Scrum Doesn’t Work!?!

I was giving a talk recently to a group of Scrum practitioners. They were asking: “What if Scrum is not the right framework for our environment?” They went on to describe how they have tried to implement Scrum but it doesn’t work in all situations. An article was referenced that posits the effectiveness of Scrum is dependent on a product’s life cycle trajectory — launch / mainstreaming / sunset. Interesting! As we expanded on this, several things became blatantly clear.

Here is my view. What often appears as failure within Scrum (or Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, agility, etc.) isn’t a flaw in the framework or approach itself—it’s a reflection of anti-patterns and misunderstandings that run much deeper. These issues reveal not just misapplications of Scrum but also underlying organizational dysfunctions that sabotage effectiveness.

1. Misdiagnosing the Problem: Is It Really About Scrum?

I hear this a lot, “Maybe Scrum isn’t the right fit!?!” But, this misses the real issue: it’s not Scrum that’s broken—it’s how organizations are (mis)applying it. This mindset of blaming the framework rather than examining systemic dysfunctions is a classic sign of agile immaturity.

• The Real Issue: Most companies don’t have an “agile framework problem.” They have a leadership, culture, and systems problem. For example, if teams are “bending the rules of Scrum,” it’s because the organization has failed to create the conditions where Scrum can thrive—not because Scrum is the wrong tool.

• Anti-Pattern: Deflecting accountability from systemic dysfunction to the framework. Instead of asking, “Is Scrum right for us?” the real question should be, “Why can’t we make Scrum work as intended?”

2. The Myth of “Right Environment” for Scrum

In the referenced article, the author suggests that Scrum only works in environments with new products, high uncertainty, or rapid feedback loops. While Scrum excels in complex, adaptive situations, it’s not exclusive to greenfield projects.

• The Real Issue: Complexity isn’t just about products—it’s about people, processes, and priorities. Even stable products face complexity in technical debt, evolving customer needs, and internal dependencies.

• Anti-Pattern: Using “stable environments” as an excuse to maintain status quo operations. Scrum can—and should—be used to continuously improve even mature products. Complacency is not a sign of stability; it’s a sign of stagnation.

3. Multiple Products, One Team: A Symptom of Poor Organizational Design

The complaint about teams supporting multiple products reveals a deeper issue: lack of product-centric team structures.

• The Real Issue: Scrum doesn’t fail because a team supports multiple products. It struggles because the organization refuses to create dedicated, long-lived, cross-functional teams. This is an org design problem, not a Scrum problem.

• Anti-Pattern: Blaming Scrum for the chaos caused by “shared resource pools” [their phrase, not mine] and context-switching. If teams are split across multiple competing priorities, the solution isn’t abandoning Scrum—it’s unf*cking the team structure.

4. Red Flags in “Bending Scrum” Practices

The examples of teams “bending Scrum” aren’t adaptations—they’re clear signs of broken Scrum implementations:

• Sprint Goals = “Complete 8 Items” → This is not a goal; it’s a task list. A real sprint goal provides purpose, not just output targets.

• Daily Scrums as Status Meetings → This reflects command-and-control thinking, where the focus is on reporting instead of collaboration.

• Sprint Reviews as Demos Only → A proper sprint review is about communicating tangible progress, and gathering feedback to inspect and adapt, not just showcasing completed work.

• The Real Issue: These aren’t signs that Scrum doesn’t fit. They’re signs the organization doesn’t understand Scrum beyond surface-level practices.

• Anti-Pattern: Treating Scrum events as ‘ceremonies’ to check off rather than as feedback loops designed to drive continuous improvement.

5. Leadership’s Role in the Dysfunction

The author admits that leadership likes Scrum because it helps with “planning” and “coordinating dependencies.” This reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of Scrum’s purpose:

• The Real Issue: Leadership is using Scrum as a project management tool rather than embracing it as a product development framework. They love the illusion of control Scrum provides without doing the hard work of enabling autonomy, trust, and true agility.

• Anti-Pattern: Cargo cult Scrum—where teams go through the motions of Scrum rituals without changing underlying behaviors, mindsets, or systems.

6. The Fallacy of “Scrum Isn’t for Everyone”

The author concludes that Scrum is great for “a single product in the right environment.” This is a convenient cop-out to avoid addressing the real organizational impediments to agility.

• The Real Issue: Scrum exposes dysfunctions. When those dysfunctions become uncomfortable, organizations would rather abandon Scrum than confront the hard truths.

• Anti-Pattern: Framework switching—jumping from Scrum to Kanban to SAFe to “hybrid agile” in search of a magical solution, instead of addressing the underlying cultural rot.

What’s Actually Broken? (Hint: It’s Not Scrum)

1. Leadership Mindset: Leaders want the benefits of agile without changing how they lead.

2. Org Design: Teams are not structured around products and value streams, leading to competing priorities.

3. Misunderstanding of Agile: Teams treat Scrum as a set of rituals instead of a system for continuous learning and improvement.

4. Lack of Accountability: Blaming frameworks instead of fixing the broken systems that prevent agility from thriving.

Final Thoughts to Unf*ck Your Agile

Scrum isn’t broken. Organizations are.

• Scrum didn’t fail you. You failed Scrum by applying it like a project management tool instead of a product development framework.

• If your team struggles with Scrum, it’s not because it’s the wrong framework—it’s because your system is too f*cked up to support it.

• Fix the system, not the framework.

Until companies stop trying to “fix Scrum” and start fixing themselves, no framework will save them.

Excerpts from the book “Unf*ck Your Agile” by Mike Fisher

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