Transformed Meets the Scrum Guide

The Product Community’s Criticism of Scrum Is Unjustified

Aug 22, 2024

Hello everyone!

Despite criticism from the product community, namely Marty Cagan himself, regarding Scrum as a framework for effective product creation, I believe that it is worthwhile to compare the principles that help form successful product teams with those of Scrum.

Let’s delve into an analysis of “Transformed” and how its principles align with Scrum’s.

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Matching Transformed’s Product Success Principles with Scrum Principles

Last week, Paweł Huryn summarized the product success principles from Marty Cagan’s book Transformed. (Please find his post on LinkedIn and consider following him.) I took those principles and compared them step-by-step with the principles derived from the Scrum Guide.

As an agile practitioner, you are familiar with the ongoing debate about the best frameworks and principles that drive success. Marty Cagan’s Transformed offers a set of product principles that are widely respected in the product community, but can these principles coexist with Scrum, a framework often critiqued by the same community?

Despite the criticism, a closer look reveals that Scrum aligns with and enhances these principles when implemented effectively. Scrum’s values and practices effectively support each principle, from empowering teams and focusing on outcomes to fostering innovation and continuous learning. Scrum’s emphasis on self-managing teams, iterative progress, and servant leadership creates a culture that prioritizes value, innovation, and adaptability — key ingredients for building successful products. When applied correctly, Scrum is a robust framework for driving product success.

So, let’s delve into how Scrum matches the five key product principles identified by Paweł Huryn in Transformed, demonstrating that Scrum remains a powerful approach for building successful products:

I. PRODUCT TEAM PRINCIPLES:

Principle: Empowered with Problems to Solve.
Scrum Principle Match: Self-Managing Teams
Explanation: In Scrum, teams are self-managing, meaning they have the autonomy to decide how to tackle the problems. This aligns with the principle of being empowered with problems to solve, as the Scrum Team, particularly the Developers, are empowered to decide how to approach their work within the Sprint to achieve the Sprint Goal.
Principle: Outcomes over Output.
Scrum Principle Match: Focus on Delivering Value.
Explanation: Scrum emphasizes delivering value over simply completing tasks. The Sprint Goal and the focus on delivering potentially releasable Increments during each Sprint align with the principle of prioritizing outcomes over output. Scrum teams are encouraged to focus on what brings the most value, not just on doing more work.
Principle: Sense of Ownership.
Scrum Principle Match: Commitment.
Explanation: Scrum instills a strong sense of ownership through the commitment to Sprint and Product Goals and the collective responsibility of the Scrum Team. For example, each team member is committed to achieving the Sprint Goal, which fosters a sense of ownership over their work.
Principle: Collaboration.
Scrum Principle Match: Collaboration and Cross-Functionality.
Explanation: Scrum’s framework is built on collaboration, particularly within the Scrum Team, which is cross-functional and works together closely to deliver the Sprint Goals. Daily Scrums, Sprint Planning, and Retrospectives all emphasize and facilitate collaboration. Unsurprisingly, no one on a Scrum team has any authority to tell anyone else what to do or how to do things.

Selected Insight: “The most fundamental of all product concepts is the notion of an empowered, cross-functional product team.”

Scrum Alignment: Scrum’s very foundation is built upon cross-functional teams empowered to manage their work. This directly aligns with Scrum’s principle of forming cross-functional teams with all the skills necessary to deliver Product Increments every Sprint.
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II. TRANSFORMED — PRODUCT STRATEGY PRINCIPLES:

Principle: Focus.
Scrum Principle Match: Sprint Goal.
Explanation: In Scrum, the Sprint Goal focuses on the entire team during a Sprint. It is a singular objective that the Scrum Team commits to achieving, which aligns perfectly with the principle of focus in product strategy. This focus ensures the team works towards a common, clearly defined goal.
Principle: Powered by Insights.
Scrum Principle Match: Empiricism.
Explanation: Scrum is built on the pillars of empiricism: transparency, inspection, and adaptation. The process of inspecting the Increments, gathering feedback, and adapting the Product Backlog accordingly is driven by insights gained through these activities. This ensures that decisions are based on actionable data and information rather than assumptions.
Principle: Transparency.
Scrum Principle Match: Transparency.
Explanation: Transparency is one of Scrum’s core pillars. All aspects of the Scrum process are visible to those responsible for the outcome. This ensures that all team members and stakeholders clearly understand the project’s current state, which directly aligns with the principle of transparency in product strategy.
Principle: Placing Bets.
Scrum Principle Match: Product Backlog Refinement.
Explanation: In Scrum, the Product Backlog represents at any moment what the team considers necessary to accomplish the next step. Based on new insights, it is continuously refined and prioritized based on what is most valuable to the customer and the organization. This process involves placing bets on which backlog items (problems or features) should be addressed next based on their potential impact and alignment with the Product Goal.

Selected Insight: “Product strategy is all about which problems are the most important to solve.”

Scrum Alignment: Scrum aligns with this principle by defining Product Goals and, consequently, the ongoing prioritization and refinement of the Product Backlog to reflect the “best” path to accomplish this goal. The Product Owner continuously assesses which items are most critical to achieving the Product Goal, ensuring the Scrum Team is always focused on solving the most important problems.

III. PRODUCT DISCOVERY PRINCIPLES:

Principle: Minimize Waste.
Scrum Principle Match: Iterative Development and Incremental Delivery.
Explanation: Scrum’s iterative and incremental approach inherently minimizes waste by focusing on delivering small, valuable Increments that are regularly reviewed and adjusted. This prevents large amounts of work that may not be needed or valued, aligning with the principle of minimizing waste.
Principle: Assess Product Risks.
Scrum Principle Match: Inspection and Adaptation.
Explanation: In Scrum, the regular inspection of Increments and subsequent adaptation of the Product Backlog help to identify and manage risks early. By continuously assessing what has been built and adjusting the plan accordingly, Scrum teams can mitigate product risks effectively.
Principle: Embrace Rapid Experimentation.
Scrum Principle Match: Sprint.
Explanation: Each Sprint in Scrum can be seen as an experiment in which the team tests ideas and solutions by building and delivering Increments while investing in product discovery activities, such as creating prototypes to test assumptions. This rapid cycle of planning, execution, review, and adaptation aligns with the principle of rapid experimentation in product discovery.
Principle: Test Ideas Responsibly.
Scrum Principle Match: Sprint Planning and Incremental Approach.
Explanation: In Scrum, Sprint Planning can be adapted to include the creation of prototypes or experiments specifically for testing assumptions. These experiments do not need to meet the full Definition of Done but should be designed to gather valuable feedback quickly and responsibly. By breaking down larger ideas into smaller, testable components (often referred to as “spikes” or “experiments”), teams can test assumptions without the full cost of production-level quality. This incremental approach allows teams to validate hypotheses quickly, adjust based on feedback, and ensure they responsibly manage risk and resources during the discovery phase.

Selected Insight: “The heart of product discovery is rapidly testing product ideas for what the solution could be […] an experimentation culture not only helps you address risks, but it is absolutely central to innovation.”

Scrum Alignment: Scrum’s framework is built around iterative experimentation. Each Sprint is an opportunity to test and validate ideas quickly, making Scrum a natural fit for an experimentation-driven approach to product discovery.
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IV. TRANSFORMED — PRODUCT DELIVERY PRINCIPLES:

Principle: Small, Frequent, Uncoupled Releases.
Scrum Principle Match: Incremental Delivery.
Explanation: Scrum promotes delivering small, valuable Increments frequently. Each Sprint should produce potentially shippable product Increments that can be released to stakeholders or users. This aligns with the principle of small, frequent, and uncoupled releases, ensuring continuous value delivery.
Principle: Instrumentation.
Scrum Principle Match: Definition of Done and Transparency.
Explanation: The Definition of Done in Scrum includes all the criteria necessary to ensure that an Increment is fully functional and of high quality. Instrumentation — such as testing, documentation, and monitoring — is crucial to meet the Definition of Done, ensuring that every Increment is releasable. Transparency in Scrum also ensures that the state of each Increment is always visible and understood by all stakeholders.
Principle: Monitoring.
Scrum Principle Match: Empiricism (Inspection and Adaptation).
Explanation: In Scrum, regularly inspecting and adapting the product is akin to monitoring. By constantly checking the product’s progress and quality through reviews and inspections, Scrum teams can identify issues early and make necessary adjustments, aligning with the principle of ongoing monitoring.
Principle: Deployment Infrastructure.
Scrum Principle Match: Continuous Integration and Deployment.
Explanation: While Scrum doesn’t explicitly prescribe technical practices, it is often complemented by practices like Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD). These practices ensure that the deployment infrastructure is set up to allow for frequent, reliable releases, which aligns with the principle of having a robust deployment infrastructure.

Selected Insight: “This means, at a minimum, each product team releases their new work no less than every other week (…) For strong product companies, this means releasing several times per day (…).”

Scrum Alignment: Scrum’s iterative cycles of work (Sprints) encourage regular, frequent releases. While traditional Scrum suggests a Sprint duration of up to one month, many teams operate in environments where releases happen more frequently, demonstrating Scrum’s flexibility to accommodate rapid delivery cycles.

V. PRODUCT CULTURE PRINCIPLES:

Principle: Principles over Process.
Scrum Principle Match: Scrum Values (Commitment, Courage, Focus, Openness, Respect).
Explanation: Scrum places a strong emphasis on values that guide the behavior of the team rather than rigidly adhering to a process. These values create a culture where principles like commitment and openness take precedence, enabling teams to make decisions that align with their goals and values rather than just following a set process.
Principle: Trust over Control.
Scrum Principle Match: Self-Managing Teams.
Explanation: Scrum teams are self-managing, meaning they have the authority and trust to decide how best to achieve their goals. This principle of trusting the team to make decisions rather than imposing strict control aligns perfectly with Scrum’s emphasis on self-management and empowerment.
Principle: Innovation over Predictability.
Scrum Principle Match: Empiricism (Inspection, Adaptation).
Explanation: Scrum’s iterative approach, where each Sprint allows for experimentation, learning, and adaptation, fosters a culture of innovation. Instead of prioritizing predictability, Scrum teams are encouraged to inspect and adapt based on their learning, promoting innovation over rigid adherence to plans.
Principle: Learning over Failure.
Scrum Principle Match: Sprint Retrospective.
Explanation: The Sprint Retrospective is a key Scrum event focusing on continuous improvement by learning from past Sprints. It provides a space for the team to reflect, fostering a culture of learning from experience rather than dwelling on failure, and aligns well with the principle of prioritizing learning over avoiding failure.

Selected Insight: “(…) this means moving from hands-on micromanagement to servant-based leadership with active coaching. It means leading with context rather than control.”

Scrum Alignment: Scrum advocates for servant leadership, particularly in the role of the Scrum Master, who supports the team by removing impediments and fostering an environment of self-organization. This approach aligns with the shift from micromanagement to leadership that provides context and support, allowing the team to operate with autonomy and trust.

Food for Thought on Transformed and Scrum

Let us finish with some thought-provoking questions and points for further reflection to encourage deeper consideration of the topic:

Is Scrum truly flexible enough? While Scrum aligns well with the principles in Transformed, some argue that Scrum can become too rigid if not adapted to specific team needs. How can teams maintain the flexibility to innovate while adhering to Scrum’s principles?
Balancing Empowerment and Accountability: Empowerment is a key principle in both Scrum and Cagan’s approach, but how can teams balance this with the need for accountability? What practices ensure empowerment doesn’t lead to a lack of direction or responsibility?
The Role of Leadership in Scrum: Scrum emphasizes servant leadership, but how can leaders balance being hands-off and providing the necessary guidance and support? How can leadership adapt as teams mature in their Scrum practices?
Is there a point where Scrum becomes counterproductive? In complex, fast-moving environments, could there be situations where adhering to Scrum might hinder rather than help? How can teams recognize these situations and adjust their approach accordingly? After all, we are not paid to practice Scrum but to solve our customers’ problems within the given constraints while contributing to the organization’s sustainability.
Evolving Product Culture: Scrum’s and Cagan’s principles emphasize the importance of culture. What steps can organizations take to continuously evolve and improve their product culture, ensuring it supports innovation and sustainable delivery?

Transformed — Conclusion:

Marty Cagan’s Transformed provides a compelling vision for product success, with principles championing empowerment, focus, rapid experimentation, and a product-first culture. However, there’s a growing narrative that Scrum might fall short of supporting these ambitious goals — a perspective often voiced within the product community.

But let’s set the record straight: Scrum, when applied thoughtfully, is not just a process or a set of rituals. It’s a framework designed to empower teams, deliver real outcomes, and foster a culture of continuous improvement. The principles outlined by Cagan are not at odds with Scrum; in fact, they can be seen as an evolution of the very principles Scrum has always stood for.

Consider this: Scrum’s focus on self-organizing, cross-functional teams directly aligns with empowering teams with problems to solve. The emphasis on delivering potentially shippable Increments matches the drive for outcomes over output. Also, the culture of continuous inspection and adaptation through retrospectives perfectly mirrors the need for learning over failure.

Scrum is far from being the bureaucratic beast some critics make it out to be. It’s a dynamic, adaptable framework that, when used with a clear understanding of its purpose, can be the very vehicle that drives the success Cagan’s principles aim for. Yes, Scrum requires a commitment to transparency, collaboration, and relentless pursuit of value. Still, when these elements are in place, Scrum becomes a powerful enabler of the product excellence Cagan envisions.

Ultimately, it’s not about Scrum vs. Cagan’s principles from Transformed. It’s about leveraging Scrum as the foundational practice that makes these principles actionable and achievable in the real world. When we stop viewing Scrum as a set of rules and start seeing it as a tool for fostering a culture of self-management, innovation, focus, and continuous delivery, we realize that Scrum is not just helpful — it’s essential for driving the kind of product success Cagan talks about.

What is your take on “Transformed” meeting Scrum?

Please share with us in the comments.