The Scrum Framework - Name Trivia

A little trivia about the name Scrum

The Scrum Framework was first introduced by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland in their paper presented at OOPSLA 1995, titled "The SCRUM Development Process."

The name "Scrum" was inspired by a paper written by Professors Hirotaka Takeuchi and Ikujiro Nonaka. In this paper, they employed several sports metaphors and analogies fitting their core concepts, particularly from the sport of Rugby. They referred to the process as "Moving the Scrum Downfield." A "Scrum" is a shortened name for a "scrummage" in rugby, leading Ken and Jeff to adopt the term "Scrum" for their framework.

Ken’s Shirt Trivia

Ken Schwaber is often seen wearing the New Zealand All Blacks Rugby shirt.

SCRUM Capetalisation Trivia

The original paper title, “The SCRUM Development Process”, led to much confusion, with many assuming the capitalisation indicated an acronym. This was a typographical error.

Rugby Scrummage Trivia

A scrummage, commonly referred to as a scrum, is a method of restarting play after a stoppage due to a minor infringement. It involves eight players from each team, binding together and pushing against one another in a controlled manner. The structure of a scrum is arranged into three rows: the front row, the second row, and the back row. The front row consists of two props and a hooker, the second row has two locks, and the back row is made up of two flankers and a No. 8.

The team in possession of the ball gets to roll it into the scrum. The specific player responsible for this is called the scrum-half. He or she rolls the ball down the tunnel formed by the two teams, and the hooker, a player in the front row, attempts to "hook" the ball back towards their team using his or her foot. The ball then travels back through the forest of legs to the No. 8 at the back of the scrum, and from there, the ball is played out, and the game resumes.

A youtube video with some dominant scrums