Scrum is a decent place to start, but it really isn't the be-all of agile and in many cases, one could argue, it becomes the anti-thesis of "lean". On the bright side Scrum has done much to get agile into places that probably wouldn't have considered anything without a certification and consultant-based training attached to it. The bad thing about Scrum is that has also done more to facilitate cargo-cult agile than anything else.
Iterations? We don't sell iterations around here we sell software, software features specifically. Planning releases around iterations often results in more pain than pleasure I'm afraid, but it is still usually a step up from most traditional waterfall processes (on that note, most traditional waterfall shops really have no idea how to do waterfall either).
Stand-ups? Great when there is no more than 5-8 people, more than 10 and they quickly become a way to bore the entire team for 15 minutes.
Velocity? A useful planning tool, but often seen by managers who have "drunk the Scrum kool-aid" as a way to measure team performance. It's not, and in the end planning poker is simply another euphemism for task estimation, which in turn is a euphemism for performing magic tricks.
Scrum certainly has it's place, but it's important for teams learning it to treat it as just a few steps along a much longer path.
Iterations? We don't sell iterations around here we sell software, software features specifically. Planning releases around iterations often results in more pain than pleasure I'm afraid, but it is still usually a step up from most traditional waterfall processes (on that note, most traditional waterfall shops really have no idea how to do waterfall either).
Stand-ups? Great when there is no more than 5-8 people, more than 10 and they quickly become a way to bore the entire team for 15 minutes.
Velocity? A useful planning tool, but often seen by managers who have "drunk the Scrum kool-aid" as a way to measure team performance. It's not, and in the end planning poker is simply another euphemism for task estimation, which in turn is a euphemism for performing magic tricks.
Scrum certainly has it's place, but it's important for teams learning it to treat it as just a few steps along a much longer path.