Zombie Scrum

Zombie Scrum describes a situation where a team goes through the motions of Scrum, attending events, using artifacts.  But without real purpose, engagement, or working outcomes. The structure is there, but the soul is missing.

Teams stuck in Zombie Scrum often:

• Deliver no usable product increment

• Involve no stakeholders in reviews

• Skip or rush retrospectives

• Avoid tough conversations

• Follow the rules but miss the value

This kind of Scrum lacks transparency, feedback, and continuous improvement. All core to agility. Instead of enabling change, it creates a comfortable status quo.

To recover, teams need to shift their focus:

• Deliver a working product frequently

• Engage real users and stakeholders

• Make retrospectives meaningful

• Revisit the Sprint Goal and Product Goal

• Support open, honest communication

For deeper guidance, check out The Zombie Scrum Survival Guide by Johannes Schartau, Christiaan Verwijs, and Barry Overeem.

Zombie Scrum isn't just broken Scrum, it's Scrum without outcomes, without learning, and without life.

You might have heard synonyms like:

• Mechanical Scrum

• Scrum in name only (SINO)

• Ritual Scrum

• Cargo cult Scrum

• Dark Scrum

• Pseudo Scrum

• Fake Agile

If you want to avoid implementing Zombie Scrum, check our our training offers, where we focus on real impact.