If you’re in a high-tech field, you’re likely familiar with the term SCRUM. It refers to an iterative and incremental framework for managing product development. One philosophy that undergirds SCRUM is advancing progress by failing fast and fixing early.

What might that look like? Well, if you’re working on a big, complex project, try a number of small things early. Then, keep the parts that work, and scrap, fix or make adjustments to the things that don’t. As you progress, build on the positive results by repeating this cycle of, trying small things, assessing the results, keeping the good and eliminating or fixing the failures.

The SCRUM method has proven to help teams arrive at their goals more quickly than if they just plod through a project from start to finish without testing and adjusting along the way. SCRUM may have started in the tech world, but its application can benefit any project team.