Written by Jack Heath, Information Security Engineer, 2023
Establishing agile teams is hard, especially when the
corporate culture is predominantly waterfall. But continuous improvement is a
hallmark requirement for an agile methodology to succeed and that means agile
teams are grown, not made. Focusing on communication, collaboration,
self-sufficiency, metrics, and scope of work; not just the expectation of
exceptional results day one is critical. But, transitioning to an agile team
isn't just hard for those on the team, it also requires a significant mindset change
for leadership. For the process to succeed, both team members and management
must support the agile environment and work to reduce the complexity of cross
team communication. Furthermore, Diversity in skill sets and perspectives are a
crucial part of running a well-rounded agile team, so it will also be hard at
first to move forward if there is a mindset on the part of leadership that all
work is universally quantifiable on day one.
General Rules for Starting Any Agile Method
1. Manager Buy-In to the Transition Must be Enforced
This is a critical first step in transitioning to an
agile framework. Leadership must be receptive to change and willing to let go
of some control, empowering Level 1 (L1) teams to manage their own
processes and tasks. This shift requires managers to accept and encourage
pushback on deliverables, fostering an environment where team members feel
confident to express their concerns and suggest improvements. Managerial
support and flexibility are essential to create a culture that embraces agile
principles and ensures successful implementation. Often a company will attempt
to move to agile first at the L1 level because it's easier. But this often just
delays obvious and critical blockers to migration later resulting in waterfall methodologies
deployed under Kanban boards with significant duplication and excessive
meetings.
2. Lines of Communication Must be Cleared
Reflecting on and improving communication strategies
regularly allows for better understanding and alignment on project goals and
technical solutions. Team members should feel empowered to voice their
opinions and concerns, while managers should provide constructive feedback.
This mutual understanding fosters a collaborative environment where everyone is
clear on the project expectations and outcomes. Effective communication is the
cornerstone of any successful agile team. High-performing agile teams
prioritize open and transparent communication among team members and between
the team and management.
3. Metrics Must Properly Reflect Effort
Things will take the time they take, and different tasks
take different amounts of time. In an agile team, stories need to address items
fairly and leadership should not be setting an expectation to produce
deliverables at a given rate or a certain number of deliverables by a specific
time; this needs to be done at the team level. When dictated by leadership,
it can force teams to prioritize low-hanging fruit over blocked (but critical)
items and create the illusion the project is advancing faster than it is.
It is important to track the health of the agile team
itself. Metrics such as sprint burndown, epic and release burndown, team
velocity, control charts, cumulative flow diagrams, and release frequency can
help teams set measurable goals for themselves. However, these metrics should
not be used by leadership to determine productivity overall. Agile teams need
the ability to continuously improve their processes and collaboration.
Leadership should focus more on overall team performance and the quality of the
deliverables they receive.
4. Unique Skillsets are OK, Even Essential
It's a premise on the part of leadership that
"everyone be replaceable" under agile. But while cross-training
is important, a cross-functional team comprises individuals from different
functional areas within the company. These teams are empowered to make
decisions at a lower level, allowing them to control the entire scope of a
project from start to finish. For a cross-functional agile team to succeed,
everyone can't do everything. The team must consist of individuals with both
shared and complementary skill sets. This diversity allows team members to
assist each other on various features or projects without relying on external
resources.
Often there is pressure from management to cross-train
everyone to make a one-size fits all work queue. But specialized team members
facilitate balanced workloads, encourage greater appreciation and respect for
each other’s contributions, gives individual team members a sense of value, and
enhances overall project success.
5. Favor Collaboration Instead of Oversight
Collaboration is vital in agile environments. Agile
teams operate in short iterations, or sprints, that demand close collaboration
not only within the team, but also with other teams and business partners. This
collaborative approach ensures that everyone is aligned and working towards the
same goals. Agile teams understand that project success relies on collective
effort rather than isolated tasks handed from one team to another. Regular
feedback loops and the ability to adapt quickly are essential. A big part of leadership’s
obligation therefore revolves around reducing siloed procedural steps, complex
cross-team intake procedures, and not adding large amounts of approval overhead
to the change process.
6. Encourage Autonomy and Self-Sufficiency
For an agile team to thrive, it must be self-organizing and
self-sufficient. Team members should be capable of determining their tasks and
organizing meetings with minimal guidance from higher-level executives. This
autonomy leads to consistent performance and better results for the
organization.
To support self-sufficiency, agile teams often use project
management tools to plan their sprints and manage tasks independently. This
approach reduces the need for traditional managers to interject themselves as
approvers and empowers teams to take ownership of their work.
In Summary
The success of an agile transformation hinges on top-down
support. Agile requires a shift in expectations about team operations and
necessitates leadership stepping back to allow teams the autonomy and time they
need to thrive. This means managers must trust the process, remove themselves
from approval workflows, and allow agile practices to take root, which is
challenging when critical projects impose tight timelines and resource
constraints. But it can also make them wonder where their place is in the new process.
Managers are needed. Because achieving this requires their
leadership to focus on other leaders, on clearing blockers, facilitating agile
processes, and avoiding anti-patterns. But the teams have to control their
workflows, approval processes, and be given the flexibility around task
management. Without this, it isn't agile. With it, building a high-performing
agile team becomes quite manageable.