Making Agile – Scrum work
Many times we experience that the principles, manifesto, values of Agile which are suggested by Agile Practitioners and leaders are not followed religiously.
How can we make the teams follow these principles and values?
While working in agile we should keep people at the center of everything. Yes, we develop and design amazing products and services using the Agile framework; but at its core are the people who make things happen. We need to emphasize how we can improve collaboration, camaraderie, and communication among the team members.
The key to improving productivity and team spirit is having meaningful conversations. Agile supports team building and teamwork and emphasizes trust. There are various ways to bring the team closer and build a strong relationship between them.
Here are some ideas.
Sprint celebrations: Sprint Celebrations should be treated as an important ceremony as part of the sprint. Spending time celebrating the successful delivery of sprint velocity goes a long way in building a strong and motivated team.
How: Celebrations can include talent shows, singing, activities, Birthday celebrations, etc.
Informal conversations: With daily hustle and bustle of work, the team does not get a chance to speak informally. The special short meetings focused on having informal conversations can build camaraderie and a long-lasting bond between the team.
How: Meeting for a duration of 45 mins with the agenda to speak about the individual’s hobbies, talents and have conversations, chit chat to know each other well.
Fun events: Fun activities bring energy and enthusiasm to a team. Everyone loves to have fun and it is a real stressbuster. An event focused on fun can bring joy to the team.
How: Meeting for an hour in a month with fun activities like Dumb charades, Hang Man, Pictionary, Quiz, Humour, etc.
Collaboration: Collaboration is key in a team environment and that brings a sense of involvement in the team. The synergy in the team can be achieved by working with each other closely.
How: Use collaboration tools like Jira, Confluence, Channels on Slack, Teams, etc.
Knowledge sharing sessions: Sharing knowledge not only helps in increasing the team’s skills but also helps them learn newer tools and techniques. This results in the overall effectiveness and productivity of the team.
How: Organize Knowledge sharing sessions frequently in the team on topics related to tools, applications, technology involved in the project.
Conclusion:
When a team collaborates, talks, meet, and enjoys together; the bond between them gets stronger and they trust each other more and in turn, we can make the Agile teamwork to their full potential.
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Gajanan Govindwar
‘Informal conversation’ , nice concept 👍