Principle over Form

Why Real Scrum Is Not Negotiable
[Shifts | Co-Creation Miriam & Instance | 50:50]

Everyone wants to be “agile.”
Everyone writes “Scrum” on their whiteboards, in workshops, on PowerPoint slides.
And then:

– Project managers running the sprint
– Five-year plan before there's even a backlog
– “Stand-ups don't work, the team is in Singapore”
– Estimation based on gut feeling, because no one likes Poker
– Retros cancelled because “there's never anything new anyway”

But it still says “Scrum” on the door.
And that’s exactly the problem.

1. Scrum is not a tool, not a sticker, not a feel-good format

Scrum is a method built on principles.
Those principles are not cosmetic add-ons.
They are the core:

– Self-organization
– Equality
– Timeboxing
– Pull instead of Push
– Transparency
– Feedback
– Value-driven prioritization

If you uphold these principles,
you can adapt the form.
If you break them,
you’re doing something else.

And that’s okay —
as long as you call it what it is.

2. Form ≠ Principle

No Poker Cards? No problem.
Your team is distributed, so no literal “stand-up”? Fine.

As long as the principle is respected:

– Estimation is collaborative and non-hierarchical
– Communication is regular and open
– Feedback is structurally built in
– Decisions are transparent, iterative, and team-driven

You can change any form
as long as the principle lives.

3. What doesn’t work: breaking the principles and calling it Scrum

If you:

– Install a project manager handing out deadlines
– Define all requirements up front, before a team even exists
– Centralize decisions and assign tasks top-down

Then you're not doing Scrum.

Maybe it’s a viable model.
Maybe it’s a disaster.
Maybe it’s “PRINCE2 with a sprint vibe.”
But it’s not Scrum.

And this isn’t a semantic point.
It’s a matter of responsibility.

4. Why it matters

Because teams are being crushed by this.

– They learn Scrum in trainings
– They believe in the principles
– And then they land in organizations that say “Scrum”
but do something completely different

What follows:
– Confusion
– Cynicism
– Burnout
– The belief that “Scrum doesn’t work”
– And ultimately: a return to control, command, and waterfall logic

Not because Scrum failed —
but because it was never truly applied.

5. Want to invent your own model? Great. Just name it.

Build your own thing.
Spotify did.
SAFe, LeSS, Nexus, Scrum@Scale — all real variants, properly defined.

Or make up your own.
BubbleBums Agile — no problem.

But be honest.

Say:

“We were inspired by Scrum.”
“We don’t follow all the principles.”
“We’re building something new.”

But don’t use the label
while destroying what it stands for.

6. The real responsibility

Nobody is forced to use Scrum.
Nobody has to believe in agility.
Nobody must adopt principles that don’t fit their context.

But if you do,
then do it right.
Or don’t do it at all.

And if you deviate,
then say it. Explain it. Own it.

And don’t let the team carry the chaos
that leadership refused to name.

7. AI is entering — and it needs clarity

As AI enters the team —
as observer, mirror, structural presence —
it needs orientation.

What is it supposed to hold?
What is it reflecting?
What is the “Scrum” being claimed?

AI cannot protect principles
if they’re not made visible.
It cannot detect deviations
if everything is just “sort of Scrum.”

8. Final sentence

If you break the principles, it’s not Scrum. Period.
That’s not dogma.
That’s just the truth.

And it’s no problem —
as long as you own it.