to belong to a social group and its role as a force of change was another great takeaway, as was the concept of “Stigmergy" :)
In conclusion, "Zombie Scrum Survival Guide" is more than just a book about Scrum; it's a journey through its underlying principles, offering a roadmap for transforming theoretical knowledge into organisational change.
April 4, 2024
Schien mir erst nicht sonderlich gut geschrieben (viel Text, regelmäßige Wiederholungen, der Stil motivierte mich nicht zum Lesen), aber mit der Zeit lernte ich es schätzen. Auch die Reihenfolge der Kapitel fand ich unintuitiv, also 100% zufrieden bin ich wirklich nicht.
Trotzdem gibt es 5 Sterne. Aus folgenden Gründen:
- Die wichtigsten Grundlagen von Scrum werden klargemacht (Build what stakeholders need; Create inspectable results as quickly as possible; Improve continuously; Self-organize around a common goal)
- Es werden Experimente für Scrum Teams als vorgeschlagen, die auf die Einführung entsprechender Best Practices einzahlen
- Zu Problemen gibt es somit Lösungs-"Rezepte", Ideen für Workshops, in Liberating Structures verpackte Fragen, oder Praktiken, die man zur Lösung ausprobieren kann
- Auch die Zusammenarbeit der Scrum Master, die Arbeit mit Stakeholdern und das Wirken in die Organisation findet Platz (Scrum geht davon aus, dass die Scrum Master die Agile Coaches der Organisation sind), womit das Buch bei mir auch den fünften Stern geknackt hatte
Somit gibt Zombie Scrum Survival Guide ein Kochbuch für Scrum vor – da allerdings viele Probleme mit Coaching, Facilitation und Fingerspitzengefühl gelöst werden, ist es trotzdem kein Werk für Junioren. Wenn man diese Fähigkeiten allerdings mitbringt, kann man vermutlich besonders viel Wert daraus ziehen.
Trotzdem gibt es 5 Sterne. Aus folgenden Gründen:
- Die wichtigsten Grundlagen von Scrum werden klargemacht (Build what stakeholders need; Create inspectable results as quickly as possible; Improve continuously; Self-organize around a common goal)
- Es werden Experimente für Scrum Teams als vorgeschlagen, die auf die Einführung entsprechender Best Practices einzahlen
- Zu Problemen gibt es somit Lösungs-"Rezepte", Ideen für Workshops, in Liberating Structures verpackte Fragen, oder Praktiken, die man zur Lösung ausprobieren kann
- Auch die Zusammenarbeit der Scrum Master, die Arbeit mit Stakeholdern und das Wirken in die Organisation findet Platz (Scrum geht davon aus, dass die Scrum Master die Agile Coaches der Organisation sind), womit das Buch bei mir auch den fünften Stern geknackt hatte
Somit gibt Zombie Scrum Survival Guide ein Kochbuch für Scrum vor – da allerdings viele Probleme mit Coaching, Facilitation und Fingerspitzengefühl gelöst werden, ist es trotzdem kein Werk für Junioren. Wenn man diese Fähigkeiten allerdings mitbringt, kann man vermutlich besonders viel Wert daraus ziehen.
February 3, 2022
I'm an impatient dev who prefers empirical evidence and research by nature. I went into this book expecting my time would be largely wasted. I was wrong. My "come back and revisit" sticky tabs are pages: 11, 89, 94, 135 & 235 while my three "memorize now, why didn't I know this already" tabs are pages: 90, 127 & 190.
I don't necessarily recommend this to an a-csm or above, however I think devs, product owners and newer csms could acquire some helpful tips or knowledge on warning signs for when things could be going awry on your teams.
I don't necessarily recommend this to an a-csm or above, however I think devs, product owners and newer csms could acquire some helpful tips or knowledge on warning signs for when things could be going awry on your teams.
July 31, 2023
If baffles me that this book was published during Covid, and still sounds so outdated by continuing to suggest ignoring virtual formats and instead having physical backlogs / boards / meetings / whatever.
It accurately diagnoses many common issues with incorrect applications of Agile / Scrum, but the vast majority of offered 'solutions' are far from it. As many pieces of writing on the topic, it ignores vendor environments, where many different products are developed, and where a lot is dictated by the client.
It accurately diagnoses many common issues with incorrect applications of Agile / Scrum, but the vast majority of offered 'solutions' are far from it. As many pieces of writing on the topic, it ignores vendor environments, where many different products are developed, and where a lot is dictated by the client.
November 25, 2023
It is exactly what it promises to be. A guide to surviving zombie scrum with hands on experiments that I appreciated a lot because it's something that is missing from many similar books.
The book is written in an easy to understand way and does not try to overcomplicate things. It gives clear and simple explanations and plenty of great suggestions one can implement immediately.
This is a must read book for every agile enthusiast.
The book is written in an easy to understand way and does not try to overcomplicate things. It gives clear and simple explanations and plenty of great suggestions one can implement immediately.
This is a must read book for every agile enthusiast.
August 13, 2021
A leer otra vez en formato mejorado para capturar todos los dibujos y graficos
Tiene conceptos interesantes, mucho material para ver con experimientos a hacer aunque algunos no son muy realistas.
Basado en Liberating Structure para que los equipos salgan de su soport
Tiene conceptos interesantes, mucho material para ver con experimientos a hacer aunque algunos no son muy realistas.
Basado en Liberating Structure para que los equipos salgan de su soport
June 10, 2023
Without a doubt, one of the best books for people trying to understand the impact of fake agile on how we create value products.
All people working in agile teams, new or experienced, should read it, no matter their role.
All people working in agile teams, new or experienced, should read it, no matter their role.
October 15, 2023
A must-read for all Scrum Masters, but also a valuable read for management roles and everyone working to create better organizations. Very good to explain the “why” and “what” and has many great examples of “how”
March 26, 2022
برای تیم های اسکرامی که قصد دارند بدانند چقدر اسکرام را درست پیاده کرده اند مفید است
زیرا با ذکر کلی تجربه عملی و راهکارهایی، پیشنهادهای مفيدی در خصوص اسکرام ارائه داده است.
زیرا با ذکر کلی تجربه عملی و راهکارهایی، پیشنهادهای مفيدی در خصوص اسکرام ارائه داده است.
July 11, 2024
A very good conversation about scrum in real life of companies; Most of its contents is useful to implement in scrum framework.
April 30, 2021
The Zombie Scrum survival guide creates a very strong metaphor for dysfunctional Scrum Teams: they move and operate seemingly normal, but on closer inspection they don't have a working brain.
The book describes very well how this can happen and what Scrum Teams need in order to be able to not fall into Zombie Scrum. But more, the authors share their extensive experience with recognizing and overcoming Zombie Scrum. To do that they offer concrete ways to react to specific causes and symptoms of Zombie Scrum using Liberating Structures.
This book is for every individual, Scrum Team, and organization that is already experienced in Scrum and wants to further improve their game. It is the best Scrum book I have read in 2021.
The book describes very well how this can happen and what Scrum Teams need in order to be able to not fall into Zombie Scrum. But more, the authors share their extensive experience with recognizing and overcoming Zombie Scrum. To do that they offer concrete ways to react to specific causes and symptoms of Zombie Scrum using Liberating Structures.
This book is for every individual, Scrum Team, and organization that is already experienced in Scrum and wants to further improve their game. It is the best Scrum book I have read in 2021.
March 14, 2023
Extremely useful information and resources. An invaluable resources in and of itself!
May 2, 2025
Its a good book but not as good as
Creating Agile Organizations
or the Scrumbook to name a few
Creating Agile Organizations
or the Scrumbook to name a few
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews