Do you have an Agile Mindset?
It is pretty hard for teams and individuals to change an approach or the way they do things are being done. With change, invariably, comes resistance. For example, if I am used to doing things in a certain way and someone wants me to do them differently, I may find it very difficult to change or even accept that change is possible or necessary.
In the same way, when we move our existing delivery process to a new one, we are bound to face our own challenges in coming to terms with the new process.
Here are a few pointers that I believe we can follow as a team to deliver the projects in the Agile way.
It’s all in the attitude #
Agile begins with attitude. If the team emphasises “doing agile” rather than “being agile”, you’re on the wrong foot right from the start. Agile is a paradigm, a mental shift in how you approach development. The specific techniques and ceremonies are not important and come later. The point is to be agile; embrace and employ the philosophy and we will “do” agile automatically.
For instance, at a specific time period I had to handle two projects with two separate teams and I could clearly see the difference in the output of each of team. The team that had the agile attitude was always delivering the better output than the other team.
Trust like you’ve never trusted before #
An Agile team is nothing without trust. It is essential, and it all comes back to the core concept of truly functioning as a team.
Every member of the team needs to trust that others will hold up their ends of the bargain and get things done when and how they said they would do them.
Adopt “best practices” #
There are no such thing as universal “best” practices”. What works well for one team may not work well for another. Everything we build is unique; the circumstances are different. Every team has a unique combination of personalities, skills, and environment.
Learn about practices that have been effective for others, give them a trial run if they seem applicable, but don’t automatically adopt them because some authority says they’re “best.” Best practices that work well for one team could deal a death blow for yours.
Patience is the key #
When you think of an amazing Agile team, you are likely think of something that functions like a well-oiled machine. In an ideal world, that’s how things should work, but that doesn’t mean things will work like that on the ground right from the very beginning.
It takes a while to get a feel for how people work together and to fall into a system that really flows. This is true whether you’re working as part of an Agile team or not and this process naturally takes time.
So, don’t think that your team is doomed to fail for failure simply because there are some hiccups along the way. a few kinks to work out. Patience really is the key.
Respond to change #
Change is inevitable. The key element of an Agile teams is the ability to respond to those changes, rather than always trying to stay committed to a previous plan. Successful teams constantly assess their priorities and sync their resource allocation to align with those priorities.
Yes, agile relies heavily on order and organization, the trick is to be adaptable and flexible and roll with the punches.
Lead from the front #
A team is as good as the captain. So the Scrum Master (SM) in this case plays a very important part in the whole scheme of things. In the theory, l world the SM plays the role of a facilitator to make sure the team has everything that they need to deliver the story. In the real world the SM has to play a more proactive role and not just facilitate but have the following qualities:
- lead by example
- be committed
- prevent impediments
- influence action
- be collaborative
When you think about it, All of the above are what we practice (or should) in our daily lives and these are very easy to implement. And once we get these embedded into our system, then there is no looking back.
Cheers and all the best!
With an aura of reserve on your first take, Jose is our sharp-as-a-blade Head of Account Management. With over fifteen years’ experience in project management, he is a Certified Usability Analyst and really agile when it comes to ensuring that his teams deliver results on time, every time.