Scrum in the Small

So, in the new gig there are three of us developing and one designer. And an off-site contractor-guy that we don't talk about. And multiple applications, so everyone pretty much gets their own piece. Classic startup. Do we even need a process?

Emphatically, yes.

Startup stage companies face a different set of problems. Organizational inefficiency is not one of them. There is not bureaucracy to slow you down. There are not so many people that coordination is difficult. But efficiency is still a concern.

Most startups face both the "too much work" and the "shifting priorities" problems. Scrum helps with both of these by placing everything into a single priority queue. We opted for one across all products. The backlog also allows for management of shifting priorities. As a bonus, if you track your velocity you will have a good idea of when the product will be ready to ship.

Thankfully there was little resistance (none) to implementing Scrum here. There is a little uncertainty as to if it's actually needed. As my sales pitch I put it that scrum is essentially exactly how we are working anyway (read: little to no overhead), but helps us prioritize and focus.

We're now in our second cycle. Big winner points:

• Backlog (priority queue) for tracking progress
• Planning game (story point estimation)
• Sprint Demo to stakeholders
  

Items that I see as having value, but not yet proven to team:

• Velocity tracking (and long-term release planning)
• Daily standup
  

The standup is interesting. In startups where we all sit together there is a perception that the standup is not necessary since we're already communicating. This is a false perception. We actually have almost no communication since everyone is heads-down on their part. The standup brings forward where our touch points lie.