1Scrum

In the heart of Fawzooz’s village, where life can seem slow but is full of creative ideas, Fawzooz found himself thinking about how to better manage creative projects that demand constant collaboration and innovation. He decided to apply the Scrum framework he had recently learned about, to help his team produce the best results in the shortest time.

The journey began by forming a small team of varied village talents, including illustrators, writers and designers. Fawzooz took the role of “Scrum Master”, smoothing the process and shielding the team from outside distractions. There was also a “Product Owner”, who represented the goals and value the team needed to deliver.

“A small team, a clear goal, and a step every two weeks.”

The core Scrum artefacts the team used

Product Backlog. An ordered list of everything the project needs.

Sprint Backlog. The set of tasks chosen for each Sprint, with a plan for delivering them.

Increment. The sum of tasks completed during a Sprint that add value to the project.

The core Scrum events

Sprint. A work cycle lasting a few weeks in which the team produces something usable.

Sprint Planning. The meeting that sets the Sprint’s goals.

Daily Scrum. A fifteen-minute daily meeting to coordinate activities and plan the next day.

Sprint Review. Held at the end of each Sprint to review the work completed.

Sprint Retrospective. A chance for the team to assess its performance and plan improvements.

The team chose a project to try Scrum. Designing and producing a series of illustrated stories telling the village legends in a fresh way. In the first Sprint they focused on developing two early stories and testing their designs with a small group of children and parents in the village.

With every Sprint, the team’s way of working and its efficiency improved. They began to see how flexibility, continuous improvement and deep collaboration could produce unmatched creativity. Each new success strengthened the team’s confidence in Scrum, and over time the village library became a centre of innovation and creativity, drawing visitors from everywhere to see how stories could be born and grow in the hands of the villagers.