Scrum is a technique for managing projects / development work, and it’s the approach we use in the digital teams at the Immediate Media Company in Bristol. At the end of last year I jokingly suggested that on the web team we should give our “Sprints” (fixed periods of work) military-sounding code names.

We started with “Dusty Falcon” – which I thought sounded suitably “cool” – and the idea of birds just stuck. Eventually alliteration became part of the rules for naming a Sprint. A few weeks into the tradition, I started drawing caricatures of the birds on the whiteboard where we list the Sprint’s tasks.

The first few drawings (in the loosest sense of the word) were pretty poor. I am not an artist. I’d go as far as to say I can’t draw, full stop. But something about sketching a “Swanky Swan”, “Rockin’ Robin” and “Twerky Turkey” (the latter two being Christmas themed for December) was too fun to resist.

In the new year we agreed to begin at the beginning of the alphabet. “Angry Albatross” was an intentionally hasty scribble that a 5-year-old could look down on, but since then I’ve felt the urge to try a little harder. Whiteboard pens aren’t exactly the easiest tool for learning to draw, but it’s been fun. They range from quick sketchy outlines to slightly more elaborate attempts (albeit with a very limited colour palette).

I decided to start documenting my laughable attempts, and embarrass myself with a blog post displaying my efforts. So, for the first 2 months of the year (excluding the dreadful albatross), here’s B to G.

 

Busking Bluetit

Busking Bluetit

 

Clutzy Cuckoo

Clutzy Cuckoo

 

Dastardly Dodo

Dastardly Dodo

 

Emo Emu

Emo Emu

 

Fat Falcon

Fat Falcon

 

Grumpy Goose

Grumpy Goose

 

See? I told you they weren’t great! More to follow in the coming months…