For a successful software development project using agile methodologies, your team members must be onboard with the foundations of Agile, and how to apply its methods as early as possible. Often, it can take several sprints for the team to get into a battle rhythm and estimate how much can be accomplished. Therefore, to prevent any delay in reaching this battle rhythm, your team should be onboard with the foundations of Agile. By setting the foundation early, your team members will gain a true understanding of Agile, which will help your team work autonomously and efficiently throughout project.
Set Expectations
Set the expectations early by training your team in Agile. Let your team know how you want the team to perform. Some members may wonder why there are daily stand-up meetings each morning, or why so many people are invited to a demo, and also wonder what’s up with all of the sticky notes. Questions like these which could cause doubt in your leadership, if they do not know how these methods have been successful before. After your team is onboard with the Agile methodology, they should generally know how the process works, where they fit into the process, and most importantly, fills in the gap of wondering why the team is even operating in such a fashion.
Team members will gain a true understanding
Team members will gain a true understanding of Agile with initial training and hands-on experience. If there are team members without formal training, it may lead to misguidance, and misunderstandings. This is because the term ‘Agile’ is often thrown around so loosely, that some people may think they know about Agile but are approaching it the wrong way. There are various agile frameworks out there, such as scrum and Kanban, just to name two. They are both agile, but operate differently. So, when team members are used to different frameworks, there could be some conflict. One way to avoid this, is to get a common understanding of the fundamentals of Agile, and how you want your team to deliver to clients using agile whether it be using scrum or Kanban.
Starting a new project and building a new team, is not easy. We are bringing together various experiences, personalities, and opinions. It is crucial to get everyone on the same page, before there is any confusion and misguidance. There are many foundational Agile courses available that will go over the basics of Agile. In-person training like so would be an effective way for your team to get on the same page. By setting the standards early, you can send a clear message of how you want each of your team members to perform together, autonomously, and efficiently.
Cassandra is an IC Agile Certified Professional. Please comment below, she would be happy to answer any questions you may have.
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