Why Scrum 4 Kids?

I started doing Scrum about 5 years ago. At the time, it just seemed like a better way to do project management. As I grew to understand Scrum better, I learned Scrum was above all a mindset and a set of values.

As I got deeper into Scrum (and as my family grew), I had occasion to try out some of the underlying principles and practices at home. To my surprise, the principles and practices were often surprisingly useful for mundane, every-day things like: staying in tune with my wife, getting the kids out of bed and off to school, and reducing conflict in the family.

Somehow I can't imagine applying RUP or the V-Model to challenges at home. This convinced me that Scrum (and Agile in general) are about deeper issues than just project management.

At the Scrum Gathering in Munich last October, I had to privilege of joining a group of Scrum coaches and trainers for dinner and drinks (yes, we did consume more than just liquid refreshment). Among other things, we brainstormed on where would Scrum be in 5 years? Our sober conclusion: exactly where it is today, because the schools will continue to produce adults more or less like they do today, and -- however Scrum looks then -- the role of the trainer and coach will be do undo the damage done.

I have experimented with task boards for my kids, daily scrums with my wife, retrospectives with the whole family, and applying Scrum's concept of delegate responsibility to get better participation from my kids. I went to my son's first grade class and had them play the Ball Point Game. Some attempts worked well, others less so. One failed dramatically. Each was a learning experience and I am fascinated by how similar kids (even very young kids) are to adults in how they are motivated and how they respond to other people.

So this blog is a venue to share those experiences. I plan to write as I have time about these experiences. I hope other readers will comment and share their experiences, or even become authors on the blog. (As I write this, I am not even sure if a blog is the right medium, but hey, gotta start somewhere!)

Have you applied Scrum or Agile principles and practices to your family life, in particular with your kids? Please comment and tell me about it! If you have ideas, please share them either as a comment or offline.

I look forward to some interesting discussions!