Max Keeler tweeted that the new Scrum Alliance director is new to Scrum. I went over to the Scrum Alliance website and I see they have selected Donna Farmer as the new Managing Director.
Beginning October 1, 2010, Farmer will lead the non-profit organization, working with the staff and Board of Directors to realize the organization’s vision and mission.
Lately, there seems to be some turbulence in the Scrum world, after Tobias Mayer resigned from his SA staff role as creative director and renounced his SA certifications of CSM, CSP, and CST. He then wrote a scathing blog post on the whole thing. I've also read an email response to his post by the Scrum Alliance, over at the Agile Scout website. The whole situation was really quite disheartening.
I empathize with Tobias and what he went through. I empathize with the Scrum community, as it evolves and tries to navigate through constant change.
But, let's go back to what Max tweeted about. Max sent me a link to the source (if it stops working let me know). Farmer admits to being new to Scrum. Even though she is, should it matter?
My analogy is the latest incarnation of Star Trek. When I heard J.J. Abrams was going to be the Director of the movie, I was shocked. How could the franchise do this to us!? Abrams admitted he wasn't even a fan of Star Trek. This was blasphemous to hear. How could anyone but a fan direct a Star Trek movie?
Well, though Abrams wasn't a fan, he took the franchise in a new direction and made a pretty damn good movie. I'm not saying Farmer is going to be a savior for the Scrum Alliance but I want to give her the benefit of the doubt.
I will continue to be optimistic about the future of the Scrum Alliance and the Agile Alliance until someone like Ken Schwaber or Alistair Cockburn publish something that counters the very principles they stand for.
So, before we pass judgment on Donna Farmer, let's all get a extra-large popcorn and see how this plays out.
May the Scrum Alliance live long and prosper.
Graphic from ChipChick.com