Craig Larman
Bio
To be clear, Craig Larman, is not an official supporter of Evolved; no support should be assumed. At the same time, we think curious people should be aware of their work.
Personal or Business or Community websites:
More Publications
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**Summary:**
Craig Larman is the co-creator of LeSS and co-author (with Bas Vodde) of the three definitive books on Large-Scale Scrum:
- *Large-Scale Scrum: More with LeSS*
- *Practices for Scaling Lean & Agile Development*
- *Scaling Lean & Agile Development*
He is also the author of *Agile & Iterative Development: A Manager’s Guide*. His articles, framework guides, and experiments on less.works, along with interviews and case studies, provide foundational knowledge for scaling agile and lean development in large organizations.
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## Books
### 1. **Large-Scale Scrum: More with LeSS**
**Authors:** Craig Larman, Bas Vodde
**Description:**
This book is the definitive guide to the LeSS (Large-Scale Scrum) framework, distilled from over a decade of experience in large-scale agile adoptions. Larman and Vodde present a minimalistic scaling framework that extends Scrum principles to large product development efforts, emphasizing simplicity, empiricism, and organizational descaling. The book offers concrete rules, guides, and experiments for adopting LeSS, along with practical advice on cross-team coordination, backlog management, and systems thinking. It serves as both an introduction and a reference for organizations seeking to scale agile while keeping teams empowered and adaptive.
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### 2. **Scaling Lean & Agile Development: Thinking and Organizational Tools for Large-Scale Scrum**
**Authors:** Craig Larman, Bas Vodde
**Description:**
This foundational book explores the thinking tools and organizational patterns necessary for successful large-scale agile development. Larman and Vodde introduce systems thinking, lean principles, and organizational design concepts that underpin effective scaling. The book is rich in case studies, patterns, and practical guidance for leaders and practitioners seeking to apply agile and lean principles across multiple teams and complex products.
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### 3. **Practices for Scaling Lean & Agile Development: Large, Multisite, and Offshore Product Development with Large-Scale Scrum**
**Authors:** Craig Larman, Bas Vodde
**Description:**
A companion to their earlier work, this book provides over 600 pages of concrete practices, experiments, and real-world examples for scaling agile and lean development. Larman and Vodde cover topics such as multisite and offshore development, feature teams, continuous integration, and technical excellence. It is a practical handbook for organizations seeking to implement LeSS and other large-scale agile approaches.
### 4. Agile & Iterative Development: A Manager’s Guide
Author: Craig Larman
Description:
This book offers a comprehensive overview of agile and iterative development methods, including Scrum, eXtreme Programming (XP), Rational Unified Process (RUP), and Evolutionary Development (Evo). Larman explains the principles, practices, and benefits of these approaches, offering guidance for managers and teams transitioning from traditional to agile methodologies. The book is widely cited as a foundational text for understanding agile development at both the team and organizational levels.
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## Books
### 1. **Large-Scale Scrum: More with LeSS**
**Authors:** Craig Larman, Bas Vodde
**Publisher:** Addison-Wesley Professional
**Publication Date:** 2016
**ISBN:** 978-0321985712
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### 2. **Scaling Lean & Agile Development: Thinking and Organizational Tools for Large-Scale Scrum**
**Authors:** Craig Larman, Bas Vodde
**Publisher:** Addison-Wesley Professional
**Publication Date:** 2008
**ISBN:** 978-0321480965
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### 3. **Practices for Scaling Lean & Agile Development: Large, Multisite, and Offshore Product Development with Large-Scale Scrum**
**Authors:** Craig Larman, Bas Vodde
**Publisher:** Addison-Wesley Professional
**Publication Date:** 2010
**ISBN:** 978-0321636409
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### 4. Agile & Iterative Development: A Manager’s Guide
Author: Craig Larman
Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional
Publication Date: 2004
ISBN: 978-0131111554
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## Articles and Learning Resources
### 1. **LeSS Framework Guides and Experiments**
**Platform:** less.works
**Description:**
Craig Larman is the principal author (with Bas Vodde) of the official LeSS framework guides and experiments available at less.works. These resources outline the LeSS principles, rules, and guides, along with a vast collection of experiments, providing practical advice and real-world stories for organizations and teams implementing LeSS at scale. The guides are continually updated based on community feedback and ongoing experience[1][2][7].
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### 2. **Small-Scale Results to Large-Scale Success with Large-Scale Scrum (LeSS): The Key To Large-Scale Success**
**Platform:** Ekipa.co (2024)
**Description:**
This article, co-authored with Bas Vodde, describes the motivation and principles behind LeSS, including lean thinking, empirical process control, systems thinking, and the importance of minimizing complexity when scaling Scrum. It explains how LeSS helps organizations deliver customer value, reduce waste, and maintain agility across large, complex environments[5].
### 3.AgileContracts.org. “Agile Contracts.” https://agilecontracts.org
Description:
AgileContracts.org is a comprehensive resource dedicated to agile contracting, supporting organizations in evolving their contracting models to better align with agile software development. The site features the Agile Contracts Primer, an in-depth article based on the contracts chapter from Practices for Scaling Lean & Agile Development by Craig Larman and Bas Vodde. The primer explains why traditional contracts can hinder agile projects and offers guidance on structuring contracts to promote collaboration, mitigate risk, and facilitate iterative and incremental delivery. The site also provides translations, references, and practical advice for both legal professionals and agile practitioners, helping bridge the gap between legal frameworks and agile values and practices.
