what makes your agile team self-organizing? by dr. rashina hoda
TRANSCRIPT
AGILE MEAGILE ME
DR RASHINA HODA
What Makes Your Agile
Team Self-Organizing?
SEPTA Research
Electrical and Computer Engineering
The University of Auckland
www.rashina.com
[email protected]@agileRashina
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Kia Ora! Greetings from New Zealand…
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AGILE ME
Socio-Technical Systems
1950s
Organizational Theory
1980s
Knowledge Management
1980s
Complex Adaptive Systems
1990s
Software Development
1990s
SELF-ORGANIZING TEAMS…A NEW CONCEPT?
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Socio-Technical Systems
1950s
• Study of in *
• groups• 10-15 cross-trained people • Setting own work schedules• Autonomous, learning systems• Assuming responsibilities of former supervisors• Guided by corporate vision• Motivated by peer-pressure
*Trist, E. The evolution of socio-technical systems, Occasional paper, 1981
Organizational Theory
1980s
Knowledge Management
1980s
Complex Adaptive Systems
1990s
Software Development
1990s
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Organizational Theory
1980s
• Holographic Brains metaphor to describe organizations 1980s*• “Qualities of the whole system are captured in each of its parts.”
• As a Holographic Brain, organizations display Self-Organization.
• Four Principles of Self-Organization• Minimum Critical Specification• Requisite Variety• Redundancy of Function• Double-loop Learning
*Morgan, G. Images of organization. Sage Publications, Beverly Hills, 1986
Knowledge Management
1980s
Complex Adaptive Systems
1990s
Software Development
1990s
Socio-Technical Systems
1950s
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• Self-Organizing Teams in Toyota Production System, 1980s*• “Agents of Knowledge creation and management.”
• Game of Rugby – Scrum – as a metaphor
• Three Conditions of Self-Organization• Autonomy• Cross-fertilization• Self-Transcendence
*Takeuchi and Nonaka, The New New Product Development Game, Harvard Business Review, 1986
Knowledge Management
1980s
Complex Adaptive Systems
1990s
Software Development
1990s
Socio-Technical Systems
1950s
Organizational Theory
1980s
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• Self-Organizing Teams in Complex Adaptive Systems, 1990s*• “CAS exhibit spontaneous order through self-organization”
• Examples: ant colonies, human cities, eco-systems
• Characteristics of Self-Organizing Teams • Informal and temporary• Spontaneously formed around issues• Informal structure• Strong sense of shared purpose• Decide own affairs
*Anderson, and McMillan. Of ants and men: self-organized teams in human and insect organizations, 2003
Complex Adaptive Systems
1990s
Organizational Theory
1980s
Knowledge Management
1980s
Software Development
1990s
Socio-Technical Systems
1950s
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• Self-Organizing Teams as heart of Agile Software Development, 1990s*• “source of best architecture, requirements, and design”
• Critical success factor in software projects• Self-organizing teams in Scrum, empowered teams in XP
• Self-Organizing Teams in Agile• Cross-functional members• Common focus• Self-Managing workload• Collaborative decision making• Continuous learning
*Agile Manifesto, Twelve Principles of Agile Software, http://agilemanifesto.org/principles.html, 2001
Software Development
1990s
Organizational Theory
1980s
Knowledge Management
1980s
Complex Adaptive Systems
1990s
Socio-Technical Systems
1950s
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• Do Agile practices enable self-organization in software teams?Yes!
*Rashina Hoda, Self-Organizing Agile Teams: A Grounded Theory, PhD Thesis, 2011
AGILE = SELF-ORGANIZING?
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• Do Agile practices enable self-organization in software teams?Yes
• Are Agile teams meant to be self-organizing?Yes
• Are ALL Agile teams self-organizing?No
• Can non-Agile teams be self-organizing?Yes
• Can waterfall teams be self-organizing?
MYTH OR FACT?
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• Agile teams are self-organizing when:
• they are given high levels of autonomy
• they commit to, select, and accomplish their own tasks
• organize themselves as needed, i.e. perform informal roles to manage team, management, and customer related challenges.
• perform balancing acts between freedom and responsibility, cross-functionality and specialization, and continuous learning and iteration pressure
SELF-ORGANIZING AGILE TEAMS
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RESEARCH FINDINGS
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• Original industry-based PhD research
• 58 Agile Practitioners from 23 Organizations
• New Zealand, India, North America
• Semi-structured interviews and observations
• Multiple perspectives
• Agile practices: Scrum + XP
RESEARCH DESIGN
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Grounded Theory to study SE*
Research focus emerges via iterative data collection and analysis
Semi-structured, face-to-face interviews
Rounded perspective
Observation of Agile practices
Data analysis to find common patterns or categories
Relationships between categories form the emergent theory
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*Rashina Hoda, James Noble, Stuart Marshall, Developing a Grounded Theory to Explain the Practices of a Self-Organizing Agile Team, Empirical Software Engineering Journal, Vol. 17(6), pages 609-639, 2011
RESEARCH METHOD
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17PARTICIPANT DEMOGRAPHICS
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The Theory of Self-Organizing Agile Teams explains how Agileteams take on one or more informal, implicit, transient, andspontaneous ROLES and perform balanced PRACTICES whilefacing critical environmental FACTORS.
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*Rashina Hoda, Self-Organizing Teams: A Grounded Theory, PhD Thesis, Victoria University of Wellington, 2011. http://researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz//handle/10063/1617
THEORY OF SELF-ORGANIZING AGILE TEAMS*
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*Rashina Hoda, James Noble, Stuart Marshall, Self-Organizing Roles on Agile Software Development Teams, IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering (TSE), Vol. 39 (3), pages 422-444, 2013
*Rashina Hoda, James Noble, Stuart Marshall, Organizing Self-Organizing Teams, IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE2010), Cape Town, 2010
SELF-ORGANIZING AGILE TEAM
ROLES*
AGILE MEMENTOR
Guides and supports team
Helps them become confident in Agile methods
Encourages continued adherence to practices.
Played by:
Agile Coach (new teams)
All members (mature teams)
Interacts with: Team
Most important in initial stages.
Mentor
AGILE MEMENTOR
“With [the Mentor] it was kind of to teach us how
Agile works and shape our mindset and make sure
everyone knows how to work under the Agile
umbrella.”
Developer, NZ
“You need to show them...a client presentation [that]
worked...and after a few such validation cycles, then
they start to get confident.”
Agile Coach, NZ
Mentor
AGILE MECO-ORDINATOR
Represents team
co-ordinates communication with customer
co-ordinates change requests
Played by:Developer & Business Analyst (new teams)
All members (mature teams)
Interacts with: Team, Customers.
Existed despite presence of Mentor.
Co-ordinator
AGILE MECO-ORDINATOR
Senior Management, India
“Because we are working offshore [it is] good to have
one person who can communicate...like a co-
ordinator — talks to everybody.”
“[the Co-ordinator] still needs to get all the
requirements to us...so whenever the business owner
wants to make a change...we can plan a little bit
ahead. ”
Developer, NZ
Co-ordinator
AGILE METRANSLATOR
Translates between team and customers
Translates between the business language used by customers and the technical terminology used by the team
Helps improve communication between the two.
Played by:
Business Analysts (new teams)
All members (mature teams)
Interacts with: Team, Customers
Translator
AGILE METRANSLATOR
Product Owner, NZ
Developer, NZ
“My knowledge isn't as technical...some things fell through the crack because we didn't have a good
[Translator]”
“The terminology that developers are using and
customers are using, is very different...I think the
[Translator] has some value in the project.”
Translator
AGILE MECHAMPION
Champions the Agile team
Champions Agile with senior management within their organization
Helps gain support for the self-organizing Agile team.
Played by:
Agile Coach & Developer
Interacts with: Senior Management
Champion
AGILE MECHAMPION
Scrum Trainer, India
Business Analyst, NZ
“The organizations I see getting the most benefit from
Scrum...are organizations where senior management really gets it! The least successful Agile adoption
...senior management has no interest in Agile!”
“The [Champion] was pretty much championing the whole Agile idea...[Senior Management] were thinking
of using [the Champion] to expand Agile through all
of [organization]”
Champion
AGILE MEPROMOTER
Promotes the Agile team
Promotes Agile with customers
Secures their involvement and support for the self-organizing Agile team
Played by: Agile Coach
Interacts with: Customer
Promoter
AGILE MEPROMOTER
Agile Coach, NZ
Agile Coach, India
“I did persuade the client to go down this road...story cards, iterations, all the way through. Slowly the client
did come around and started to see benefit, so it did work out really well.”
“We [Coaches] have interactions with [the customers], have a series of talk...explain to them
what Agile is...focusing on the hardship.”
Promoter
AGILE METERMINATOR
Terminates team members
Identifies team members threatening the proper functioning and productivity of team
Engages senior management support in removing such members.
Played by:
Agile Coach (new teams)
Agile Coach with input from team (mature teams)
Interacts with: Team, Senior Management.
Terminator
AGILE METERMINATOR
Business Analyst, NZ
Agile Coach, India
“ [A team member] tore the whole product apart...So our [Terminator]...noted that [team member]
was holding the team back, and made an executive decision by talking to management.”
“Some evangelists have such hundred percent
concepts - just scares me as a Coach...Throw out evangelists sometimes, hard reality! People get fired…
[Agile] identifies the good things, [Agile] identifies even the bad things.”
Terminator
AGILE ME
• Self-Organizing teams have existed in the past, introduced to software industry through Agile software development
• Following Agile practices does not automatically make your team self-organizing
• Self-organizing teams display special characteristics:
• high levels of autonomy
• self-commit, self-select, self-track, and self-accomplish tasks
• And play informal organizing roles:
• Mentor
• Coordinator
• Translator
• Champion
• Promoter
• Terminator
• Supportive conditions enable teams to self-organize and excel
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CONCLUSION
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AGILE MEAGILE METhank You
[email protected]@agileRashina