Is the software industry dropping Scrum?
Sorry for the potential clickbait title but I really do have this question. If you see another of my recent posts, you'll see that my company is dropping the PO role, even in teams that practice Scrum! Going further, I've even heard from managers right at the top that they don't think there should be a PO role at all and a general anti-Scrum movement. Kanban being the suggested replacement.
So I ask a genuine question even though I think Scrum is very useful at many stages of the Software Development lifecycle (especially during the main development phase of a project). Is the industry moving away from Scrum? If so... what are they moving to and why?
In the most recent State of Agile surveys, Scrum and Scrum-based processes like Scrum with Kanban, are among the most popular. The 2019 data revealed that 58% were using Scrum, 10% were using Scrumban, 8% were using Scrum with XP practices, and another 9% were using other or other hybrid methodologies. That's over 75% of organizations claiming to use Scrum as part of their approach.
However, Scrum isn't appropriate for every organization. A methodology based on continuous flow and just-in-time activities rather than a strict cadence may be better than a methodology with a strict cadence.
Organizations should choose their methodology and changes to their methodology with care.
I've even heard from managers right at the top that they don't think there should be a PO role at all and a general anti-Scrum movement. Kanban being the suggested replacement.
I have heard it argued by at least one Kanban advocate that: "...the Product Owner role is an especially egregious error that trivializes the problems of product planning, product design, and requirements analysis and hides them behind a black-box role..."
which I would observe Scrum does not actually do. Rather it crystallizes the accountability for such complex things within the Product Owner role.
Is the industry moving away from Scrum? If so... what are they moving to and why?
Scrum is not merely the language of its roles, artifacts, events, and rules. Scrum is the language of change, because it describes what organizations are not doing now if agile outcomes are to be achieved. There is a lucrative market for all sorts of professed alternatives which do not require difficult change to happen.
The problem lies with HR departments marketing the PO role as more than it is. Same can be said for the Scrum Master role. Many companies see the PO as an upgraded BA or a junior Product Manager. Scrum or not, as long as the core of Product Management and Development best practices are maintained, companies will succeed as long as customers want their products. It's not about the business process or the roles. It's about the product.