Dave West: The Future of Work: The Impact of Agile & Scrum in the COVID-19 Age
From Scarcity to Abundance — a new operating model for the age of software.
Dave West frames COVID-19 as a major turning point in what he calls the “Age of Software and Digital” — accelerating the shift from an early “Installation Period” to a mature “Deployment Period.” That shift is forcing businesses to move away from a traditional model of Scarcity, where value is captured from competitors to serve shareholders, toward a model of Abundance, where value is co-created for all stakeholders around a clear vision.
Drawing on Scrum.org research into which personality traits help people thrive in complex, ambiguous environments, Dave shares that both Team Members and Product Owners rank “Handling Ambiguity” and “Agreeableness” as top traits — while “Neuroticism” ranks as the least desirable. He connects this to core work values, where “Pride in Product” and “Openness to Change” drive agile success, while “Conservation” and “Self-enhancement” hold teams back.
What You'll Learn
- Why COVID-19 accelerated the shift from an “Installation Period” to a “Deployment Period”
- Which personality traits — like Handling Ambiguity and Agreeableness — help teams thrive in complexity
- How Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose shape self-organizing, skills-based teams
Written by Ayush Bisht · Reviewed for accuracy by Sanjay Saini
Key Takeaways
About the Speaker
Dave West is CEO and Product Owner at Scrum.org, where he leads efforts to advance the Scrum framework, including the development of the Nexus framework for scaling Scrum. Before joining Scrum.org, he was Chief Product Officer at Tasktop and managed the software delivery practice at Forrester Research; he is also co-author of “Head First Object-Oriented Analysis and Design.” Dave West spoke at Scrum Day India 2020 on “The Future of Work: The Impact of Agile & Scrum in the COVID-19 Age.”
Presentation Deck
Follow along with the slides used in the session: