Introduction to Danube Technologies, Jimi Fosdick and Scrum
- 2. Company Overview
Who We Are
• Danube was founded in 2000 by brothers Laszlo and Victor Szalvay
• Privately held and self-funded
• Headquarters: Bellevue, Wash.; sales office in Portland, Ore.
• Employees: 30+
• Differentiators: independent ownership, exclusive focus on Scrum,
lightweight product, industry leader w/ free product, on-site installation
What We Do
• Committed to Scrum software development in the agile industry:
– ScrumCORE™ team – group of four CSTs who offer global Scrum training
– ScrumWorks® Basic – Danube’s free Scrum management tool
– ScrumWorks Pro – Based on Basic, but with richer, more powerful functionality
• commercial product launched in Jan. 07
• Largest install base – 105,000 registered active users – 54 of Fortune 100 customers
© 2008
- 3. About Jimi Fosdick, PMP, CST
Who Am I?
• 15 Years experience in Software and New Product Development at all stages of the
development lifecycle
• BS in Mathematics and Computer Science
• MBA in Project Management
• Certified Project Management Professional (PMP) by the Project Management Institute
• Certified ScrumMaster, Certified Scrum Practitioner and Certified Scrum Trainer by the
Scrum Alliance
What Do I Do?
• Personally Committed to Scrum education:
– I offer public certification courses worldwide
– I provided coaching and transition advice for corporations and small companies
– I have worked with such organizations as:
• Microsoft
• MTV Networks
• CIBER, Inc.
• Avenue A | Razorfish
• Personally Committed with the Scrum Alliance to “transforming the world of work”
© 2008
- 4. Why Scrum?
Scrum is an incremental and iterative development paradigm that uses empirical process
control for the management of complex software projects.
Scrum is the leading Agile method because it appeals to business and dev:
Keeps stakeholders apprised of progress through regular inspection;
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Allows for adaptation to emerging business realties by encouraging change throughout
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project lifecycle;
Creates team-level stability through focused work cycles called sprints;
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Keeps focus on delivering the highest value product in the allotted timeframe;
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Scrum’s emphasis on prioritization (i.e., “first things first”) helps Product Owners remain
focused on stories that deliver Business Value and ROI.
© 2008
- 5. ScrumWorks
Because ScrumWorks is designed and written by Certified Scrum Trainers and Practitioners,
it is built to follow and reinforce Scrum’s core principles and practices. In short, it was
designed to be as intuitive and streamlined as Scrum itself.
Emphasizes visibility and communication, thereby ensuring teams are on the same page —
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even if they’re not in the same country.
Pro allows management access to multiple reports, which are easily customized and based
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on real-time data.
Integration with directory authentication coupled with a flexible, role-based permissions
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system makes Pro product usable for enterprises, large or small.
Integrations “best of breed” external applications, including JIRA and Bugzilla.
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Currently, more than half of the Fortune 100 use ScrumWorks.
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© 2008
- 6. ScrumCORE
Danube helps companies of all types and sizes create better products,
faster, through a combination of training, coaching, and software products
designed to get teams succeeding with Scrum.
The ScrumCORE team is made up of Danube’s four Certified Scrum Trainers.
• They are actively involved in Scrum and agile communities, speaking and
publishing regularly.
• Their deep experience working in Scrum environments has helped guide
the development of ScrumWorks Pro.
Course offerings include:
• Certified ScrumMaster
• Introduction to Agile and Scrum
• Certified Product Owner Course
• ScrumWorks Implementation and Use
© 2008
- 7. Success in Scrum
Does Scrum guarantee successful software development? Of course not.
An organization’s success with Scrum hinges on its people’s willingness
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to adopt and adhere to Scrum’s basic principles and processes.
The Scrum framework has very few roles, meetings, and artifacts, but none
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of them are redundant or optional. The companies who succeed with Scrum
are those that truly practice Scrum.
Here’s an analogy:
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What makes someone a runner?
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Is it the person who puts on warm-ups and sneakers?
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Is it the person who goes to the gym, but calls off his jog when it’s closed?
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Or is it the person who runs, no matter what?
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Scrum can lead teams to accomplish things they never dreamed of, but
it’s imperative that they follow all of Scrum’s processes and principles.
© 2008
- 8. Summary
Scrum appeals to businesses because of its unique ability to
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provide a framework for managing return on investment within complex new
product development environments.
Developers appreciate Scrum because the framework’s emphasis on self-
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organization allows them to take on more ownership of the project.
Customers prefer Scrum because it frequently brings them into the
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development process, leading to a product that meets their expectations.
Scrum is a solution that, when properly applied, can reduce development
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time and cost — two key results that lead to sustainably lean operations,
even in the midst of a recession.
Danube’s ScrumWorks Pro and ScrumCORE training offerings reinforce
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the fundamental principles and processes of Scrum — and help companies
improve project management.
© 2008
