Introduction
Navigating Agile without sufficient knowledge can feel like finding your way without a compass. To the uninitiated, it can seem like a religion, complete with its own jargon, rituals, and values. Even worse, those who stand against the Agile tide risk being left behind, standing on the shore while others sail forward.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re used to working in traditional waterfall projects or are entirely new to Agile: organizations worldwide are shifting toward a more agile, faster pace of planning, delivering, and executing.
Don’t panic. Learn Agile and Scrum in Two Hours: The Ultimate Agile 101 Book for Beginners is here to help! This book will teach you the basics of Agile, even if you have zero experience. It will show you what Agile is, how it works, why it’s different, and when to use it.
This book is a quick, easy-to-read Agile guide that demystifies key concepts. Whether you’re brand-new to Agile and feel like you’ve been thrown into the deep end, or you’ve only dipped your toes in the Agile waters and want to explore further, this book is for you!
You’ll learn the concepts and key terms you need to know to work within an Agile environment. You will discover how Agile differs from traditional methodologies like waterfall and when it’s appropriate to use waterfall instead of Agile and vice versa. Plus, you’ll learn the Agile values and principles and why they’re at the heart of the Agile framework, making it different from other methodologies.
In summary, you will learn:
- The fundamental principles and concepts of Agile.
- How to apply Agile in practice using the Scrum framework, the most common flavor of Agile.
- How to adopt an Agile mindset, with helpful advice for the journey.
- How Agile can help harness the power of productive teamwork to forge high-performing teams.
We’ve crafted this book using the collective knowledge we’ve gained as Agile practitioners—all to help you become fluent in Agile in just two hours!
Enjoy reading,
Luke Pivac & Kieran Morgan
Who This Book Is For
Are you new to Agile, or maybe curious about how Agile can help you achieve your goals more effectively? Or have you been thrown into an Agile environment and feel like you’re in over your head, drowning in Agile jargon? If you answered yes to any of these questions, this book is for you. It’s a simple and clear primer for Agile and Scrum—that you can read in two hours.
This book is for:
- Agile Beginners who must do something unfamiliar—Agile—and need a practical, easy guide to follow.
- Software Developers, Business Analysts, and Testers who want to see how Agile can improve teamwork and collaboration.
- Scrum Masters who need a straightforward reference covering the essentials of Agile and Scrum.
- Product Owners who want to clarify their role in guiding the product vision and ensuring customer value.
- Project Managers who want to understand how roles like Scrum Master and Product Owner work, so they can transition to an Agile environment.
- Leaders, Managers, and Executives who need enough Agile know-how to build and support effective Agile teams—without getting lost in the details.
Why “2 Hours”?
This book is about 16,000 words, and the average reading speed is somewhere in the range of 200–300 words per minute. It should take the average reader about two hours to read this book from cover to cover. But if you need to take more time to study the concepts in depth, please do so!
About the Authors
Luke Pivac
Luke has been leading Agile projects for over 10 years, working with a range of companies from high-tech software firms to major banks. With publications on lukepivac.com and Bookboon, Luke is recognized as a thought leader in the industry who is dedicated to spreading understanding of Agile methodologies and their practical applications.
Luke combines his practical experience of Agile with a deep theoretical understanding. His mission is to help professionals at all levels understand and benefit from Agile practices so they can achieve their full potential.
When not engaged in Agile projects or writing, Luke shares his expertise through workshops, speaking engagements, and one-on-one mentoring. He also spends time with his family in Auckland, New Zealand.
Kieran Morgan
Kieran is a process improvement leader with two decades of experience driving operational excellence, enterprise transformation, and strategic change across corporate and government sectors.
Drawing on Lean Six Sigma, Agile, and business process architecture, he specializes in designing scalable frameworks that turn complexity into clarity.
Kieran holds a Master of Project Management and is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. His current focus is exploring how systems theory and methodologies like Agile Scrum can enhance decision-making in complex environments.
When he’s not optimizing workflows or refining processes, Kieran enjoys spending time with his partner and daughters in Sydney, Australia.
Luke’s Story: Agile’s True Worth in Times of Crisis
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, everything changed almost overnight. One day, I was collaborating face-to-face with my team in the New Zealand government’s health software department; the next, we were all isolated behind screens and trying to make sense of a new remote reality. As a Senior Scrum Master leading our DevOps integration team, I found myself in uncharted territory.
The stakes were higher than ever. We were responsible for critical health software that would support our nation’s response to the pandemic. Suddenly, nobody knew what to do. The usual routines and processes seemed inadequate for the challenges we were facing. I realized that this was a moment where Agile principles could truly make a difference—but we’d have to adapt them to fit our new circumstances.
To tackle these challenges, I decided to fully embrace the Agile Manifesto. We’d been operating in hybrid mode, afraid to let go of the traditional waterfall methods that were holding us back.
With the team’s agreement, we shifted our focus to actionable tasks and timeboxed our efforts to keep the momentum going. Documentation took a backseat to action lists, allowing us to respond swiftly to changing needs. Instead of leading from the top, I found myself doing more bottom-up leadership—taking notes during our big meetings, capturing decisions on the fly, and making sure we followed up promptly.
Without the old constraints holding us back, we were free to try new techniques and focus on the most important thing: delivering value to the customer. Despite the hurdles, we successfully navigated the chaos by embracing Agile principles. Our senior leadership quickly noticed our performance and praised the critical role we played in maintaining operations and emotionally supporting each other during such stressful times.
Leading a 30-member remote Scrumban team during lockdown was one of the most challenging yet educational experiences of my career. This journey taught me the true value of Agile—not just as a methodology, but as a mindset. It reinforced my belief that with trust, collaboration, and adaptability, teams can overcome any obstacle. This experience is the foundation of my ability to help you, and your teams reach new heights.
How to Use This Book
You don’t have to follow every step or read every page. The bitesize format of this book allows you to take it at your own pace, skipping anything that isn’t relevant to you.
Symbols Used in This Book
While reading this book, you’ll encounter reader aids, which are easily identifiable by their accompanying symbols. The following table explains the purpose of each.
Table 1: Symbols Used in This Book
 | Insight: Insights offer an extra dimension to the guidance provided in this book. They may suggest career-enhancing moves, sound notes of caution, or shed additional light on a concept. |
 | What Does That Mean? Definitions for technical jargon used in the accompanying text. All definitions are compiled in the glossary. |
 | Note: Additional information about a concept or section that is not essential for understanding but provides more context. |
Acknowledgements
Luke and Kieran extend their heartfelt thanks to everyone who contributed their time and effort to this project. A special thanks to our partners and families for their patience and support as we spent countless early mornings, evenings, and weekends refining this book—we couldn’t have done it without you.
To Steve Moss—your time, commitment, and unwavering support have been invaluable. Your contributions have enriched this book in ways we can’t thank you enough for.
To Katherine Colina (Kieran’s partner)—an enormous thank you for your support and for giving me the time and space to bring this project to life. I hope this book proves helpful on your own IT journey!
To our brilliant expert reviewers: Kym Mawson-Lee, Beth Gervase, Markus Kopco, Bill Raymond, James Gorman, and Jason Leeming. Thank you for lending your considerable Agile experience to this project, reviewing our drafts, providing loads of helpful feedback, and making this guide so much better!
