My weekly 60 seconds of WIP:
This one is also from the project lifecycles book.
The Transcript:
I’m Johanna Rothman, and this is 60 Seconds of WIP for October 5, 2023, where I read an excerpt that I hope is just a minute of some book in progress.
This excerpt is from the currently-named Project Lifecycles book:
Agility requires culture changes to manage the team, product, and management needs and risks. I already discussed how you might [Visualize a Successful Agile Team Culture].
It's time to see how an agile team might work, the characteristics of an agile team.
Characteristics of an Agile Team
All agile teams, regardless of their approach, have these characteristics in common:
- The team limits its WIP.
- The team defaults to collaboration over solo work.
- Regularly, the team delivers value, at least internally, if not to an external customer.
- The team retrospects and considers what to do for continuous improvement.
When teams work like this, they work in flow efficiency, controlling their work themselves. Because they release and retrospect, they have many fewer unplanned feedback loops. These characteristics allow the team to manage its project, product, and portfolio risks.
I love this part:
Characteristics of an Agile team: The team defaults to collaboration over solo work.
Agile teams stand out, but it’s not because they’ve adopted trendy methodologies or tools. It boils down to their behavior. Collaboration is one of those critical behaviors.
I know the phrase is overused by consultants, but synergies happen with people work together to solve problems. There’s a reason we keep using that “synergy” word: Agile teams, aware of synergy, engage in collective problem-solving, brainstorming, and decision-making.
It’s about shared understanding and collective effort. When you watch an Agile team in action, you witness a cohesive unit, each member contributing to a shared goal. It’s more than just pooling resources. It’s about leveraging the unique strengths, insights, and experiences of every team member. By doing so, the team taps into solutions and innovations that might not emerge in solo settings.
Collaboration ain’t easy, though; it’s an art refined over time. It demands open communication, mutual respect, and a safe space where every voice, however divergent, is valued.
In Agile, the sum is indeed greater than its parts. Collaboration ensures that this sum is maximized, leading to outcomes that are not only efficient but also innovative.
Exactly. Mark Kilby and I used that (default to collaboration) as one of our principles in From Chaos to Successful Distributed Agile Teams. If we look at a value stream map, it’s easy to see how solo work removes agility from the team. Everyone has to wait for everyone else to finish.
Plus, there’s the synergy part!