Agile/Scrum- Team Development

Team Development

All agile/scrum frameworks will help to provide the opportunity to develop your team. Here are a few activities during your agile/scrum project that you can turn into team building exercises. Even though the framework for these methodologies is all about empowering the “team” there are always a few old school techniques (waterfall) that might and do come in handy. These are powerful frameworks for team-building that will result in a cohesive, well-informed and committed agile/scrum team.

1. Determining Scope. Bring the whole team together especially the product owner to gather the requirements. Go over and analyze the gathered requirements as a team, this will immediately create team spirit as members work together on this important first step towards agile/scrum development.

2. Planning Sessions. Construct the work breakdown structure (WBS) as a full team so you can estimate time and costs for the project. Forming the work breakdown structure (earlier post) as a team requires each member to participate and arrive at a consensus.

3. Authority. In agile/scrum team members have the right to make certain decisions, this is what self-managing teams are all about. Standard project management is all about command and control, but ScrumMaster management is about delegation. It's the agile way to manage your project, ScrumMaster delegation of authority does not mean that you give up accountability; it just means you need to make it clear to the team that all team members will be held accountable for their decisions.

4. Quality Assurance. QA always has the opportunity to help foster team-building. Co-location and the teaming up of development and QA helps the team members look at each other’s work. Each member of the team will better understand what level of quality is expected in the final delivered product to the product owner/business.

5. Team Stand-Ups. In each meeting scheduled every day and the same time and same length, highlight specifics successes that the team has accomplished. Agile/scrum teams historically prove just by the framework alone that everyone has a role in the project, NO ONE has a major or minor role ALL are important.

Constantly look for all opportunities that will arise during the project, agile/scrum frameworks involve your entire team on a daily basis, these frameworks build commitment to the entire project.

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