Systematic presents extension to the Scrum method at Agile 2009

In recent years, Systematic has combined CMMI with agile methods like Scrum because it is supporting a dynamic planning process and high customer interaction. In Systematic Scrum is integrated and executed within the disciplined planning from CMMI and forms a “de facto” standard for how slices of a project is executed.

17 August 2009

Recent experience from projects at Systematic extended the Scrum method with an additional concept of a READY state symmetrically to the well-established DONE state. These experiences were reported in an article and accepted to the Agile 2009 conference held in Chicago from 24 and 29 August where Systematic will present them.

'The way we combine CMMI with principles from lean and agile software development has aroused great interest in the software industry because we have succeeded in implementing the best from two worlds – the process discipline of CMMI and the flexibility of agile software development,' says Michael Holm.

The identification of the READY state was a result of Systematic’s lean efforts. The idea behind the introduction of a READY state is the need of a team to be in a stable, known situation to be able to perform. Before agile concepts were adopted in the industry, the READY state was often achieved by ensuring that all work of a project is completely analysed and designed initially. When methods like Scrum are adopted, it is explicit that planning is done in sufficient detail initially as opposed to complete initial analysis and design. As a consequence planning activities will continue concurrent to development activities as the project go along.

'In Systematic we constantly work to ensure that our processes create value for our customers. We are committed to relentless improvements for better deliveries and services, and collaboration with our customers. We focus on forward thinking and performance to achieve our position as an industry leader,' Michael Holm says.

The experiences from introducing the READY concept have extended the established understanding of Scrum in the industry, and we look forward to share our experiences with the agile community at Agile 2009.

Read article by Carsten Ruseng Jakobsen, Systematic, and Jeff Sutherland, Scrum Training Institute: Scrum and CMMI: Going from Good to Great - Are you ready-ready to be done-done?'