A while back I was contacted by a potential client who wanted to “go agile.” But they wanted to do it in a deterministic manner. They wanted a plan, complete with milestones and dates–mostly indicating that other people had changed their behavior as dictated...
The answer is (of course): “It depends.” Self-management is a spectrum, not a point. How much self-management is right for a team depends on that team. I see many teams in small companies and start-ups who self-manage. They set product goals, make...
When companies decide they want the benefit of the team effect, or adopt agile methods, they (sometimes) realize that they need to update their management style as well. And too often, they enter an 4-step dance of oscillation. Managers feel overburdened and...
In two recent posts, I offered cautionary tales for managers of self-organizing agile teams: Tale of a Yo-Yo Manager Tale of a Too Hands Off Manager. So what is it that managers should do to move from big boss to partnership? It’s actually quite a long list, so...
Sometimes, wanting to give a team space to take more responsibility, managers step back. Sometimes too far back. However, a too hands-off approach can be just as bad as micromanaging. Both inhibit learning and effectiveness. A Struggling Team I recently worked with a...
I spent a couple of days with the web crowd last week at Web Directions in Atlanta. Design matters on a website, where attention to user engagement can mean the difference between a flop and a million dollars. I live in the software world, mostly around agile...
I talk with many managers–and some coaches–who complain that their teams can’t function without a leader. “Leader,” in these conversations, usually means someone who set standards, assigns work, tracks progress, tells people what to do. That is not...
I noticed at the recent agile conference that there were lots of people who billed themselves as agile coaches, and several sessions on coaching. Seemed like more of both than in past years. I consider myself a coach, too, though not with a capital C. I usually coach...
I’m a big believer in one-on-one meetings on manager-led teams. It’s a way to connect with people, stay in touch with progress, learn about problems early, coach, work on career goals, offer feedback, and more. But if you are the manager for a self-organizing team,...
(c) 2007-2010 Esther Derby A ScrumMaster recently asked me if he should take over responsibility for year-end performance evaluations since he was closer to the work than the functional manager for the team. It’s not the first time I’ve heard this question, and as...
If you’re a hiring manager, you know that a typical hiring process emphasizes technical skills, functional skills, and industry knowledge. Interpersonal skills are near the bottom of the list, if they make the list at all. However, if you’re hiring for an...
(c) 2010 Esther Derby I recently spoke to a senior manager who wanted to know how “agile” his company was compared to other companies. When I asked what he’d gain from that information, he responded that then he’d know what practices the...
Between Kent Beck’s post on Capital Efficient UI Design and attending a UI conference this week, I’m prompted to write down a few thoughts on incorporating UI design into development iterations. Establish critical design standards at the beginning and work...
I just heard that a group of people is working on a CMMi-like framework for Agile Product Management. And of course there’s the Agile Maturity Model. And various surveys to assess Agility.”Maturity” and “agility” are the wrong things to...
I hear people talk about getting executive support for Agile adoptions (or other organizational changes). But I seldom hear people talk about what that support looks like. It’s more than money and speeches. Want to know how to really help your organization...
Johanna’s post, projects don’t need specialists (and the 19 the comments that went with it), got me thinking.People tend to coalesce around shared interests–both in terms of what they find interesting, and what concerns them. Take the category of...
Mark Levison has an interesting post in response to a Scrum Development discussion about “bad apples” on a team.Before applying the label, look for reasons the person might not be performing. There are lots of reasons for a temporary dip in performance....
George Dinwiddie is considering a discussion about velocity as a performance measure and how to tell whether people are working hard that started on the scrumdevelopment yahoo list.Here’s the original question, posted by Graeme Matthew. The unknown in all of...
When the team self-organizes, the manager needs to step back, but not too far back; she needs to step in, but not to quickly.My article on the manager’s role in self-organizing teams is on the cover of Better Software Magazine and available on-line here. (link...
A friend forwarded this email to me:I just wanted to share a tip that has made a world of difference for our scrum. I read through this book about 4 months ago And have implemented some of the practices in it. This has taken our retrospectives from being a 1 hour...
