Midway through 2006, members of a small software development group at an engineering center for an oil field services company began having informal conversations about the nature of their work. Among other things, they pondered whether software development is an engineering discipline or a craft; and where to focus improvement efforts. These discussions sparked the interest of many on the team. They searched and came across the Agile Manifesto, which was posted in their work area. The values outlined in the manifesto appealed to the team.

Do you ever get the feeling that some conflict just can't be solved? The team members in conflict address the issue, it seems to go away but then it comes back. Maybe all dressed up in a new situation or with a different level of intensity, but the conflict is somehow familiar and you know that it has undoubtedly returned. If the team uses humor as a stress-reliever, you may even hear the conflict turned into a sarcastic half-joke, "OK team, just to put you on notice. Julie hates me again." Sounds almost like a marriage, doesn't it?

In November 2007, the organization held a global meeting on software practices. The participants were introduced to the lessons learned and best practices from a few projects in the company that had adopted a form of Agile methodology. With that exposure, the technology center in Houston set a goal to pilot one Scrum project in 2008. This article focuses on the Scrum implementation experience and the influence it has on the technology center's strategy for Scrum adoption. It is assumed that the reader is familiar with Scrum.

Bob interviews Doug Bradbury about 8th Light.