The Agile Pocket Guide: A Quick Start to Making Your Business Agile Using Scrum and Beyond

Chapter 19

Thirty-Second Scrum Elevator Pitch

I can be verbose at times. The way that I explain things can be intricately detailed and sometimes too technical for my audience. I'm still learning how to compose and communicate things at a consumable level for my target audience, which made this book a great exercise in conciseness!

I am often asked what Agile or Scrum is all about. It is crucial that my target audience be assured that I do know what I'm talking about and that I can effectively communicate with them. I find that the following exercise is also of value for anyone who wants to accurately represent his or her company. Ideally, your company has clearly defined its mission and values to you so that you can easily tell others about the organization and why you work for it. I would hope that you enjoy the place where you work and that you'd be more than willing to speak about your company in a way that tells your audience its mission, vision, goals, and values that you not only adhere to but also enjoy following. If your company hasn't successfully instilled its value proposition upon you, then that is another chapter for another day.

So, suppose you find yourself in a position in which the president of your company asks you, “Tell me what this Agile/Scrum thing is all about.” You have thirty seconds. Go!

You start off explaining that Scrum is a framework that allows the company to deliver highest-priority software quickly and efficiently. This process is iterative in nature, ...