Fostering dynamic development team performance
Regardless if the team is focused on developing physical products, software, or something else, teams that are excited about the development that they are going to undertake, teams that are excited about their upcoming work will perform better than those that are board and complacent.
Think of the difference between the startup in Silicon Valley that can change the world vs the disparaged worker at a lumbering, innovation less company where the workers are checking off the days until they can retire. The difference in output between the companies with differing employee moral and motivation can be startling.
Contrary to common belief, dynamic corporations do not need to be small to be Agile and filled with people that are excited about developing products. Apple is obvious so we will move elsewhere for that understanding, although the business innovations developed by Steve Jobs are integrated into our systems.
So how do we create, or better, empower enthusiasm?
AASF™ is unique in that it does not encourage keeping teams together for years and years. Rather, the AAS™ Framework encourages that new teams are formed for every feature and the SFGs that will be created for a Feature. Does that mean that the teams participants will need to learn how to interact with a new group of people for each new feature that is developed? Yes it does.
An over stressed concern is that it takes a while for a group of people to learn how to work with each other. But that is exactly what happens every time we form action committees, or when special task forces are assembled to take on the most complicated problems. Usually those special task forces are formed to take on issues that resulted from teams that had been together for a long time.
When new teams form, it does take some time to get them to a norming and performing stage, but that time can be accelerated. What is usually overlooked is the tremendous energy that is created by new teams that are given the right stimulus and enablement. We have tools and methods that get teams to a norming state very quickly. But that really is the lesser issue. What is of the most value is how we can sustain excitement, enthusiasm, and passion at a company that goes on indefinitely, or at least as long as they continue to follow the AASF™ practices.
The Agilest® Team Ignition™ program gets teams connected and norming, but more importantly excited and motivated.
The Team Ignition™ program consists of a few critical steps:
- The business value statement for the feature that the team will be working on. This value statement must be dynamic and clearly elaborate how this work will benefit the organization. If it is an innovation, then that should be articulated. If it is an enabler for other new or existing programs, then how this new feature will help needs to be clear. The wording and delivery should be as well crafted as it would be for a sales pitch.
- The next steps include non-work, team building events.
- Finally, the team needs to be given an overview of the Feature Roadmap. The roadmap review should include the functional requirement team including the product owner. This meeting should occur off-site and includes an activity and dinner.
At the end of the feature development when all of the related use stories have been developed, the team goes through a closure process that is both a celebration, and a way to reduce the stress associated with teams decoupling.
The result for the organization is that after teams have gone through the team formation and decoupling process to develop SFGs, and the organization has followed the Team Ignition™ program developed by Agilest® a couple of times, ends up with employes that have learned new social skills, can communicate better, and feel much better about the place where they work. The bottom line result is improved profit.
AASF Team Responsibilities
Adaptive-Agile™ Product Owner
Agilest® AASP™ - Adaptive-Agile™ Scaling Professional
Agilest® AASM™ - Adaptive-Agile™ Scrum Master
Agilest® AAIP™ - Adaptive-Agile™ Integrated Professional™