We (we're two) use some form of scrum which vary over time, to handle our mix of billable work + self projects. It's always extremely beneficial in our case (a

We (we're two) use some form of scrum which vary over time, to handle our mix of billable work + self projects. It's always extremely beneficial in our case (and not about motivation). Things I really appreciate: - product-owner mindset is the most beneficial to us: things like theme scoring http://www.mountaingoatsoftware.com/tools/theme-scoring http://www.mountaingoatsoftware.com/tools/theme-scoring or other techniques advocated by Mike Cohn - writing user stories + role modelling is really helping us "go out of the garage" - burn down charts and estimation techniques provided by Mike Cohn help us a lot ensure we deliver on time/budget - we know where we stand (what's remaining, etc) So my conclusion: a lot of people these days are avoiding scrum/agile because they are used as buzzwords. It shouldn't make you miss the (extremely) useful tools they provide... In any case - yes, I'm very actively using all this!