Building Agile Teams

Building Agile Teams

Brian Watson, PMI-ACP, CSM, PSM1Product and Agile Coach

@[email protected]

© 2011 VersionOne 2

Agenda

• Team Building Analogy• Enablers• Other Considerations


Team Building


Analogy

• Growing Agile teams is like learning to fly a plane….


Formal Training

• You can read a book or take a class to learn the “major” theoretical elements– Takeoff/landing, Stalls, Weather, etc.

• You might even be able to pass a written test after class

• However, are you ready to fly the plane


Flight Training

• With formal knowledge in hand, the student must fly with an instructor

• Time in the pilot seat will allow the student to encounter the numerous situations formal training cannot cover

• There is no substitute for practical experience…with a guiding hand

• Converts theoretical knowledge into skill


Flying Solo

• Once the student’s skill level has caught up to their desire and confidence, they can fly solo

• This occurs after many hours of guidance from the instructor

• Each person will learn something new when they fly solo– Reinforcing and existing concept– New situation


Sharing the Passion

• Flying solo will allow the knowledge/skill of the pilot to exceed their level of desire and passion for flying

• When this occurs, they can begin to share their knowledge with others– The cycle begins anew…


Teams…


Formal Scrum/Agile Training

• Critical foundational element to starting down the path to agile

• Theoretical concepts• Review key ceremonies– “Guard Rails”

• Certified Scrum Master (CSM) or Professional Scrum Master (PSM)


Growing the Team

• Accomplished through pairing the major skills sets (Dev, BA, QA, PM) with experienced people

• Allows the experienced people guide the new team through how to apply their theoretical knowledge

• A Transition Coach assists with guiding the entire process– Provide “guard rails” to the process– Product owner, management, other teams


Agile Team Schematic

Product Owner

New Dev

Experienced Dev

Experienced SMNew SM

Experienced BANew BA

Experienced QANew QA

Management

Transition

Coach

Formal Trainin

g

Experienced UXNew UX

Pairing

Pairing

Pairing

Pairing

Pairing


Cost/Benefit Analysis


Coding (Flying) Solo

• Once the team has worked through 3-5 sprints, they should be ready to fly solo

• This will allow the team to grow their skills in new situations by applying concepts learned in training and pairing

• Teams will make mistakes in this phase– Mistakes are part of the learning process– Mistakes are OK


Sharing

• When team members are ready, they can be transferred to a new team to guide and lead their transition– Option 1: Remove members of original team– Option 2: Pairing

• Set expectations - Velocity on the original team will be reduced


Agile Team Progression

Pre-CSM

Train

ing

Post-

CSM Tr

aining

Pairin

g

Flying

Solo

Shari

ng

KnowledgeSkillConfidence/Desire


Infection Rates

• 10% of a team will infect the other 90%– It is critical that the 10% is positive,

knowledgeable and evangelizing agile concepts

• When removing resources from a productive team to create a new one, you do not want to remove more than 10%


Enablers

• Management support• Team spaces• Empowerment


Management


Management Support

• Learning is a process, mistakes will happen• Management needs to transform along with the

team

Command/

Control“Approver”

Work Assignor

CoachMentor

Remover of Roadblocks

Transition

Beware the “middle manager conundrum”


Team Spaces

• Functional, not fancy– Elbow room for pairing and collaboration– Dual monitors

• Stimulate teamwork and communication– Remove walls– Central location for card wall and stand-ups

• Do not break the bank


Empowerment

• The team should be able to say “no”• Encourage the team to take risks

– Within guard rails


Other Considerations

• Continuity• Culture• Organization


Continuity

• Only a small part of overall team success is “Agile”

• Teams form a bond• Teams must be kept together– Tuckman’s “law” is undefeated and untied…


Culture

• Embrace the new culture• Work to convert pessimists– Lack of understanding– Change

• Not everyone is “cut out” for agile


Satir Model


Organization

• Think local…act global

• Work to limit roadblocks this will cause the team frustrations


Wrap-up

• Avoid “shock and awe”– Go slow and low…

• Set expectations– Mistakes– Not an overnight transformation

• Embrace psychological roadblocks of humans

Allow the teams to evolve into high performing, motivated groups


Questions

Building Agile TeamsBrian Watson, PMI-ACP, CSM, PSM1Product and Agile Coach

[email protected]@bdub1pmphttp://www.linkedin.com/in/bdub1pmp

Building Agile Teams

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