One of the things that I always think about is how linked Agile Methodologies are to Software development. But what concerns me the most is that sometimes it is believed that using Scrum in other contexts is impossible or that it is not even considered.
Well, it’s time to try it. Every time I teach a new Introduction to Scrum training course, I always put a situation like “Decorating the new office” as an example.
It is not ideal to hire a decorator who will work for two months non-stop, then after he/she ends his/her work, the client who hired him/her doesn’t like half of the new arrangements, feels that they have lost time and money and the need to hire a new decorator. Rather it’s better if, before starting the work, the client prioritizes their needs, so the decorator knows where to start and after finishing the first iteration (maybe a couple of weeks), he/she can show the company the work done, a new achieved milestone and ask for feedback to know if everything fits the company’s mood and needs.
And you can go on checking how every Scrum good practice can be applied to this or any other situation.
So, going back to the first question, I think it’s pretty clear: Yes, you can use Scrum and Agile Methodologies in every project you are working on, and even in daily and home activities.
Try it, it has worked for me so far.
And here is…a bibliography for learning the basics about Agile and Scrum:
Every great concept has a manifesto. This is the Agile manifesto: http://agilemanifesto.org/
Scrum and XP From The Trenches - This is the first book I read about Scrum. It has all the basics explained in a simple way and also has the basics for XP a.k.a. Extreme Programming https://www.infoq.com/minibooks/scrum-xp-from-the-trenches-2