Agile talks a lot about self-organized teams, where developers and testers work together to deliver software. But what can you do to make teams succeed? Ben Linders will explore why you want to work in a team, the benefits that teams bring, and how to (not) manage teams. What is an agile team (and what not) Why would you as a developer want to work in a team, what’s in it for me Which benefits do teams have for organizations, stakeholders, customers, etc How to manage teams, the do’s and don’ts How developers, managers, and business people, can effectively communicate and collaborate

1. benlinders.com - @BenLinders 1
Ben Linders Consulting
Teams, what’s in it for me?
How to (not) manage teams
GrowIT 2018 – Full Stack Conference
Novi Sad, Serbia, December 2, 2018
Ben Linders

2. benlinders.com - @BenLinders 2
Ben Linders Consulting
Trainer / Coach / Adviser / Author / Speaker
Agile, Lean, Quality & Continuous improvement
Freelance Editor for InfoQ.com
BenLinders.com
Books: Getting Value out of Agile Retrospectives What Drives Quality
Agile Self-assessment Game Continuous Improvement
Games: Agile Self-assessment

3. benlinders.com - @BenLinders 3
Ben Linders Consulting
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/management

4. benlinders.com - @BenLinders 4
Ben Linders Consulting

5. benlinders.com - @BenLinders 5
Ben Linders Consulting
Agile Team
people working together to deliver value to the
users of products or services and stakeholders
• Self-organized
• Deliver value
• Collaborative
• Learn and adjust

6. benlinders.com - @BenLinders 6
Ben Linders Consulting
Teamworking
Purpose
Safety Autonomy

7. benlinders.com - @BenLinders 7
Ben Linders Consulting
Why people hate working in teams
• unfair workload
• find it hard to work together
• depend too much on colleagues
• too much unclearness
• not getting credits you deserve
• work with people you dislike
• unclear roles or expectations
• unsure what you contributes
• slowed down by colleagues

8. benlinders.com - @BenLinders 8
Ben Linders Consulting
Why people hate working together
• unfair workload
• find it hard to work together
• depend too much on colleagues
• too much unclearness
• not getting credits you deserve
• work with people you dislike
• unclear roles or expectations
• unsure what you contributes
• slowed down by colleagues

9. benlinders.com - @BenLinders 9
Ben Linders Consulting
There´s no escaping

10. benlinders.com - @BenLinders 10
Ben Linders Consulting
Let’s face it
You can't do it alone, you will have
to work together with other people
Better get better in working together

11. benlinders.com - @BenLinders 11
Ben Linders Consulting
Why work in a team – WIFM?
 Get more done together
 Getting credit
 Give and get help
 Learn from each other
 Camaraderie, belonging
 Increased work satisfaction
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

12. benlinders.com - @BenLinders 12
Ben Linders Consulting
Benefits of Agile Teams
 No micromanagement
 Sustainable pace
 Limit outside interference
 Less unclearness
 Improved communication
 Better results
Making Agile Work for You

13. benlinders.com - @BenLinders 13
Ben Linders Consulting
Organizing for Teamwork
 Establish Stable Teams
 Enable Diversity
 Design for Improvement
Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash

14. benlinders.com - @BenLinders 14
Ben Linders Consulting
Creating a Teamwork Culture
 Guide Self-organization
 Stimulate Collaboration
 Foster Modern Leadership
 Be an Example Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash

15. benlinders.com - @BenLinders 15
Ben Linders Consulting
What if it doesn’t work?
• Reflect & discuss
• Speak up
• Team working skills
• Get team coaching
Agile Retrospectives

16. benlinders.com - @BenLinders 16
Ben Linders Consulting
Advice to managers
Dont call people resources!

17. benlinders.com - @BenLinders 17
Ben Linders Consulting
How to not manage agile teams
• Don't call people resources
• Don’t micromanage
• Don’t put pressure on teams
• Don’t be a jerk
When in doubt: don’t do it and see what happens

18. benlinders.com - @BenLinders 18
Ben Linders Consulting
How to do manage agile teams
• Listen
• Value collaboration
• Trust people
• Give them what they need
• Reward team results
• Drive out fear

19. benlinders.com - @BenLinders 19
Ben Linders Consulting
One last thing
Managers are people too!
Developers: stop using the term “management”, “business”,
or “them”.
Call them by their name, respect them in the same way as
you want to be respected.
Assume that they also come to work to do their job the best
they can, just like you.

20. benlinders.com - @BenLinders 20
Ben Linders Consulting
Thank you!Thank you!
Ben Linders
Trainer / Coach / Adviser / Author / Speaker
Agile, Lean, Quality & Continuous Improvement
info@BenLinders.cominfo@BenLinders.com
@BenLinders
www.linkedin.com/in/benlinderswww.linkedin.com/in/benlinders
www.facebook.com/BenLindersAdvieswww.facebook.com/BenLindersAdvies
www.benlinders.comwww.benlinders.com

21. benlinders.com - @BenLinders 21
Ben Linders Consulting
Background Information

22. benlinders.com - @BenLinders 22
Ben Linders Consulting
Assessing your Agility
Over 70 tools:
• Self-Assessment checklists
• Readyness checks
• Maturity assessments
• Agile health checks
• Measurements
• And much more!
Agile Self-Assessments

23. benlinders.com - @BenLinders 23
Ben Linders Consulting
Services for Agile Self-assessments
Services for assessing your agility and increase delivered value:
• In-house workshop for playing the Agile Self-assessment Game
• Public workshops to experience the Agile Self-assessment Game
• Agile assessment for your team, department, or organization
• Facilitation for playing the game at your event (conference, meetup,
hackathon, game lab, etc)
• Tailoring the Agile Self-assessment Game to your specific needs
• Licenses for playing the game
• …
Contact: benlinders@gmail.com +31 6 2901 3863

24. benlinders.com - @BenLinders 24
Ben Linders Consulting
Continuous Improvement
 Become aware of importance of continuous
improvement,
 Explore how it’s engrained in agile software
development
 Suggestions that you can use in your daily work
to improve continuously
Increase your organization's agility!
Leanpub.com/continuousimprovement
“Continuous Improvement is the act of continuously doing
whatever helps to become better and thus more valuable”