Cross-functional Teams

December 19, 2008

One of the ways that agile methods help boost efficiency is through its mandate for cross-functional teams. When approaching an agile adoption, many developers hear this and mistakenly assume that it means each individual should be able to perform every function in the development lifecycle. In fact, that’s the opposite of what cross-functionality means. Instead of populating a team with individuals who share redundant skill sets, agile methods prefer teams to be composed of individuals with a wide range of skills, so that all the necessary job functions are distributed across team members. After all, they’re cross-functional teams.

So how does cross-functionality help teams improve efficiency? First of all, because team members each have distinct specialties (UI design, Testing, business analysis, etc.), specialists can take the lead within their area of expertise. While it might be helpful if team members share overlapping skill sets, remember that a jack-of-all-trades is usually a master of none. So, in this case, having a dedicated specialist allows the team to move forward quickly and confidently. From a big picture standpoint, the fact that teams are made up of individuals with diverse backgrounds and expertise is also a good thing. Because everyone has their own experience and perspective, everyone approaches business problems from a slightly different vantage point. Taken together, the team can then form a clearer picture of the problem and then work to collectively solve it. Compared to the phenomenon of “group think,” in which individuals with the same areas of expertise all tend to agree on the first solution, divergent perspectives can help teams arrive at the right solution.

Written by admin · Filed Under Agile Project Management, Scrum | Leave a Comment 

Agile in the Academy

December 19, 2008

I just read this article on Projects@Work about a new joint venture between the Agile Alliance and Bowling Green University. Called the Agile Software Factory, this program will provide opportunities for students to use agile development methods in real-world situations by working with several community partners.

I’m really excited to see agile cracking the academy for a number of reasons. First off, it shows just how much momentum is behind agile. It’s become such a standard for high-performing teams in the software industry that it is making its way into the classroom, if only as an experimental charter program thus far. Moreover, if students can practice some of the processes and values they’ll learn on the job prior to graduation, it means they’ll be able to easily transition into an agile environment. And, as more students learn agile as the norm, it bodes well for the evolution of agile. Rather than having to deal with a trial-by-fire introduction to agile on the job, these students will have ample experience to draw from. After all, there’s no better experience than simply working in an agile environment, which is why the Agile Software Factory sounds like great preparation for the real world of software development.

http://www.projectsatwork.com/content/articles/246394.cfm

Written by admin · Filed Under Agile Project Management | Leave a Comment 

Agile Two Years From Now

December 9, 2008

Victor Szalvay, CTO of Danube Technology, makers of ScrumWorks, tells a story about his hope for the future of Agile in the next 2 years. “I think the coolest thing for Agile is if the core principles are still intact and hadn’t been corrupted by this push, this press for codification at the enterprise scale.”

Written by admin · Filed Under Agile Project Management | Leave a Comment 

Collabnet is a project success company specializing in the improvement of management and engineering practices for software development organizations.
Continue reading »

Agile Tools

The next generation of agile project management.
Continue reading »

Agile Training

Offering several training options on software process improvement. Our agile project management courses are designed to provide your organization with a foundation in the principles and skills necessary to benefit from Agile methods. Classes are offered both as public and private in-house sessions.
Continue reading »