USING SCRUM AS A PERSONAL TASK MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Hernando BrenesMSIS CandidateApril - 2014

Today’s fast paced world and competitive landscape demands for more work to be done in the same amount of time

People have created time management systems to aid in the process of task administration.

◦ Priority Matrix◦ The Pomodoro Technique◦ Getting Things Done

The Scrum framework in software development serves as a project management tool for managing all development tasks in an agile way.

There is a need for better task management tools and techniques.

A simplified version of the Scrum framework can prove useful in personal task management.

The purpose of this research is to compare a time management system (Getting Things Done) with the Scrum framework in order to prove that Scrum can be used as a personal task management system.

What is t ime?

Time Management: process of planning and controlling the amount of time spent on specific activities.

Time Management Systems: are a set of tools and techniques used to manage time when working on tasks, projects or goals.

List and Classify all incoming work into:◦ Next actions◦ Waiting for◦ Someday maybe

Focus on next actions.

Develop trust in this system to be productive in a non stressful way.

1. Create a list of tasks.2. Work on a single task for 25 minutes using a

kitchen time.3. If the timer runs out, mark an X on the task and

rest for 5 minutes.4. Repeat until all tasks are complete.

What is Scrum?

A framework in which people can address complex adaptive problems, while productively and creatively delivering products of the highest possible value. (Ken Schwaber)

Roles:

Product Owner: responsible for the product and the Backlog.

The Development Team: builds the product.

The Scrum Master: ensures correct implementation of the Scrum process.

Ceremonies:

Sprint Planning

The Daily Scrum

Sprint Review

Sprint Retrospective

Artifacts:

Product Backlog

Sprint Backlog

Increment

Purpose: ◦ Compare the results of following the Getting Things

Done methodology for a week versus the scrum methodology on a list of 10 personal tasks.

Data Gathering: ◦ We created 2 task logs, one of each methodology

documenting the progress of the tasks through the week. ◦ A level of complexity was added to make a fair

comparison. (Small, Medium and Large)

End Week Review for Getting Things Done

# Descr ipt ion Complex it y Pr ior it y St at us Time Taken Not es

1 Fix main bathroom doorknob Medium Next Actions Done 2h Done by Monday

2 Take my wife's car to the shop Big Next Actions Done 4h Done by Tuesday

3 Buy a new suit for Rosa's Wedding Medium Next Actions Done 3h Done by Wednesday

4 Work on Thesis Big Next Actions Done 8h 2h Per day through Thursday

5 Visit eye doctor for new eye glasses Medium Next Actions Done 2h Done By Friday

6 Quote water filtering system for house Small Next Actions Done 1h Done by Thursday

7 Search hotel for Chicago Trip Small Next Actions Done 1h Done by Wednesday

8 Plan romantic dinner at home Medium Next Actions Done 3h Done by Thursday

9 Pay Phone and Cable Bill Small Next Actions Done 1h Done by Monday

10 Buy eyeglasses based on doctor’s prescription Medium Next Actions Pending 2h Pending

Results on Getting Things Done

Nine out of ten tasks completed.

For the small amount of tasks all should have been completed.

Dependencies are hard to track in this methodology.

Sprint review for Personal Scrum # Descr ipt ion Complexit y Pr ior i t y Status Effort Time Taken Notes

1 Clean my laptop's hard drive Medium 1 Done 2h 2h Done by Monday

2 Fix my car's back window Big 1 Done 4h 5h Done by Tuesday

3 Buy a eyeglasses based on doctor’s prescription Medium 1 Done 3h 4h Done by Wednesday

4 Work on Thesis Big 2 Done 8h 8h Done by Thursday night

5 Apply for Canadian Visa Medium 2 Done 3h 3h Done by Thursday

6 Cancel Scotiabank Credit Card Small 2 Done 1h 1h Done by Friday

7 Search for flight for Chicago Trip Small 2 Done 1h 1h Done by Thursday

8 Buy and Change Electric Guitar Strings Medium 2 Done 2h 2h Done Thursday

9 Go to Bank for Credit Card Statements Small 1 Done 1h 1h Done by Tuesday

10 Prepare Valentine’s Dinner Medium 1 Done 3h 4h Done by Friday

Results on Personal Scrum

All 10 tasks completed.

There was one day to spare (Saturday)

There was underestimation in 30% of the tasks.

Both Methodologies worked well in organizing and getting tasks to a completed state

Getting Things Done is arguably a more simple approach to task management.

Scrum has a more elaborate way of managing tasks.◦ Daily Review◦ Effort Estimation◦ Remaining Work

The sprint review and sprint retrospective add value to the task management process by giving feedback for further improvement.

Both systems are functional time management systems and taking the best of both worlds we define an improved version of Scrum for Personal Use.

Personal Scrum is a combination of the Scrum and Getting Things Done Methodology.

From Getting Things Done we take:

Simplicity: taking away unnecessary scrum rolesPrioritization: waiting for, next actions, in progress, done and cancelled.

From Scrum we take:

SprintsSprint PlanningDaily ScrumSprint ReviewSprint Retrospective

All other roles artifacts and ceremonies are deliberately left out.

The results of the study revealed that using the modified one-person Scrum framework got more tasks completed than the same number of tasks using the Getting Thing Done framework.

This proves that Scrum can be effectively used as a personal task management system.

Based on these findings we adapted the Scrum methodology to create “Personal Scrum”.

This new framework is a striped down version of the Scrum with a few additions from Getting Things Done.

This new framework if used correctly could become a widely used as a personal time management system for its effectiveness and simplicity.

Q & A