The Inovis Blog

I just came across a fun article called, “The Hills Are Alive with the Sound of Scrum.” It’s about the parallels between agile and music.

If you don’t know much about SCRUM and haven’t seen some of David Rodriguez’s prior posts about the Agile Process, let me preface this piece with a definition. According to this definition of SCRUM by PCMAG.COM, SCRUM is “an agile software development methodology developed by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland in the mid-1990s. Scrum is based on a “Sprint,” which is a 30-day period for delivering a working part of hte system. Each Sprint starts with a two to three-hour planning session that includes the customer (product owner), the facilitator (Scrummaster) and the cross-functional team. The Customer describes the highest priority in the backlog, and after the team agrees on how much of it to do, it is left alone to do it. To keep the team synchronized, there is a 15-minute meeting every day. At the end of the Sprint, the results are delivered and reviewed, and the next Sprint is started.”

So, now knowing what SCRUM is, here’s how Paul Goddard compares SCRUM to music.

1. Creation: When a composer first sits down to write a song, he or she most likely paints a mental picture of what the end-product should be: happy or sad, jazz or classical, etc. Just as the composition of music starts with a vision, so does SCRUM. The agile process begins with a solid idea of what will be delivered in the end.Some of the vision of the desired product with music may come from an event, a client, or even a filmmaker for a movie. Just as the filmmaker or client may give specifications and details to really shape the idea of the product, so does the product owner with SCRUM. The product owner will write—or help to write—user stories that will lay the ground work of all the requirements needed in the final product. After providing the user story to QA and whoever else involved with development, he or she will remain involved in the process by guiding the team towards the formation of an end product that meets everyone’s needs.
2. Playback: The development of both music and a product is best done with a hands on approach. The conductor may start with a few notes or basic melody that sounds good. The composer will then experiment by mixing in other notes, melodies or rhythms. If something doesn’t sound good, the composer takes note (no pun intended) and moves on. Similarly with the Agile process, a “test-first approach minimizes the risk that software “music” will not integrate at the end of a sprint.”
3. Reducing Risk: With many musical pieces, the main melody is easily heard throughout the piece. Other instruments and notes may be added to create drama and depth, but the song never completely veers off to almost become a different song. Each section is its “own marketable product,” even if the piece in its entirety is not completely ready. Similarly with SCRUM, different components may be added to the software project through sprints to add depth and usability, but at the end of every sprint, you still have a shippable product. This process of adding on little by little “greatly reduces the risk that your software project will fail to deliver.” David Rodriguez talks more about this with his post, SCRUM-O-Mation.
4. Continuous Integration: Just as a band rehearses in the studio by playing back music, mixing parts together, going back and re-recording, receiving feedback from a producer, and not calling it a day until everything sounds great together, the same dedication to testing and receiving feedback during production ensures that everything goes well together and goals are being met.
5. Self-management:The ScrumMaster is a lot like the conductor. He leads the group, points out areas that may need improvement, emphasizes the group’s strengths, and removes impediments, but he can’t replace the band. Ultimately, it is the group that develops that product and creates the final version. The ScrumMaster guides, and the team works as a whole. If the team cannot gel well together and work cohesively, the end product will be very poor. Something interesting that Paul Goddard pointed out is that the best scrum teams consist of between five and nine individuals.

As David Rodriguez would say, that’s the comparison of music and the Agile Process in a nut shell. It’s definitely a fun read, and it’s a good way of showing Inovis customers what Product Managers, QA and Development are up to at Inovis.