Frequently Asked Questions on Agile
When it comes to change, it is always hard. Even if you believe the change is irresistible, yet the adaptation needs focus and modification in your rituals. Indeed, the agile way of working describes both the how and the why for change. In this transformation process, some queries come up. I compiled some questions and answers which came up while I was leading the transformation of digital marketing teams. I hope you’ll get something out of them. And if you have any further questions, please write them into the comments and we can discuss them together.
1. Is it really necessary to have squad members dedicated 100%?
Although partial time dedication may seem like an option; all the squad members should spend most of their time together. In other words, keep all squad members in one place; and also try to be seated with all tribe/ relevant teams on the same floor. As Squad members can handle minor topics in their chats or coffee breaks, morning stand up can be more than just a daily catch up. Ask for the 100% of a squad member. Even if squad members are not fully occupied with the tasks; s/he can use the time to start learning what others do and can support them (comb-shaped skills).
2. Should we run all the rituals? There are so many meetings to attend! How can we manage the time?
In agile, every ritual has a specific objective, addresses a particular audience, has a predictable set of outcomes, and has a defined time frame within which goals are to be accomplished. The real inconvenience is keeping legacy meetings and/or spending so much time on alignment meetings with stakeholder teams. Ask your Tribe leader and the sponsors to limit legacy meetings and use sprint Review meetings efficiently to exchange updates with your stakeholders. Also, do not forget to publish the sprint reports regularly with all the highlights and learning included for updating your stakeholders.
3. There are so many tasks rely on the contribution of other squads in our planning. How can we manage these tasks?
As a start, you can ask your sponsors and SLT for a dedicated SPOC from the support teams with better SLA. For instance, Procurement, recruitment, IT, legal, finance teams always have longer processes and can’t fit in a sprint. You should ask for exclusive support with better SLA, and in some cases, these SPOCs can commit some of their time to the squad.
4. We’re very busy and don’t have so much time to catch up; How can we align on “one vision, one dream”?
To manage expectations, setting up the ground for both the squad and the stakeholders is very healthy, and also helpful for sustainability. PO should publish; mission -vision- road map- responsibilities- governance model among relevant teams. For the squad’s sake; the vision-mission and the sprint goal should be visible in the working area.
5. We can’t report all the figures, how transparent should we be about the results?
Practically, figures should be 100% transparent and visible. All the motivation will come from the results. Displaying real-time performances on the screen is highly recommended. Seeing the number of visitors, clicks, orders, and sales in real-time, will motivate people and also give a chance to catch anomalies in the back-end/front-end.
The best way to monitor performance is through the automation of “end2end dashboard” and visualization of data via tools like Tableau or Power BI.
6. What is the best way to govern the budget?
The Squad should have autonomy on the budget. After PO aligned on the amount of the budget and the targets with all the sponsors and stakeholders, squad ought to decide their spending according to Sprint targets.
7. We still don’t have a healthy chapter structure. How should we manage this period?
Many of the skills should be improved by time because platforms and devices or the trends are always changing. The Chapter structure is an opportunity to learn from each other. Even if you don’t have a chapter, try to have a sharing platform with your colleagues with the same or similar roles.
If you have some queries or priority problems as a “to be chapter member” you can take Tribe leader’s advice. And also inform scrum master(s) to help you about efficiency problems.
8. How can we manage the miscommunications and overlapping among teams or squads?
Miscommunication and overlapping are inevitable in any organization, but luckily Agile offers some cures to heal this pain. In Sprint Zero, the Product Owner should prepare a governance document and should align on it with all stakeholders. Governance document ought to cover “Scope and also responsibilities not in the scope, main KPIs and the governance model with all parties and the Sprint Period”
On top of that, Marketplace meeting across Tribe will give an opportunity to see what other squads work on, you can also test it and find collaboration opportunities.
I hope you enjoyed the writing. I am looking forward to hearing your comments.
