1. Tribal Scrum:
Tribal Leadership and Scrum
Si Alhir
salhir@gmail.com
202.596.8202
http://www.linkedin.com/in/salhir
http://salhir.wordpress.com
@SAlhir
www.CultureSync.net www.CreatingWEInstitute.com
Copyright (c) 2012 Sinan Si Alhir.
All rights reserved.

2. Tribal Scrum
• Dave Logan (January 2012)
“Make your meetings hyper-productive and fun”
“How Scrum + Tribal Leadership Will Change the World”
• What’s missing in Tribal Leadership has been a specific game that great
tribes can play against other great tribes. I believe Scrum is that game.
• First, let’s be clear that Tribal Scrum will not result from a single person
piecing it together and declaring that they have the answer.
• Second, everyone needs to get immersed in both Tribal Leadership and
Scrum.
• Third, Tribal Scrum will result from lots and lots of experiments — some
successful and some not, by combining the two approaches.
• Fourth, the community needs to determine the winning approaches here,
based on adherence to values and contribution measured by merit.
• Fifth, we should eat our own dog food. We need a venue, identification of
community values, selection of a noble cause, commitment to Scrum and
Tribal Leadership.
Copyright (c) 2012 Sinan Si Alhir.
All rights reserved.

3. Problem-Solving and
the Scientific Method
Problem Solving
Result
Owner
Impediments
Dynamics
Intention Result Action
Owner
Scientific Method
Action
Owner
Copyright (c) 2012 Sinan Si Alhir.
All rights reserved.

4. Scrum
Sprint Timebox (Goal and Done)
(Planning, Review, Retrospective)
Product
Owner
Impediments
Scrum Product Sprint
Increment
Master Backlog Backlog
Daily Scrum
Timebox
Team
(Define-Detail, Build, Test)
Roots in "The New New Product Development Game" (HBR, 1986) and Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland,1993
• Framework (not a process or technique) • Uncertainty (Change, Complexity, Risk, and
• Framework (Roles, Events, Artifacts, and Rules) Opportunity)
• Empirical, iterative, and incremental • Jeff Sutherland Papers
• Transparency (visibility), inspection (detect), and (http://jeffsutherland.com/scrum_bibliography.htm)
“Scrum in Church” (2009), “Organizational Transformation with Scrum”
adaptation (adjust) with time-boxes (2010), “Scrum in Sales” (2011)
• Self-organizing (how) and Cross-functional
(competence) with commitment Copyright (c) 2012 Sinan Si Alhir.
All rights reserved.

5. Tribal Leadership
Macro Timebox
(Planning, Review, Retrospective)
Tribe
Member Noble Cause
Impediments
Cultural Stages;
Tribe Micro Strategy Micro Strategy
Results Triads and
Member (Outcomes) (Behaviors & Assets) Triading
Micro
Timebox
Tribe Core Values
Members
Copyright (c) 2012 Sinan Si Alhir.
All rights reserved.