Agile documentation with uScrum

ABSTRACT

uScrum (uncertainty Scrum) is an agile process developed by a small team at Altitude Software to manage the process of writing user documentation. uScrum manages uncertainty and the unknown, allowing writers to quickly react to changing conditions. uScrum uses orders of ignorance to understand the difficulty of tasks, allowing the team to effectively prioritize regular work together with difficult creative work. uScrum overbooks writers on iterative cycles called sprints, then lets the writers micro-manage their tasks to overcome obstacles. After each sprint the team decides what to publish and whether to proceed with unfinished work.

REFERENCES

• 1: Phillip G. Armour, The business of software: the laws of software process, Communications of the ACM, v.44 n.1, p.15-17, Jan. 2001 [doi>10.1145/357489.357495]

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  K. Computing Milieux
  K.6 MANAGEMENT OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS
      K.6.1 Project and People Management
          Subjects: Life cycle

Additional Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.2 User Interfaces (D.2.2, H.1.2, I.3.6)
          Subjects: Training, help, and documentation

  K. Computing Milieux
  K.6 MANAGEMENT OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS
      K.6.1 Project and People Management
          Subjects: Management techniques (e.g., PERT/CPM)

General Terms:
Documentation, Management, Measurement, Theory

Keywords:
agile documentation, agile management, complexity measures, orders of ignorance, risk, uScrum, uncertainty, wiki, writing