Scrum Beyond Software: How local NGOs inspire human values and principles
Human interactions provide fertile soil for modern, dynamic approaches like Scrum and other means to bring agility into our environment. We can very well rediscover the foundations of human interactions as they have been around for nearly as long as humanity itself — they were not just born in the context of advanced project management.
Looking at the values and principles of Scrum after a recent trip to Colombia, it becomes clear that software developers and project managers should look to informal settlements, where large “teams” are able to work by these processes. As in Scrum, they seem to take their strength from frugality, which is a trigger for innovation. Limited resources and complex situations can lead to even more resourcefulness, better self-organisation and continuous adaptation of solutions.
To deepen this theory, we will look at the urban area of Ciudad Bolívar, which is part of Colombia’s capital, Bogotá. Ciudad Bolívar is going through an interesting urban renewal phase, which merits attention and offers many lessons for Scrum.
