Doug Shimp

With over two decades of experience in technology and product development, Doug Shimp has worked across the full spectrum of software delivery, including Developer, QA, Analyst, Manager, Director of IT, Leader, Coach, and Consultant. With a foundation in chemistry and early experience in C/C++ and Smalltalk, Doug brings a systems-oriented mindset to modern product and organizational challenges. His background allows him to engage deeply with real problems teams face, rather than abstract or theoretical models.

As a Certified Scrum Trainer (CST) and founder of 3Back, Doug focuses on helping teams become more effective in the environments they actually operate in. His work emphasizes applied practice, feedback, and learning over rigid adherence to frameworks. Training sessions are designed to build judgment, not just knowledge, so participants can adapt their approach based on context and results.

Doug is the author of the Scrum Leadership Series and the Product Owner of the work management platform Get To Done ®. His product work centers on helping teams focus on outcomes and learning, rather than tooling complexity or activity volume. He is also the Product Owner of Scrum Dictionary, which provides clear, practical definitions grounded in real-world usage.

Doug’s learning experiences are intentionally hands-on. Participants engage directly with problem solving, collaboration, and feedback, rather than passive consumption of material. The goal is not compliance with a framework, but the ability to think clearly, work effectively with others, and produce meaningful results.

Through his work on the Scrum Handbooks and the Scaling Scrum with Scrum® approach, Doug emphasizes that teams must shape their way of working to fit their context. As organizations grow and teams interact, alignment becomes necessary, but it should emerge from shared understanding and feedback rather than imposed structure.

Doug is also the Founder and CEO of Tuna Traffic, a marketing and technology firm based in Southeast Wisconsin. His work there focuses on helping organizations apply modern technology, including AI, to real business problems and measurable outcomes.

Credentials: CSM, CSPO, CSD, CSP, CST