How to explain Agile and Scrum to your grandpa in 5 mins.

And to better understand both yourself

You’ll see that agile is pretty intuitive.

When you can’t explain something in simple terms, you begin suspecting that something might be off.
Especially if your brain works in the same way mine does: to fully understand how a bicycle functions,
I need to reinvent one.
In agile, if I had a common issue and would find a solution to it, I’d tell myself every time (or my team
would tell me):

“Natasha, Stop! Don’t think.

You have merely read 3 books on the subject, went to a couple of 2 day workshops, attended an agile
camp, watched several videos and had a few strategy sessions with agile coaches. Well, and also
spent a few years in a sсrum process.

It’s pretty obvious, Natasha, that you ha-ha! — what could you possibly understand. Do not dare
looking for an answer to your problem yourself. Write it down and wait for your agile coach
consultation.”

Oh, but I really loathe it when I shouldn’t think. It’s the “shuhari” principle: you are not allowed to
turn on your common sense. Doesn’t it look kind of suspicious?

Speaking of suspicious
Joining the camp of agile-haters is not an option for me. Everything in me embraces the agile
principles. I am a change-person and I can’t do without flexibility.
I decided I will have a nerve to write a post on how agile and scrum are actually pretty intuitive, and
it’s important to turn them on at the right moment. And turn them off at the right moment as well.
Once again:

And turn them off of at the right moment.

So, call your grandpa over and let us begin.

Explaining agile to grandpa

— Grandpa, imagine this: you are young, you just got married. Someone let you and your wife stay
over for the summer. But winter is coming, you need to build a house in time. What would you do?
(My examples might look weird, but I come from Russia and for my country they are very common.

The situation was very typical at the time when my grandparents were young.)
— I would build a tiny house, but with a solid foundation, so that we can move in before the cold
hits.
Would lay the roof in a simple fashion, just so we could pass the winter.
— And then?
— Then the next summer I would build an annex and redo the roof in a solid way. The summer after
that — I’d build a porch. The summer after that one — maybe would add another floor. I’d decide
with my wife what to do first and what to do next.
— Great job, grandpa. Now memorise:
We will call the house a ‘product’. Yep, don’t laugh.
Your first “just to move in to somewhere” house is an MVP. I.e. a minimum viable product.
The house with an annex and the house with the porch are increments.
You are a product owner, you take care of what the house will look like.
Your wife is a stakeholder, her opinion matters, because she will have to live in the house.
The list of the annex, porch, another floor, solid roof and whatever else you would like to build is
a backlog.
When you and your wife sit down and decide what to do, you groom the backlog.
— Now tell me, grandpa, how would you go about building your house.
— Well, I’m a poor builder myself, but I’m a good setter-up, so I would keep working at the factory. I
would invite my brother and uncle Vova to build the house for me. My brother is a handy person, and
uncle Vova is a smart one — he can do all the blueprints and calculations. Both are great workers.
Finally, I would ask my neighbor to feed them three times a day and upkeep the peace between them
in case they start arguing.
— Perfect. Now put it down:
Your brother and uncle Vova are the developer team.
Their strength lies in being able to replace each other. So they are T-shaped people: they both can do
one specific thing very well, but in everything else they can help each other out.
Your neighbor is a scrum master. Her main task is to upkeep the team’s spirit.
— How would you make sure they do everything well? And of not running out of building material?
— In the beginning of each week I would discuss what needs buying for the following 1–2 weeks. In
the morning, before leaving for work, I’d have coffee with them at the neighbor’s. Would look closely
at what they’ve completed and what they will be building. From time to time we would probably all
get drunk together and then each one would complain that the others are working worse and less.
But then we would be reconciled.
— Ok, grandpa, so:
Your discussion at the beginning of each week is a sprint planning.
Your morning coffee is a stand up.
To get drunk and start arguing is to run a retrospective.
— Grandpa, but what about your wife? She would probably be interested in taking part in building the
house, too.
— I’d bring her along every fortnight. Just in case something might go wrong.
— See what we’ve got:
Each fortnight before your wife’s visit is the length of your sprint.
When your wife comes — it’s a sprint review. You should plan your sprint in a way that would allow
you to always have something to show to her.
Your housewarming party is the product launch.
— So, grandpa, here we are. You have just reinvented agile and a major part of scrum. When we need
to build something quickly and cheap, we find flexible solutions intuitively. It has happened many
times in history.
Historical Background
While colonizing America, settlers travelled to the West, far away from the civilization. They were
limited in resources and time, and they had to construct a dwelling before the winter. In the first year
they would build small sod houses, with an oven made out of stone and dirt. It was their MVP. The
next year they would build a cabin out of raw timber (that’s version 2.0 of their product). Only from
year 3 would they usually start building an actual solid house.

1883, Nebraska. Sod house typical for settlement of the time, with a bull in place of a dog
Residents of favelas in Brazil have more time, and there’s no winter. But they have limited money and
resources. They build their rooms with big bricks, also in an agile fashion. They build as many walls as
the bricks they could afford to get. They can finish it later, and then add windows, lay a roof, and
sometimes even paint the walls. When the family grows, they build the next room.
Favelas illustrate the intuitiveness of agile.
Gradnpa, developers never have enough resources to do all they want , so they also found a flexible
approach and called it ‘agile’.
Agile is flexibility out of necessity. It’s being prepared to live in a small house first, meet your team
often, work with those who can do several things at once, and add changes as you go.
Scrum is a framework of interactions, operations and roles which are required for flexibility.
To agile, or not to agile
— Grandpa, what would you do in case you’d have enough money and time to build a big solid house
right away?
— I wouldn’t bother with a small house then and would just hire a construction company to build a
ready to move in house for me. We would settle on a plan and sign up a deal. I would visit the
construction site several times, to check how the work is going, but more out of curiosity, because
they would definitely build everything according to the plan.
— But building a big house right away would take much more time. You wouldn’t be able to move in
by September then!
— Well, I’d rather wait six months but have a solid two-storey house ready to move in to. At the end
of the day I would actually save up a lot. Would not waste my resources on a temporary roof and
would have a solid roof from the start.
— What if you were unsure whether you wanted to live in an apartment or in a house?
— Then I would probably build a small house first. I don’t want to wait a long time and spend a lot of
money on something I might not actually need.
The End.

What is there to learn for the kids

Grandpa definitely understands everything now. What about his grandkids?
Agile principles are intuitive. When we have limited resources, we become more flexible and go agile.
I would add one more point to the Agile Manifesto: “Common sense is more important than anything
else, including agile itself.”
If we don’t know whether or not we need the product in the first place, or what the product should
look like, we are better off building it in an agile way. Even if we have enough resources. Any
experimental project needs an agile approach.
If we have resources and know that we do indeed need the product and what it should look like — we
should forget about agile and just build it. What we need here is good project management. In this
kind of scenario we will loose, not gain from agile: we won’t be able to optimize deadlines (will be
building for 3 years instead of 6 months) and expenses (will pay for two different roofs instead of just
one).
P.S. The story about grandpa has a sequel: How to explain web analytics to your grandpa in under 5
mins (with pictures). Translation coming soon! Stay tuned!
How to Explain Agile to a Child: Simple & Friendly Guide

Explaining complex concepts to children can be challenging, but it doesn’t have to be. In this article,
we will guide you on how to explain Agile to a child in simple language that they can easily
understand. You might be surprised at how quickly they catch on to the concepts and start applying
them in their daily activities.
Agile methodology has become increasingly popular in project management and product
development, and it can be a beneficial skill for children to learn. By understanding Agile, children can
learn valuable collaboration, communication, and problem-solving skills that will benefit them in their
future endeavors.
Key Takeaways:
Agile is an approach used to manage projects and create products more efficiently.
We will break down Agile concepts, such as sprints, backlog, Scrum, Kanban, and more, into child-
friendly language.
The benefits of Agile include teamwork, flexibility, and continuous improvement.
Agile thinking can be encouraged through openness, adaptability, and trying different approaches to a
problem.
Table of Contents

What is Agile?
The Agile Manifesto
Agile Concepts: Sprints and Backlog
Agile Concepts: Sprints and Backlog
Agile Benefits
Agile in Everyday Life
Encouraging Agile Thinking
Conclusion
How Can I Explain Complex Concepts to My Child in an Easy and Understandable Way?
FAQ:
What is Agile?
If you’re going to explain Agile to a child, it’s important to start with the basics. Simply put, Agile is an
approach that helps teams work together to create products and complete projects more efficiently.
Agile breaks down big tasks into smaller, more manageable steps that are easier to handle.
Think of building a Lego structure – instead of trying to finish the whole thing at once, you break it
down into sections and build it step by step. This is what Agile is all about: taking big tasks and
breaking them down into smaller pieces that are easier to handle.
Of course, this is just the beginning. Agile is a vast topic with many components, but understanding
the basics will help your child grasp the concept and relate it to their own experiences.

Understanding the basics of Agile can be as easy as building a Lego structure one step at a time.
The Agile Manifesto
Now that you have an idea about what Agile is, it’s time to understand the Agile Manifesto. The Agile
Manifesto is a set of four core values that guide Agile methodology.
Core Value Explanation
Individuals and Emphasizes the importance of communication and collaboration among team
interactions members to achieve project success.
Focuses on creating functional products that satisfy customer needs instead of
Working software
just following a plan.
Customer Recognizes that the customer plays a vital role in product development and
collaboration encourages active involvement throughout the process.
Responding to Embraces flexibility and the ability to adapt to change quickly to improve the
change product or project outcome.
Understanding these core values is important as they influence the way Agile projects are managed.
The Agile Manifesto encourages teamwork, customer involvement, and the ability to respond to
change efficiently, which ultimately leads to better product development.

Agile Concepts: Sprints and Backlog

In Agile, a sprint is a short period of time when a team works on specific tasks. It can be a day, a week,
or even a month, depending on the project’s requirements. Sprints allow teams to focus on
completing specific goals in a shorter timeframe, which helps them stay motivated and productive.
A backlog is a list of tasks that need to be completed during a project. It can be created at the
beginning of a project or added to as the project progresses. The items in the backlog are called “user
stories” and are listed in order of priority, with the most important items at the top.
Imagine you have homework that includes three essays, math problems, and a science project. It
might seem overwhelming to do all of it at once, but breaking it down into smaller steps can make it
more manageable. You can create a backlog of tasks, listing each essay and math problem separately,
and break them down further into manageable sprints. For instance, on the first day, you could focus
on brainstorming essay topics and then move on to writing outlines the next day.
Breaking down tasks into smaller, manageable steps and prioritizing them in a backlog can help
children understand how Agile works and apply it to their own tasks and projects.

Agile Concepts: Sprints and Backlog

Now that you understand what Agile is and the core values of the Agile Manifesto, let’s dive deeper
into some of the key concepts. Two important concepts in Agile are sprints and backlog.
Think of sprints as short periods of time, usually one or two weeks, where a team works on specific
tasks. Just like a runner in a race, a team focuses on completing a set of tasks within a specific
timeframe. This helps break down a larger project into manageable parts and ensures that progress is
being made regularly.
Sprints Backlog
Short periods of time to work on specific tasks A list of tasks that need to be completed
Helps break down a larger project into manageable Prioritizes tasks based on importance and
parts urgency
The backlog is a list of tasks that need to be completed. It’s important to prioritize tasks based on
importance and urgency, and constantly update the list. As tasks are completed, new ones can be
added. The backlog provides a clear picture of what needs to be done and helps the team stay on
track.

By breaking down a project into sprints and keeping track of tasks in the backlog, Agile teams are able
to work more efficiently and produce better results.
Next, we’ll explore two popular Agile frameworks – Scrum and Kanban.
Agile Benefits
Agile has many benefits that can help you be successful in your projects and activities.
Benefits of Agile What it means for you
Working together with others to achieve a common goal. Just like in a team sport,
Teamwork
everyone has a role to play and contributes to the success of the team.
Flexibility Being open to changes and adapting quickly when necessary. It means that if
 something isn’t working, you can change your approach to get better results.
Always looking for ways to get better and striving for excellence. This means you
Continuous
can learn from your mistakes and make changes to improve your performance and
Improvement
achieve better outcomes.
By using Agile, you can work more efficiently, get better results, and have fun along the way. Agile can
help you become a better problem solver, team player, and leader.
Remember, Agile is not just for work projects. You can use Agile in your everyday life too, like
organizing a party or planning a family trip. By breaking tasks into smaller steps, working together
with others, and being open to changes, you can accomplish anything you set your mind to.

Agile in Everyday Life

Agile methodology is not just for project management. In fact, you can apply Agile concepts to
different activities you do every day!
For instance, think about playing a game. You need to communicate with your team members to
develop a strategy, break it down into smaller steps, and adapt it based on feedback. You can also
apply Agile concepts when organizing your tasks and setting priorities. By breaking down your goals
into smaller and achievable tasks, you can achieve your objectives more efficiently and with less
stress.
Another example can be sports. You need to communicate with your team members, adapt your
strategy based on feedback from your coach, and continuously improve your skills to succeed. Like in
Agile, you need to be flexible and open to new approaches to play sports effectively.
Therefore, Agile is not just something you use in business, but it is a mindset and a way of thinking
that can help you succeed in different aspects of life.
Remember, by applying Agile concepts and thinking, you can break down your goals into smaller and
more achievable tasks, collaborate and communicate better with your team members, and
continuously improve your skills and approaches.

Encouraging Agile Thinking

To help your child develop agile thinking, it’s important to emphasize flexibility, adaptability, and
open-mindedness. Encourage your child to try different approaches when solving a problem. For
example, if they’re having trouble with a math problem, suggest they try a different method or ask for
help from a friend or teacher.
Teach your child to be open to feedback and suggestions. Let them know that it’s okay to make
mistakes and that they can learn from them. Encourage them to ask for feedback from others and to
consider different perspectives.

Another way to encourage agile thinking is to promote collaboration and communication. Encourage
your child to work with others on projects or activities and to share their ideas and thoughts. This will
help them develop their teamwork skills and learn to listen and communicate effectively.

Remember that developing agile thinking is a process, and it takes time and practice. Encourage your
child to keep trying, even if they don’t succeed at first. With your support and guidance, they can
develop the skills they need to become more flexible, adaptable, and open-minded.

Conclusion
Congratulations! You now have a better understanding of Agile and how it can be applied to various
projects and activities. Remember to break tasks into smaller steps, collaborate with others, and
adapt to changes along the way. By embracing agile thinking, you can achieve your goals more
efficiently and effectively.
How Can I Explain Complex Concepts to My Child in an Easy and Understandable Way?
When discussing complex concepts with your child, such as violence, it’s crucial to create a safe
environment for open dialogue. Use age-appropriate language, provide reassurance, and be prepared
to answer questions honestly. Here are some tips for explaining violence to a child: 1. Start by asking
what they already know or have heard. 2. Use concrete examples to simplify the concept. 3.
Emphasize the importance of empathy and gentleness towards others. 4. Use storytelling or age-
appropriate resources to help them grasp the concept better. 5. Reassure them that they are safe and
loved. Remember, open communication builds trust and reduces anxiety.
FAQ:
Q: How do I explain Agile to a child?
A: Explaining Agile to a child can be done by using simple and friendly language. Start by describing
Agile as a way to manage projects and create products more efficiently. Use relatable examples, like
building a Lego structure in small, manageable steps instead of trying to finish it all at once.
Q: What is the Agile Manifesto?
A: The Agile Manifesto is a set of principles that guide Agile practices. To explain it to a child, break it
down into child-friendly language. Talk about valuing individuals and collaboration, using relatable
examples such as working together as a team to complete a puzzle.
Q: What are sprints and backlog in Agile?
A: In Agile, sprints are short periods of time where a team works on specific tasks. A backlog is a list of
tasks that need to be completed. To simplify these concepts for a child, you can use examples like
completing homework assignments.
Q: What is Scrum and Kanban?
A: Scrum and Kanban are two popular Agile frameworks. Scrum organizes tasks into sprints, while
Kanban provides a visual way of tracking progress. You can explain these concepts to a child using
visuals or drawings to help them understand.
Q: What are the benefits of Agile?
A: Agile promotes teamwork, flexibility, and continuous improvement. You can highlight these
benefits to a child by discussing how it helps complete group projects efficiently and adapt plans
based on feedback.
Q: How does Agile apply to everyday life?
A: Agile concepts can be applied to everyday life situations. You can explain to a child how breaking
tasks into smaller steps can make them more manageable, and how collaboration and communication
can lead to better results in activities they are familiar with, like playing sports or organizing a game.
Q: How can I encourage agile thinking in a child?
A: Encouraging agile thinking in a child involves emphasizing flexibility, adaptability, and open-
mindedness. You can provide examples like trying different approaches to solve a problem or being
open to feedback and suggestions.