Scrum is an iterative incremental framework for managing complex work (such as new product development) commonly used with agile software development.

In Scrum, work is expressed as user stories. A team may write its user stories in a number of ways as long as they are written from the perspective of the end user. Put another way, team members are encouraged to think of their work from the perspective of who will use it (hence “user” story).

In summary, user stories document requirements with particular attention to the end user’s point of view.

Paper size: Letter and A5

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So, a few people have emailed me about my current productivity tools. They want to know if I'm using Circa, if I've given up on fountain pens, if I ever use software, and so on. One even deduced that the reason for my absence from DIYPlanner was because I had crossed from analog completely into the digital world. The latter is certainly not the case, and my forays into the land o' ones and zeroes have typically resulted in my throwing up my hands in frustration, wondering how some people live without paper. (Keep in mind I'm an IT professional and gadget freak, so I don't say this lightly.)

So, read on for a little summary of my daily gear at the moment....

A Whack on the Side of the Head: How You Can Be More Creative author: Roger von Oech asin: 0446404667

Creative Whack Pack author: Roger Von Oech asin: 0880793589

Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Creative-Thinking Techniques (2nd Edition) author: Michael Michalko asin: 1580087736

Day-Timer 80844 Personal organizer starter set, aviator leather binder, 5-1/2x8-1/2, dark tan asin: B00006GNWW

Leatherman 830039 New Wave Multitool with Leather Sheath asin: B0002H49BC

Lowepro Slingshot 200 All Weather Backpack (Black) asin: B000B9O83A

Pelikan 800 Series Fountain Pen - Black, Fine Nib 995563 asin: B000CN9KWO

Lamy 2000 Fountain Pen - Black, Fine Nib L01F asin: B001D3PYT0

Nikon D90 DX 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED AF-S VR DX Nikkor Zoom Lens asin: B001ENOZY4

Finally!

One of my goals in 2009 was to finish my Swirly Q GTD Template set - and I am happy to say that it is now FINISHED!

This series is smooth and gentle in shades of lavender and green. Exquisitely unique, your will be in awe of this coordinated series!

The entire set consists of:

* Notes
* Graph Paper
* Mind Map
* Agenda
* Expense Report
* Phone Log
* Project Planner
* Personal Profile
* To Do List
* Weekly Template
* Monthly Template

They are also available in three-paks, separated as follows:

Set One:
* Notes
* Graph Paper
* Mind Map

Set Two:
* Agenda
* Expense Report
* Project Planner

Set Three:
* Phone Log
* Profile Page
* Things to Do

Set Four:
* Weekly Calendar
* Monthly Calendar
* Yearly Calendar

It has taken hours of work to bring these templates to fruition - the graphs are high quality vectors and the templates are presented in PDF format, which lends itself well to print at most any size. There are wide margins to support punching to fit both Circa and traditional 3, 5 or 7 hole binders.

The three-paks are priced at a reasonable $5.99, and the entire template set it $24.99. Many satisfied customers have purchased my templates and have been extremely happy with them.

I can also customize and portion of these for you, whether you need your week to start on a different day, or anything else that you require. I'm also happy to create a brand new custom set just for you. Feel free to contact me at blog@freshfocus.info.

These templates as well as my Java Template Pak are available from my blog, and you will find them at this link: http://freshfocus.info/blog/my-gtd-templates.

Thanks for viewing this template and I hope that you will enjoy them!

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There's a corner of hell reserved for time management gadgets, and I've visited it often these past few months. Conceptually, the ability to manage appointments and to-do lists is so simplistic that 40 years of programming should have made this a no-brainer by now.

The scenario: I want the ability to keep my calendars and tasks in sync between my home, work and mobile gadget. Adding an item to one should propagate it to the others. I should be able to add simple notes, get access to info almost anywhere, and take advantage of the domain to copy and paste data from multiple digital sources. Now, don't get me wrong: I love me my paper planner, but there's only so much you can stuff in it at a time.

My new goal in life is to S.I.M.P.L.I.F.Y! I have too much stuff in a pretty small house and cannot find anything when I need it. I figure that anything I can do to help simplify my life may also benefit you – my D*I*Y friends. So, my stories and posts are hopefully going to be filled with simple yet effective tools for you to use in your everyday life (if you so choose!).

I figured since someone had mentioned Jott.com in my last post, I would begin here.

Jott.com... A FREE service that converts your voice into emails, text messages, reminders, lists and appointments. Their Tag Line: “Get Simple Back.” Love it!

If what we're hearing in the trade sites is correct, the brand new ultra-mobile Eee PC 901 will be released in the next few days. However, the price point is supposed to be close to the $650 mark, which is a far cry from the sub-$400 sweet spot of the 701. Still, I'm eying that one carefully for my road kit, given how well my own 701 has performed. This is a little follow-up to my original mini-review.

Well, it didn't take me long to realise that I wasn't very fond of the Xandros Linux distribution that comes stock with the Eee PC 701. Don't get me wrong: it's great for newbies to Linux or for those users who want a static system that "just works" without feeling the foolish desire to tinker or to be on the bleeding edge. But, for better or worse, that's not me.

Most of my frustration was the result of a significant portion of the file system where the operating system and installed programs are stored -- to protect newbies from "messing up" the operating system, it's read-only. Yup, can't screw up what you can't change. But I didn't realise my inability to write to it at first, and was wondering why all my free space was rapidly disappearing whenever I upgraded the built-in applications. It seems that the old versions remained hidden and inactive, while the upgrades started taking up huge chunks of the valuable two gigabytes of storage space. For example, an upgrade of OpenOffice.org didn't take up a dozen more megabytes, as it would seem: instead, it took up a few hundred megabytes. Lesson learned: don't bother with any significant upgrades.

Okay, I can be a little obsessive. (For example, see my recent posts about fountain pens, fountain pens, fountain pens, and ...erm... fountain pens.) Unfortunately, combined with my persistent belief that my next productivity tool could be the non plus ultra, this can translate into drawers filled with unused gadgets, bookcases jammed with partially used planners and notebooks, and a selection of writing utensils that would shame any office supply store. And, although I am embarrassed to admit it, while I tend towards the intimacy of pen and paper, the tinker in me is certainly inclined towards items demonstrating an almost awkward complexity. But do those help me be more productive? Rarely.

I've mentioned not only my Macs in these pages, but my Palms, my Newtons, and various other attempts to find a perfect portable writing machine that also allows for efficient time management. The Newton eMate 300 (or alternatively, the Newton MessagePad 2100 with keyboard) was the closest thing thus far, as it offered me the ability to write without being tempted by the distractions of the web, use the amazing MoreInfo to structure my days, and have a smallish and rugged package that lasted up to 20 hours. But, as attractive as the Newtons were, I started yearning for the ability to look up online resources, draw small diagrams, send email, sync easily with my other computers, and so on, all of which are possible on the Newtons, but not easy nor intuitive. The thought of typing several dozen pages on a cramped smartphone thumb-board while the battery ticks down didn't seem to offer any respite. What I needed was a very small laptop... a subnotebook, and one that wouldn't cost a fortune. And then, I unexpectedly received one: an Asus Eee PC 701 4G Surf, currently going for an average retail value of roughly $350 USD ($400 for the non-Surf model, which means it has a webcam).

I eyed it suspiciously. Small, clunky, inexpensive, tiny-screened, Linuxy, and therefore decidedly un-Mac-like. Could it fit the bill?

These templates are designed for game developers and can be used for planning and tracking the game development process. It is a work in progress, so new forms will be added on a regular basis.

This is a Two Up version of the Machine Profile template by Eric Farris

A form for keeping track of computers: IP addresses, inventory information, Make/Model, etc.

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