Discover the Agile Processes
Have you heard of terms like Scrum, Kanban, or SAFe?
Don’t be concerned if you haven’t! These are only three of the most common agile methodologies that all have valuable tools and frameworks. A methodology sets out a way of working to help teams align processes and implement common approaches.
One methodology is not necessarily better than another, so it’s helpful for businesses looking to implement agile ways of working to consider what might work best for them and potentially even use tools from different methods.
In Scrum, an agile team clearly defines the outcome they are working towards (i.e., a product they are developing or a customer problem they want to solve).
This outcome is broken down into much smaller tasks to form a Backlog (a list of tasks or product features that a team may deliver to achieve a solution or outcome).
The tasks on the Backlog are reprioritized at the beginning of every Sprint based on the latest information. The team then plans for what they can realistically achieve as working outputs at the end of the Sprint and begin the work.
Short daily stand-up meetings help connect team members with what others are doing on the team and remove blockers to progress.
At the end of the Sprint (in the review), the team shows working outputs to stakeholders in the business to get their feedback and help reprioritize for the next Sprint.
The team also conducts a retrospective session that focuses on how they can improve working practices.
Some useful tools include the Kanban board, which visualizes all the work tasks with columns indicating each task’s stage.
Sounds complicated, right? Not necessarily! If done well, agile methods can help teams get into a rhythm of delivering value to the business and customers.
The important principle is for teams to work with the most useful tools while ensuring they are broadly aligned with how other teams in the business are working. This applies to other agile and non-agile teams. It’s also important to remember that Agile is as much about mindset as it is about processes. We’ll look at this in more detail in the second part.
Understand Why Agile Teams Are Small and Multidisciplinary
Have you ever been part of a project team with no more than three people? What about more than ten people?
If you have experienced both, take a moment to compare the workflow in those two situations:
In which case was it easier to make progress?
In which case were the decisions made quicker?
You likely answered the smaller team to both, and that’s not surprising. Your experience is in line with much academic research conducted on team size. Richard Hackman from Harvard University has shown through his research that as the number of team members increases, the communication overhead within the team rises exponentially, slowing the team down.
For this reason, agile teams are typically no more than 6-10 people. Amazon calls these “two-pizza teams” based on the principle that they should be small enough to be fed with two large pizzas.
The other key principle is that these small teams should be multidisciplinary, with different functions working together to solve problems and create value. This principle helps ensure they can utilize relevant knowledge and expertise in real-time.
Typically, there are three key roles within an agile team. A Scrum Master is responsible for optimizing how the team works, which may involve facilitating meetings and coaching members. A Product Owner is responsible for conveying the desired outcome, ensuring the team is prioritizing the work to achieve the goal, and communicating with the business stakeholders. The delivery team is responsible for doing the work that can lead to successful outcomes.
Time to go back to your log book! Imagine a project your business is working on now. Which functions or people might be best put together in a small, multidisciplinary team to deliver the outcome you need?
So, for example, a developer will be needed if there are digital assets requirements, a designer for content requirements, and an analytics specialist if data inputs are necessary throughout the process.
Let’s Recap!
In this chapter, we focused on agile methods and team composition, so let’s review what you learned:
There are several agile methodologies, each with its own merits. For example, the principles of a Sprint, working from Scrum, and visualizing workflow from Kanban are helpful.
While it can be useful to incorporate tools from different methods, it can also help to have similar practices with other teams that you may be working closely with.
Don’t forget to keep your agile team small (No more than 10 people)!
In Chapter 3, we said that agile is a mindset that enables a process. In the next chapter, we’ll take a closer look at the key attributes of that mindset.
