{"id":19034,"date":"2025-07-07T13:56:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-07T11:56:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scrumacademy.nl\/blog\/scrum-uitgelegd-in-star-wars-stijl\/"},"modified":"2025-07-07T13:56:21","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T11:56:21","slug":"scrum-uitgelegd-in-star-wars-stijl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scrumacademy.nl\/en\/blog\/scrum-uitgelegd-in-star-wars-stijl\/","title":{"rendered":"Scrum explained in Star Wars style"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There are many misconceptions about scrum. A major source of misconceptions, unfortunately, is the official Scrum Guide<\/em>. The Scrum Guide<\/em> is written as programming code. By describing Scrum correctly as a story – the Star Wars story – I hope to quickly give you a nice picture of how Scrum<\/a> really works. The Scrum framework contains many difficult new words. Below I explain them all using our heroes: Luke, Lei, Han and Yoda. <\/p>\n\n

\"Agile<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

The roles in Scrum based on the cast of Star Wars<\/h2>\n\n

Princess Leia<\/em><\/strong> has the plan. She also knows very well what is valuable to the entire galaxy. The rebels appreciate her leadership. Her political skill has been the most important factor in uniting all the rebel factions in The Rebellion. She has brought groups with different interests together for a common cause. Leia is our Product Owner<\/a>.<\/strong> She can shoot nicely with a blaster<\/em>, but she is definitely not a soldier. <\/p>\n\n

Luke<\/em><\/strong> on the other hand, can fight fat good. He gets things done. He shoots racer than the average Storm Trooper and he stands his ground with his Lightsaber. Han, Chewie and many of the X-Wing pilots, are like Luke in that sense. They brawl and get things done. There are also droids: they don’t fight as well, but they have different skills. The droids can hack computers or speak foreign languages. Luke and his companions make up a multidisciplinary team: the Development Team<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n

The development team is self-organizing<\/em>. Take Han, for example. He performs best when you convince him of the importance <\/em>of the mission. Then let him arrange the details himself with Chewie and the droids. If you can’t convince him, or you prescribe his tasks to him, he’ll go away. <\/p>\n\n

The<\/em><\/strong> leaders of all rebel factions<\/em><\/strong> have an interest in the success of The Rebellion. A successful Rebellion will provide freedom and protection to their oppressed constituencies. The leaders of all Rebellion factions are the stakeholders<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n

Obi-Wan and Yoda<\/em><\/strong> are the mentors, the masters<\/em>. They don’t wave their lightsabers as much as the rest, and they don’t have to. In fact, their mission is to educate and coach the team. This way the team can get the best out of themselves. Obi-Wan and Yoda know they won’t be around forever, so they strive to make themselves obsolete. Yoda and Obi-Wan are Scrum Masters<\/a><\/strong>. Even when they are dead, their wisdom continues to guide the team. <\/p>\n\n

Have you noticed that neither Yoda nor Obi-Wan update the Burn Down chart? Nor are they the types to get started with post-its on a Scrum board. <\/p>\n\n

Agile like The Empire<\/h2>\n\n

The Evil Empire is also Agile. The Evil Empire is based on the German Wehrmacht of World War II. The Wehrmacht was one of the most flexible, effective armies ever. The Nazis did not build that army but unfortunately inherited it. <\/p>\n\n

In Star Wars, the Emperor is the main Product Owner<\/strong>. Darth Vader works with several Stormtrooper teams to create value for The Empire. He and the troopers are Development Teams<\/strong>. The Dark Side combines Product Owner<\/a><\/strong> and Scrum Master<\/a><\/strong> <\/a>in one person: the Emperor. This is also their weakness. The Scrum framework strongly advises against it. <\/p>\n\n

This construction prevents the Dark Side from learning from its mistakes quickly enough. It makes them less Agile. For example, they just keep building Death Stars even after the rebels destroy their Death Star up to three times. The Empire never seems to learn that committing all their resources to one superweapon is a dangerous gamble. <\/p>\n\n

\"Agile<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

Scrum Events<\/h2>\n\n

Scrum has a number of events<\/em>. These are meetings of the team or part of the team that recur in a cycle of up to 4 weeks. These events are: the Sprint Planning<\/a>, the Daily Scrum<\/a>, the Sprint Review<\/a> and the Sprint Retrospective<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n

Sprint Planning<\/em><\/h4>\n\n

Star Wars, A New Hope – begins with Leia in dire straits. Darth Vader boards her ship and she must act quickly. She quickly creates a Scrum Sprint Planning<\/strong>. It’s an event <\/em>with a Time Box-<\/strong> Darth Vader is coming! She and her team must come up with a good enough plan within the time left to her. <\/p>\n\n

They decide that warning Obi-Wan Kenobi is the most valuable action. They discuss the objectives and the steps needed. And then the Sprint<\/strong> starts: the droids enter their Escape Pod. The team of droids is self-organizing: once they are underway, it is up to them to decide how to complete the mission. <\/p>\n\n

Daily Scrum<\/em><\/h4>\n\n

As the story unfolds, we see that the droids have Daily Scrums<\/strong> – short funny conversations in which they make plans for the day ahead. But then their original plan is completely derailed: the droids are captured by Jawa’s. That plans prove untenable is also a regular occurrence in our own daily lives here on Earth! Fortunately, the droids are self-organizing and convinced of the importance of their mission. They manage to enlist the help of Luke and Obi-Wan despite their setbacks. <\/p>\n\n

Sprint<\/em><\/h4>\n\n

Meanwhile, the Stormtroopers also started their Sprint <\/strong>. They have expertly closed the Mos Eisley spaceport. The troopers are fast, thorough and relentless. They just didn’t see Obi-Wan’s Jedi Mind Trick coming and have to finish their sprint with less results than they hoped. <\/p>\n\n