Scrum in software and non-software contexts

When you think of Scrum, software development might immediately come to mind. However, Scrum has long since moved beyond just the IT sector. With its principles of agility, collaboration, and continuous feedback, Scrum can be incredibly valuable in other fields too. At Spark Academy we regularly support teams looking to implement Scrum outside the traditional tech industry.

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Why Scrum outside of IT?

Quickly adapt to change

In marketing campaigns, strategies sometimes change weekly. You don't want to be stuck with a yearly plan that's outdated halfway through.

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Clear priorities

Events, HR projects, or even sales processes can benefit from short sprints, each with a clear sprint goal.

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Increased ownership

Scrum encourages cross-functional collaboration and shared responsibility. Perfect for teams that don't want to get bogged down in hierarchy.

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Real-world examples

Marketing teams

Work with two-week sprints, with each sprint concluding in a campaign experiment or a completed deliverable (e.g., a social media campaign). During the retro, you review what went well and what needs to change next time.

HR departments

With Scrum, you can improve recruitment and onboarding processes in short cycles. Each sprint tackles a theme: “How do we speed up our screening?” or “How do we make a new colleague's first week even better?”

Event Planning

From concept to execution: define your sprint goals (arrange venue, book speakers, set up marketing), check your progress weekly, and adjust your plans if unexpected circumstances arise.

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Adaptations to Classic Scrum

You'll notice that in non-IT teams, some Scrum elements play out a little differently:

User Stories

In marketing or HR, you don't always work with 'users' in the traditional sense. Define clear goals (“As a marketer, I want to...”) or work with personas (“As a new employee, I want to...”) to maintain focus.

Definition of Done

Who determines what's 'done' in a marketing plan? In software development, it's about code and test results. In a marketing context, you might say: “The campaign is ready for publication on platform X and has been internally validated.”

Sprint Length

Experiment. A week might be too short for events, while three weeks could be perfect for an HR project.

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Pitfalls

Insufficient Scrum Knowledge

Simply 'implementing Scrum' without understanding its core principles often leads to half-hearted efforts. Take the time to truly grasp its values and empirical approach.

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Too Much Focus on Ceremonies