Scrum for Small Businesses

No, I’m not suggesting that a game of rugby is the way to mange your small business.  Scrum is a technique more commonly used as part of Agile software development by businesses like Google and Nokia.  High Tech companies are hotbeds of innovative ways of doing things.  Developing a new phone is high risk and manpower intensive and the competition may launch something better while you’re halfway through building it.  This kind of environment demands that an organisation be focused , flexible and responsive and Scrum is one of the ways that they achieve this.

Scrum evolved in the ’90s* and got its name largely because of the most visible aspect of the process – a daily team ’scrum’.  The daily scrum lasts for no more than 15 minutes and each team member has to state what they achieved yesterday, what they plan to achieve today and if they anticipate anything preventing them from achieving this.  Take a moment to imagine this within your own business, how long does it usually take for you to find out what everyone is doing and whether they’ve got outstanding jobs from last month because of a problem they can’t solve by themselves?  And this is just the beginning…

The complete Scrum system

Scrum also shares many points of similarity with systems like LEAN and Six Sigma – team members pull tasks from the list and thereby take ownership of them; management focus is on removing barriers; the whole team has visibility of progress towards the overall goal.

Scrum’s main flaw is the overhead in organisation required once the task gets too big for one team (more than about 8 people).  But this makes it ideal for most small sales and service businesses and for small but urgent projects.  I’ve implemented Scrum processes within the context of large technology projects in the past and believe that they could deliver great results within the small business context.  If any readers are looking for innovative ways to increase the responsiveness and flexibility of their business – to meet customer needs faster and better – call me on 027 4776 881 and I will come and tell you more about Scrum.

* Scrum references are:

• DeGrace and Stahl, Wicked Problems, Righteous Solutions (1991)
• Ken Schwaber , Advanced Development Methods
• Jeff Sutherland, John Scumniotales and Jeff McKenna, Easel Corporation
• Sutherland and Schwaber, Scrum at OOPSLA ‘95 (1995)
• Schwaber and Beedle Agile Software Development with Scrum (2001)

Website optimisation

For some time the topic of website optimisation has been one of my bugbears.  Seemingly far too often what should be a 2 minute search for information, a product or a service ends up taking half an hour or more.

The easy solution, put forward by most web design firms is search engine optimisation (SEO).  This is presented as a magic bullet for that vaguely disappointed feeling business leaders frequently have towards their websites. But, as we all really know, deep down, magic bullets are belong in fairy stories and not in business.  The reality is that a website is not just an electronic billboard but a fully functioning arm of a business.  Instead of approaching it as a technical black box of wizardry beyond our control we should define, develop, implement and especially manage it as such.

In this light I have put together a presentation for business groups – the slides for which are available for download by clicking on the image below.  The slides are designed to support the presentation rather than contain it in full and therefore contain highlights and summaries rather than the full picture. If you are interested in having me present this to your board, chamber of commerce or business network group give me a call.

Website Optimisation presentation

Welcome

Welcome to Forming, the new home of my business and technology consultancy providing facilitation and management of business innovation and improvement. I  designed this site with two primary goals in mind:

1. Presenting my thoughts and ideas on business improvement through human and technological innovation and
2. Providing prospective clients with an introduction to me, my experience and the services I can deliver.

This is where I write my latest thoughts on business improvement methods and opportunities so subscribe to my RSS feed to keep up to date with my latest articles and downloads. If you’re wondering about my business’ name take a look at the first article I added to the site: Why Forming?

If you are looking for website development or online business support why not try my sister site Kaimata Croft websites where you can find out how I go about building user managed websites that meet the needs of small businesses and community groups.

You may have been forwarded here by Bogle-Callaghan Associates – if so, please don’t panic!  You’re in the right place but Callaghan has decided to take up a proper job so I decided that it was a good time to re-brand and choose a name that resonated with what I am personally aiming to achieve through this business.

I am here to help and am happy to discuss your business requirements with no obligation. Pick up the phone and talk to me on 027 477 6881 or 03 442 3645 if you have any queries at all or if you prefer, use the contact form here.

Thanks for visiting my site & I hope to see you here again soon

Sarah Bogle MBA

Forming