Evolution of a Scrum Diagram

Over the many years that I have been teaching Scrum (since 2005!), I have had a diagram of Scrum as part of my slides and/or handouts.  The diagram has gone through several major and minor changes throughout that time.  Here is the progression from oldest to newest:

First Attempt

This diagram was used in some of my earliest slides when I first started delivering Scrum training.  It is bad.  It is woefully incomplete.  But, here it is:

Second Diagram

I knew the first one was bad so after not too long, I created this next diagram as a supplement that was meant to show the whole Scrum process all in one page. Similar to other Scrum “cheat sheet” style diagrams. I used this diagram until about 2008 when I got some very good feedback from a great trainer, Jim Heidema.

Third Try

The changes I made were small, but to me, significant.  Changing from a “mathematical” language of “Sprint N”, “Sprint N+1″ to a more general language of “Current”, “Future” was a big deal.  I really struggled with that.  Probably because I was still relatively new to being non-technical.

Diagram Four

This fourth diagram made some minor formatting changes, but most importantly added “Backlog Grooming”.  It’s funny how long I talked about grooming in my classes before realizing that it was missing from the diagram.  I used the previous diagram and this diagram for a couple years each before making a rather major change to create the next one.

Fifth Go

A couple years ago I realized that I wasn’t really talking about the Scrum values in my classes.  I started to introduce them in some of my other handouts and discussions, but it still took a while for me to reflect those values in my diagram.  I had also received a lot of feedback that having two Product Backlogs in the diagram was confusing.  Finally, I realized that I was missing an opportunity to use colour more systematically.  So, a major reformatting, systematic colour coding and the addition of the Scrum values was my next change.

Branded Diagram (ug.)

In a rush, I added some logos to the diagram. Just made it gross, but it’s badness, combined with feedback about said badness, actually inspired a major change for the next version.

Newest Diagram

Literally just a week ago, I was showing my brand-new branded diagram to a bunch of people who really care about design and UX.  The very first comment when I handed out the diagram was: “wow, you can really tell this wasn’t done by a designer!”  Well, that got me thinking deeply about the diagram (again).  So, here is my newest, latest and greatest (still not done by a designer) version of my Scrum diagram!

The Future

I would absolutely love constructive feedback about this latest diagram. Of course, if you like it, please let me know that too! The thing I like about this is that it is a way of looking back at almost 9 years of my teaching history. Continuous improvement is so important, so I welcome your comments! If you have your own diagrams, please link to them in the comments – I would love to see those too! In fact, it would be really cool if a bunch of people could make little “Evolution of a Scrum Diagram” posts – let me know if you do!!!