SCRUM Works For BBC

I have been looking for evidence to see effective these "agile" methods of software development really are. What the specific religionists say, though honest, are always biased a little in favor of the religion/process they are promoting. I do feel these methods ought to work wonders. The waterfall or any such document/process heavy schemes are not workable they way they are required to.


Here comes a case study that show how BBC has used SCRUM to their great advantage. The story was presented at JAOO. A premier European developer conference on software technology, methods and best practices. The conference presents in-depth presentations and tutorials by researchers, engineers and trend-setters in software engineering and technology.


Andrew Scotland, the presenter, is Head of Development within the BBC's New Media Division. He is a certified SCRUM master and has successfully introduced SCRUM practice into the New Media division's multidisciplinary development teams (Software Engineering, User Experience, Information Architecture, Editorial, Product Management and Project Management).


The Author tells how BBC's New Media division, characterized by a lot of uncertainty and emergent software process, decided to use Scrum to more effectively deliver software amidst all that change and uncertainty. Three years later - the difference is significant, and the journey was worthwhile.

The environment is ever-changing thus it's really good to see Scrum succeeding in a situation it is supposed to work best. I'll need to look around for more such stories.