# Self-organizing Team An Agile software-development team that organizes its own work, with architectures, requirements, and designs emerging from the team. This is one page of public article previews, not the complete archive. Follow Next page to continue. Summaries are not the original full articles. ## Beyond Autonomous Teams in Software Product Development DevFeed: [Beyond Autonomous Teams in Software Product Development]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Ben Linders Published: 2026-09-10T10:29:00Z Content type: news Language: en Sources: [InfoQ]() Topics: [Self-organizing Team](), [Software Engineering]() Tags: [agile-conferences](), [autonomous](), [autonomous-software-teams](), [business-value](), [complex-systems](), [complexity](), [conference](), [culture-methods](), [delivering-value](), [management](), [networking](), [news](), [product-development](), [scrum](), [self-organizing-team](), [teamwork]() ### AI overview A conference talk argues for moving from product-focused autonomous teams to value centers, with organizational design shaped by value and its dependencies. It frames agency and coherence as a trade-off and uses the Viable Systems Model to suggest five questions for teams. ### Source excerpt Autonomous teams are an article of faith in modern software development. The shape of our value determines what we can do; it determines our trade-offs between agency and coherence. We all have a purpose, and we all have agency to do something, hence the suggestion is moving from product focus to value center thinking. By Ben Linders ## What Is an Agile Coach? Key Responsibilities and Business Impact DevFeed: [What Is an Agile Coach? Key Responsibilities and Business Impact]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: ANTONIA MCCULLOUGH, AGILE COACH @ TOPTAL Published: 2026-08-31T04:00:00Z Content type: article Language: en Sources: [Toptal Blog]() Topics: [Agile](), [Self-organizing Team](), [software-development]() Tags: [agile](), [business](), [collaboration](), [development](), [guide](), [leadership](), [management](), [project-management](), [scrum](), [software-development]() ### AI overview A guide to the Agile coach role, covering its responsibilities, organizational impact, differences from Scrum masters, consultants, and project managers, and the skills needed to support Agile practices across teams and departments. ### Source excerpt Navigate the evolving world of Agile coaching with this comprehensive guide. From responsibilities and skills to business impact, explore what the role looks like today and what it takes to succeed. ## Agile Leadership DevFeed: [Agile Leadership]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Dave Ogle Published: 2026-08-10T00:00:00Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Scott Logic]() Topics: [Agile](), [Self-organizing Team](), [trust](), [Development]() Tags: [agile](), [delegation](), [delivery](), [frameworks](), [leadership](), [self-organizing-teams](), [software-development](), [teams](), [trust]() ### AI overview This opinion argues that organisational agility depends on leadership as well as agile frameworks and processes. It highlights empowerment, trust and delegation, and examines Agile2 and the British Army's Mission Command philosophy as relevant perspectives. ### Source excerpt Agile teams are built on more than frameworks and processes. This article explores why effective leadership, trust and delegation are fundamental to true organisational agility, drawing lessons from the British Army's Mission Command philosophy. ## Agile vs. Waterfall QA: A Comparative Guide DevFeed: [Agile vs. Waterfall QA: A Comparative Guide]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Pankaj Dusane Published: 2026-01-09T12:06:15Z Content type: comparison Language: en Sources: [Helpshift]() Topics: [Agile](), [Testing](), [Development](), [Self-organizing Team](), [Software Engineering]() Tags: [agile](), [agile-testing](), [guide](), [qa](), [software-development](), [testing](), [vs](), [waterfall-testing]() ### AI overview This comparative guide explains how quality assurance differs between Agile and Waterfall software development. It describes Waterfall QA as a dedicated testing phase after development, with fixed requirements and less flexibility, while Agile integrates QA throughout iterative development with continuous testing, feedback, and collaboration. ### Source excerpt Quality Assurance (QA) is a critical aspect of software development, ensuring that the final product meets the desired standards and functions as intended. While QA practices are integral to all development methodologies, the approach to QA can vary significantly depending on whether a project follows the Agile or Waterfall methodology. In this blog post, we'll compare these two methodologies, focusing on their impact on QA processes, workflows, and outcomes. What is Waterfall QA? The Waterfall model is a linear and sequential approach to software development. In this methodology, each phase -- from requirements gathering to design, development, testing, and deployment -- is completed before moving to the next. QA in the Waterfall model is typically conducted during a dedicated testing phase after development is complete. Key Characteristics of Waterfall QA: Late Involvement: QA is often involved only after development is finished. Fixed Scope: Testing is based on a predefined set of requirements and test cases. Extensive Testing: Since QA occurs after development, it often involves extensive end-to-end testing. Minimal Flexibility: Changes to requirements or functionality after testing begins can be costly and disruptive. Predictability: The linear nature of the process makes timelines and deliverables more predictable. Advantages of Waterfall QA: Clear documentation and test plans. Structured processes provide clarity on responsibilities and timelines. Suitable for projects with well-defined requirements and minimal expected changes. Challenges of Waterfall QA: Delayed feedback loops can prolong the discovery of critical issues. Limited ability to adapt to changes or new requirements. Potential for larger defects due to the lack of continuous testing. What is Agile QA? Agile methodology emphasizes flexibility, collaboration, and iterative development. Unlike Waterfall, Agile integrates QA throughout the development lifecycle, ensuring continuous testing and feedback ## How Software Engineering Teams Can Improve Performance and Engineering Excellence DevFeed: [How Software Engineering Teams Can Improve Performance and Engineering Excellence]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: tobi@techunicorn.builders (Tobias Mende) Published: 2025-05-21T00:00:00Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Tobias Mende]() Topics: [Software Engineering](), [engineering-culture](), [Self-organizing Team](), [Agile]() Tags: [agile](), [engineering](), [engineering-excellence](), [performance](), [productivity](), [teams]() ### AI overview This talk examines why software engineering teams may plateau at average performance and presents practical habits, team activities, and mindset shifts intended to support higher performance, motivation, teamwork, and engineering excellence without micromanagement or pressure. ### Source excerpt Most software engineering teams operate far below their capabilities. They perform okay, good enough, or average. But what if any team can reach higher productivity, joy, and excellence? In this session, we will discover why most teams do not use their full potential and what every one of us can do to lead our teams toward high performance and engineering excellence. ## I guess i'm an engineering manager now DevFeed: [I guess i'm an engineering manager now]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Leonidas Partsas Published: 2024-12-08T11:51:44Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [le0nidas]() Topics: [Development](), [Software Engineering](), [Self-organizing Team]() Tags: [engineering-manager](), [featured](), [software](), [software-development](), [team](), [thoughts]() ### AI overview A personal reflection on transitioning from an individual contributor to an engineering manager in software development. The author describes learning to focus less on writing code and solving every problem personally, and more on supporting the team, setting direction, prioritizing work, and maintaining project quality. ### Source excerpt It took me two and half years to come to terms with my new role. So, why now? I guess its a process like everything else. You start something new and feel completely out of your league. You educate yourself and try to apply your learnings. You make mistakes and feel awful. You try something ... Continue reading I guess i'm an engineering manager now -> ## Transparency, autonomy, responsiveness, and education: How the Aha! engineering team works DevFeed: [Transparency, autonomy, responsiveness, and education: How the Aha! engineering team works]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Published: 2024-10-28T00:00:00Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Aha! Engineering Blog]() Topics: [Programming](), [Self-organizing Team](), [Agile](), [pair\_programming](), [Code](), [App]() Tags: [agile](), [approach](), [engineering](), [meetings](), [pair-programming](), [product](), [programming](), [security](), [team](), [teams](), [transparency](), [work]() ### AI overview The article explains how Aha!'s engineering team combines individual, pair, and team-based work. Engineers present their work in weekly meetings, retain ownership of code, and share knowledge across the organization. Small agile teams align with product areas and infrastructure, while rotating support responsibilities provide broader exposure. Product managers, designers, and engineers prioritize and scope work collaboratively. ### Source excerpt Organizations have many different ways to approach how teammates write code. You have individual silos, pair programming, team-based work, and black box interfaces where you have no idea how the other team is structured. We use a mix of these approa ## Things I love and hate about the state of software companies in 2024 DevFeed: [Things I love and hate about the state of software companies in 2024]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: tobi@techunicorn.builders (Tobias Mende) Published: 2024-03-16T05:00:00Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Tobias Mende]() Topics: [Agile](), [Software](), [Self-organizing Team](), [systems]() Tags: [agile](), [better](), [business-developer-experience-employee-happiness-high-purpose-environments-remote-work-self-ref](), [deployment](), [framework](), [leadership](), [management](), [process](), [productivity](), [proxy](), [rant](), [work](), [writing]() ### AI overview An opinionated critique of software companies in 2024, focusing on hierarchy, management practices, productivity measurement, return-to-office policies, team structures, deployment handovers, framework dependence, career competition, and product work that prioritizes busywork over value. ### Source excerpt Things I love and hate about the state of software companies in 2024 Disclaimer: This started as a rant, not meant to be published. But sticking to my "New Year's resolution" to write about what triggers me most, I decided to publish it anyway. I wanted to publish it as a LinkedIn post, but it got too long. So here is the unshortened, unpolished and authentic original version of this document, most of which I wrote on my phone after waking up on a Sunday at 5:45am. 😬 ## Self-organizing companies don't need managers but coaches DevFeed: [Self-organizing companies don't need managers but coaches]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: tobi@techunicorn.builders (Tobias Mende) Published: 2024-01-20T05:00:00Z Content type: article Language: en Sources: [Tobias Mende]() Topics: [Self-organizing Team](), [Agile]() Tags: [agile](), [coaching](), [developer-experience-developer-productivity-engineering-leadership-high-purpose-environments-lea](), [manager](), [motivation](), [organizational-structure](), [organizations](), [self-organizing](), [teams]() ### AI overview The article argues that self-organizing companies need coaching roles beyond traditional management and classic agile coaching. It presents self-organization as a way to improve organizational adaptability and create more impact, enjoyment, and human connection at work. ### Source excerpt Self-organizing companies don't need managers but coaches If you are a manager or consider managing teams and organizations a significant part of your profession, the title will likely cause a feeling of rejection or a strong disagreement. I invite you to read on anyway. ## How continuous product discovery works for us DevFeed: [How continuous product discovery works for us]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Sören Weber Senior Product Manager @ trivago; Core Product; AI Linkedin profile Published: 2023-02-01T00:00:00Z Content type: article Language: en Sources: [Trivago]() Topics: [Product Management](), [Self-organizing Team](), [Agile](), [User experience (UX)](), [Development]() Tags: [cross-functional-teams](), [delivery](), [development](), [discovery](), [driving](), [engineering](), [good-practices](), [product-management](), [research](), [scope](), [software](), [strategy]() ### AI overview A trivago product manager explains continuous product discovery, distinguishing it from product delivery and describing how user research, solution ideation, and solution testing help teams decide what to build. The article also discusses trivago's adoption of Teresa Torres's continuous discovery framework alongside cross-functional teams, outcome-driven OKRs, and agile software development. ### Source excerpt Hello, I am a product manager here at trivago. I have worked on different parts of the product such as apps, alternative accommodations, landing pages, and search & flow. We work in cross-fu... ## BBC establishes a Delivery Profession for agile delivery practitioners DevFeed: [BBC establishes a Delivery Profession for agile delivery practitioners]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Sara Bowley Published: 2022-10-14T13:18:49Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [BBC]() Topics: [Agile](), [Self-organizing Team]() Tags: [agile](), [agile-delivery](), [bbc](), [community](), [delivery-management](), [job](), [leadership](), [product-development](), [team]() ### AI overview The BBC has created a dedicated Delivery Profession for agile delivery practitioners, including a career path framework, new roles and job descriptions. The article also describes its delivery-management vision and recruitment of Delivery Managers. ### Source excerpt At the start of the year I took up a job as Head of Delivery for BBC Product Group as part of a new cross discipline leadership team led by our CPO Storm Fagan. It's my job to help the BBC get the most out of modern digital agile ways of working. Bringing more product thinking to how we work by focussing on outcomes and putting user needs at the heart of what we do. Much of my role is helping teams collaborate effectively together at scale. Product Group is over 100 teams and we work with many more teams in editorial, marketing and across the BBC. We are responsible for products like iPlayer, Sounds, Bitesize, BBC News and Sport. We've got huge ambitions at the BBC to deliver more value to users through our digital products and services by taking a more user led iterative approach to what we do. Creating our Delivery Profession Over the last few months one of my priorities as Head of Delivery has been to create and build a new Delivery Profession at the BBC for agile delivery practitioners. I'm thrilled that this work is now complete and we have a dedicated Delivery Profession with a new career path framework, new roles and new job descriptions at the BBC. When designing what we needed I was keen we also introduced an individual contributor track so that people could develop their careers here by deepening their skill and practice as well as through the traditional line management route. We are building a thriving Community of Practice who meet weekly to network, share and learn together. More on that to come! Our Vision We recently wrote down our vision for Delivery Management at the BBC and we think this encapsulates pretty well who we are and what we're here to to do: "We inspire ourselves and our teams to raise the standard of agile collaborative delivery at the BBC.We help make teams more effective and maximise their impact so we deliver value for users often, iteratively and repeatedly.We focus on outcomes and making it happen."We're looking for Delivery Manag ## My First 30 days as a Product Manager at the BBC DevFeed: [My First 30 days as a Product Manager at the BBC]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Louise Ankers Published: 2022-02-15T22:31:11Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [BBC]() Topics: [Product Management](), [Agile](), [Self-organizing Team](), [User experience (UX)](), [Testing]() Tags: [agile](), [apps](), [bbc](), [data](), [distributed](), [experimentation](), [exploration](), [management](), [new-starter](), [product](), [product-management](), [software-development](), [teamwork](), [testing](), [ux]() ### AI overview A Senior Product Manager describes her first 30 days at the BBC, including the organization's product-management culture, roadmap practices, agile teamwork, distributed work, and support from specialists in UX, data, experimentation, and testing. ### Source excerpt Much like Sir David Attenborough I was not successful on my first application to the BBC , however I was not dissuaded and applied again! Fortunately, I was successful last year and have joined the BBC as Senior Product Manager -- Children's Apps. CBeebies Playtime Island app icon On my first day all the team were very welcoming and friendly, and have explained (and continue to explain!) every BBC acronym very patiently. As a new Product person, it's often intimidating to join a new organisation, not to mention within a new domain. As I have joined during the COVID-19 Omicron wave, everyone is working from home. I am keen to meet the team in person as much as possible -- though we are quite geographically distributed so we will have to plan quite carefully. Product On an organisational level -- the first thing that was clear to me was that the BBC Product Culture follows the principles and values from good Product Management practice such as that advocated by product experts such as Roman Pilcher or Melissa Perri. Having read many books and blogs over the years about say -- having a roadmap that indicates what you are working on now, next and later to offer transparency to stakeholders rather than a delivery plan -- has always been something I've desired to do, and here it is being used in practice! Agile Values Another thing I noticed was the enthusiasm for teamwork and team values -- as one of the principles of the Agile Manifesto that I am passionate about "The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams" -- again in many organisations this may start as an ambition but be waylaid by older management practices and a blindness to what is a creative process. My own reaction to this approach is that I feel there is the right focus on thinking about why we are building, and even if we should be building -- this makes me feel that people think the same way that I do, and that experimentation and exploration in the problem and discovery space ## Running Effective Agile Standup Meetings DevFeed: [Running Effective Agile Standup Meetings]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Fuzzygroup Published: 2019-11-06T00:00:00Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Scott Johnson]() Topics: [Agile](), [Self-organizing Team]() Tags: [agile](), [daily](), [effective](), [google](), [management](), [meetings](), [offsite](), [scrum](), [startup](), [team](), [zoom]() ### AI overview A personal account of effective daily Agile stand-up meetings for a team of eight. The recommended practices include starting on time regardless of attendance, scheduling meetings five minutes after the hour, using a consistent meeting URL, and following a simple three-question format. ### Source excerpt So my new gig has moved to doing daily agile standup meetings and while I've done these before, I don't think I've ever seen them done quite so consistently well. And the credit for this goes to my boss, Dave Sifry, who is our lead facilitator. We are a team of 8 people and, so far, we have brought them in at under the scheduled 15 minutes per meeting every time. Here are the techniques that we are using: Start on time. If everyone isn't there, well, the meeting happens anyway. Ideally, if the team lead isn't on time, the meeting happens anyway. Scheduled for 5 minutes after the hour. This allows people in other meetings to make it. A consistent Url. This is the one down side to Zoom - the meeting can't start if the leader isn't present. If we used Google Meet then that wouldn't be an issue. A simple format. A ridiculously simple, fast format: Here's what I'm up to today Here's what I'm stuck on. How can I help anyone else? While I'm generally not a fan of meetings, agile stand ups, done this way, tend to bring developers into line. Even if a developer isn't good with email - or good with text messages - normally they can handle "show up at time X for 15 minutes every day". In closing, while I'm not a huge proponent of heavy weight agile processes (think scrum / agile velocity), I am really enjoying daily stand ups again. Recommended. ## It's not just Standing Up DevFeed: [It's not just Standing Up]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Published: 2019-01-11T00:00:00Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Juri Strumpflohner]() Topics: [Self-organizing Team](), [Development](), [Software Engineering](), [dashboards]() Tags: [agile](), [article](), [developers](), [development](), [development-process](), [scrum](), [self-organizing-team](), [software-development](), [software-process](), [standup-meeting](), [talk](), [team]() ### AI overview The article argues that people and organizational practices are at least as important as technical skills in software development. It presents notes on effective daily standups, emphasizing self-organizing teams, work-item-focused discussion, communication, impediment tracking, varied speaking order, suitable timing, and maintaining productivity. ### Source excerpt Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet ## Games and Cards DevFeed: [Games and Cards]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Adam Published: 2018-07-16T00:00:00Z Content type: article Language: en Sources: [Shostack & Friends Blog]() Topics: [Security](), [Vulnerabilities](), [Self-organizing Team](), [Tool]() Tags: [agile](), [games](), [security](), [tool](), [vulnerabilities]() ### AI overview The article presents the Emergynt Risk Deck, a 51-card discussion tool covering actors, vulnerabilities, targets, consequences, and risks. It also mentions an Agile Security Game created by Lancaster University and adds both to a list of security games. ### Source excerpt [no description provided] ## Holacracy - Whatˋs The Fuss About? Part 1 DevFeed: [Holacracy - Whatˋs The Fuss About? Part 1]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Peter Krauß (peter.krauss@upday.com) Published: 2017-06-26T19:39:55Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Upday]() Topics: [Agile](), [Development](), [Self-organizing Team]() Tags: [agile](), [culture](), [development-process](), [efficiency](), [rules]() ### AI overview This article examines Holacracy as an alternative to traditional hierarchical management. It describes principles such as distributed decision-making, defined responsibilities, and a constitution of organizational rules, while noting that Holacracy is not a universal solution. ### Source excerpt What is the right approach to being as happy, productive and as innovative as possible? Well, I guess this question pops up in many companies and there are many books out there trying to give an answer to this question. However, I deeply believe there is not one answer "to bind them all". However some principles are helpful to create a healthy environment - this means for us updudes: you need independence to make your own decisions you need to know what you are responsible for you need to know what you can expect from others and what they are responsible/accountable for If all these conditions are met, the probability you finish your task with the highest quality and efficiency is high - and you may even have some fun in the meantime. One guide that everyone is talking about in the moment is Holacracy. So we decided to have a closer look. And what did we realize? It is not the "Silver Bullet" to solve all our problems! (What a surprise!) But Holacracy offers many tools we started using to come closer to our Garden of Eden. In the next sections I will describe some key aspects of Holacracy. Our experiences will be part of a follow-up post. The CTO is Dead - Long Live The Constitution The classical hierarchical system - one person is in charge and takes all the decisions - worked pretty well for a few hundred years. It assumes this person is able to take the best possible decisions because he or she foresees every requirement and fully understands the big picture. This might be true for assembly lines producing simple things. But it already becomes unlikely if you think about fully automated, robot-controlled assembly lines in car production. It is completely impossible in an agile and fast changing software development process. What could be the alternative? Anarchy, grass-roots democracy based decisions or maybe hiring an almighty genius who knows everything? But this would be the omniscient leader again... And how would you know he/she knows everything? The answer Ho ## Minimum Viable Sprint - a One Week Hackathon DevFeed: [Minimum Viable Sprint - a One Week Hackathon]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Marcus Tannerfalk Follow Published: 2017-05-16T00:00:00Z Content type: article Language: en Sources: [Trivago]() Topics: [Development](), [Hackathon](), [Agile](), [Self-organizing Team]() Tags: [agile](), [autonomous](), [back-end](), [development](), [engineering-culture](), [front-end](), [hackathon](), [jira](), [product-owner](), [quality-assurance]() ### AI overview Agile Coaches at trivago describe a one-week hackathon organized around daily sprints to help a development team create a minimum viable product. The article outlines the team structure and preparation, including co-location, office infrastructure, Scrum boards, and a groomed, prioritized backlog. ### Source excerpt We, Marcos Pacheco and Marcus Tannerfalk, work as Agile Coaches in the Palma office for the hotel search company trivago. This is our experience in working with a development team in daily sprints with the goal of delivering an MVP (minimum viable product) ## Building Stronger Agile Teams Through Team Setup, Alignment, and Outcome Measurement DevFeed: [Building Stronger Agile Teams Through Team Setup, Alignment, and Outcome Measurement]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Johannes Theilmann (johannes.theilmann@upday.com) Published: 2017-03-03T04:00:00Z Content type: article Language: en Sources: [Upday]() Topics: [Agile](), [Self-organizing Team](), [meetings](), [Canvas](), [jira](), [Slack]() Tags: [agile](), [business](), [cycle-time](), [deploy](), [devops](), [meetings](), [metrics](), [product-owner]() ### AI overview An upday Product Owner describes a checklist for setting up stronger Agile teams, including defining goals, agreeing on team structure, aligning on tools and roles, prioritizing projects with CD3 and WSJF, and measuring outcomes through cycle time, deployment frequency, feature lead time, team happiness, and meeting volume. ### Source excerpt At upday we challenge ourselves to achieve technical excellence and a strong understanding of business needs. Due to external and internal circumstances we have quite a volatile team setup. At least each quarter we change either the team members, the PO or the whole structure of our teams - from horizontal to cross-functional to fluent and back again. However our goal is to have stable teams with a clear business orientation while also enabling team members to grow technically and to support each other (eg. reviews, testing, tech discussions). It is the challenge for each team member to adapt quickly to new teams, different skill sets and goals. I would like to share how we approach building stronger teams and to have a checklist for myself when a new team is set up: As a Product Owner I want to set up teams quickly and efficiently in order to get them up 'n' running fast and deliver the highest business value. Acceptance Criteria: Project goals are set for the next quarter Team set up is agreed with agile coach / scrum master / team-cut captain Team alignment canvas session defines: communication tools (Slack, Skype, email etc.) planning and progress meetings (Jira, Trello) roles, component owner, facilitator, lead team agreement Depict the process the team is improving on a story map map projects Calculate the CD3 (cost of delay divided by duration) and WSJF (weighted short jobs first) with the team. PO-team choose projects based on CD3 and/or WSJF Feedback from stakeholders is collected on a confluence page Epics for projects define clearly user/business value and metrics, objectives and key results (OKRs) to measure the success of an epic. External team members are invited to groomings to make upcoming changes transparent early on and to final reviews to identify potential follow up stories We already made several experiments with the team setup without really being able to measure the outcomes. We also realised that not all our needs are covered by the existing ## Why software managers should allow mistakes at work DevFeed: [Why software managers should allow mistakes at work]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: umer Published: 2016-04-14T00:00:00Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Code Ahoy - Articles]() Topics: [Development](), [Software Engineering](), [Self-organizing Team]() Tags: [customer](), [developers](), [development](), [mistakes](), [software-development](), [team]() ### AI overview This opinion article argues that software managers should not stigmatize ordinary mistakes. Excessive fear of errors can make developers defensive, discourage experimentation, and reduce motivation, while high-risk customer-facing areas should receive additional oversight. ### Source excerpt I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won't work. -Thomas Edison Software development is an activity that requires serious brain power. And it's only natural that software developers make mistakes along the way. However, many organizations and managers stigmatize failures. It's considered a sin to make an error on the job. A sin that is not going to be forgotten any time soon. We are taught from an early age that mistakes are bad. Students are marked by the number of mistakes and the society looks down on failures. So why should managers allow it? The answer is simple: people will make mistakes in any activity that requires imagination and creativity. That's how they learn and improve. DeMarco and Lister explained it better: Fostering an atmosphere that doesn't allow for error simply makes people defensive. They don't try things that may turn out badly. You encourage this defensiveness when you try to systematize the process, when you impose rigid methodologies so that staff members are not allowed to make any of the key strategic decisions lest they make them incorrectly. The average level of technology may be modestly improved by any steps you take to inhibit error. The team sociology, however, can suffer grievously. The last sentence is the key: The team sociology, however, can will suffer grievously. As a software manager, your primary day job is to make it possible for your team to do work. When people become defensive, they lose motivation to do good work. Whenever a 'bug' is reported by customer or a client, instead of focusing their efforts to objectively locate the bug, employees spend time and energy on 'covering their asses' and collecting data to 'prove' that there has to be something "wrong with the other system." The biggest fear managers have is that mistakes made will cost their company money or damage customer relationship. While this is true, most mistakes made in the workplace don't damage company's reputation. Managers should iden ## The Coaching Architect DevFeed: [The Coaching Architect]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Published: 2013-02-11T00:00:00Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Juri Strumpflohner]() Topics: [Self-organizing Team](), [Programming]() Tags: [architecture](), [coaching](), [leadership](), [learning](), [self-organizing-team](), [tech-vids]() ### AI overview Personal notes from a talk by Roy Osherove about coaching, leadership, and the role of an architect. The article argues that architects should teach teams to become more independent, reduce their own bottleneck role, and help build self-organizing teams. ### Source excerpt Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet ## How we do... Retrospectives DevFeed: [How we do... Retrospectives]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Published: 2012-03-04T00:00:00Z Content type: article Language: en Sources: [SoundCloud Backstage Blog]() Topics: [Agile](), [Self-organizing Team]() Tags: [agile](), [development](), [retrospective](), [scrum](), [tools]() ### AI overview This article explains how SoundCloud uses retrospectives for continuous improvement in agile teams. It describes short retrospectives held after each two-week iteration, larger quarterly retrospectives, and a less-same-more framework for identifying changes to team practices. ### Source excerpt SoundCloud started its agile journey with Scrum and eventually moved to an approach based on Kanban (more on that in one of the next blog... ## Why Agile Assessments Can Distract Teams from Productivity DevFeed: [Why Agile Assessments Can Distract Teams from Productivity]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Published: 2008-10-21T15:41:57Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Blog by Michael Dubakov]() Topics: [Agile](), [Development](), [Self-organizing Team]() Tags: [agile](), [development-process](), [kanban](), [productivity](), [scrum]() ### AI overview This opinion article argues that generic Agile tests, certifications, and assessments can distract software teams from their actual goals. It recommends focusing on team productivity, software quality, and customer satisfaction, while allowing teams to choose practices that fit their circumstances, including iteration-less or Kanban-based development. ### Source excerpt "Are we agile?", "How agile are we?", "Are we more agile than they are?" Honestly, I am getting tired of these questions. Why do you care? Will it make you happier when you are able to tattoo "100% agile" on your body? Is it a goal to be "agile"? Definitely not! All agile tests are just a garbage. All efforts on agile process certifications/assessments are useless. There are so many factors influencing software development process that make impossible any certification. Your company is special, you have special people in the development team, you have special conditions, rules, and other external factors. CMMI, PMBOK, and other heavy approaches do not help to build legendary team. They only may help to build an average team and eliminate some quite obvious mistakes in the development process. The right question to ask is: "How can we be more productive as a team?". It is your project. It is your team. You have goals to improve team productivity ("Done-Done" stories in a period of time), create outstanding software and make customers happy. Agile Tests that answer question "Are we agile?" shift the focus to the wrong direction. Look, if your team has to pass an Agile "test", they will focus on passing it. That is a plain dumb goal and a waste of time. Let's say a manager reads about a famous agile test and sets the goal to pass it. Development team, as a complex adaptive system, adapts to the rules and environment. It will change development process and apply practices to pass the test as effectively as possible. However the team's productivity may suffer. Why? Simply because the test is too general and can't be applied to any team. Remember, your team is special. Let's take Scrum and famous Nokia test. The first question is "Describe your iterations" and the worst answer to the question is "We do not use iterations". Well, it is a Scrum test and Scrum insists on having iterations (sprints). But what if your team works more effectively without iterations? What if you ## A Proposed Framework for Explaining and Guiding Agile Software Development DevFeed: [A Proposed Framework for Explaining and Guiding Agile Software Development]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Published: 2008-10-20T15:41:57Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Blog by Michael Dubakov]() Topics: [Agile](), [Development](), [Software Engineering](), [Self-organizing Team]() Tags: [agile](), [complexity](), [retrospective](), [scrum](), [software-development](), [team]() ### AI overview The article argues that teams should adapt practices from XP, Scrum, Lean, or other agile processes to their specific problems instead of applying one methodology rigidly. It proposes a simple framework grounded in Complex Adaptive Systems to explain why agile processes work and guide adoption while supporting creativity, communication, learning, feedback, and self-organization. ### Source excerpt People often ask questions like "What is the difference between Scrum/XP/Lean/Agile/You name it"? I don't see much difference between XP and Scrum on that matter. If you already have XP, most likely don't need to switch. Maybe adopt some Scrum specific practices for a better scalability like Scrum-of-Scrums. Almost all the other practices like daily meetings, iterations, roles separation, retrospectives, etc. exist in XP already. In fact I am not sure if such separation brings benefits. It is better to spot what's going wrong in your development process during retrospective meetings and apply practices from any agile process (or create own solutions) to your specific problems. XP, Scrum or Lean give you a framework that helps to be adaptive and creative, whereas traditional processes give you a set of rules hindering any creative behavior. Your team and your project IS special. Think and communicate to sharpen your development process. I do understand why people are so enthusiastic about Scrum or XP. These processes provide tools and practices out of the box. You may just start doing it and see what happens. It is not the best way, since quite often agile adoption fails. People don't get the new way, they implement it without proper support and under the pressure. They maybe don't have a deep understanding how it should work. So it is expected that agile adoption might not be smooth for all. Agile Development Future I wish all agile methodologies evolve into one elegant, smart, simple framework. For me it is a natural trend and it should be something like Theory of Everything in physics. This framework should explain why agile processes work. It should based on natural laws of Complex Adaptive Systems. It should provide general guidance on agile adoption and a repository of possible practices that might be used to build your own development process. The framework should be simple and unobtrusive, since complex rules will not work for software development. The framew