LeadYourRemoteTeamtoSuccess-AgileArizona

Up until the pandemic, many people offered advice to agile teams who wanted to include remote people: “Don’t do that!” However, we’ve all been dispersed since March. And, many of us aren’t going “back” to work for months. Some companies aren’t even planning a return date—and some have given up their buildings. Remote is now a fact of life. That means the common advice, “Don’t do that!” doesn’t help distributed agile teams.

However, many distributed agile teams have problems using agile approaches—because these teams focus on practices. Instead, consider how you can apply the eight principles for your successful distributed team. Aside from the principles, you’ll learn the few metrics you need (not velocity!) and how you might optimize your remote team’s agility to deliver the outcomes your business needs.

Transcript

1. Johanna Rothman @johannarothman www.jrothman.com Lead Your Remote Team to Success: Focus on Principles & Outcomes
2. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Productivity Poll • How productive do you feel now, in November 2020? • Please go to menti.com and enter this code: 36 73 39 0 • Or, go to https://www.menti.com/eddqt7fpmi 2
3. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman 3
4. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Feelings Word Cloud • How do you feel about remote work now, November 2020? • Please go to menti.com and enter this code: 36 73 39 0 • Or, go to https://www.menti.com/eddqt7fpmi 4
5. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman 5
6. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman My Experience with Remote Work • I’ve led and worked with remote people and teams since 1987 • Roll-your-own TCP/IP and FTP • As much fun as that sounds • Clients started to offshore/outsource since 2001 • “Why can’t I hire people anywhere in the world?” • Especially if lower salaries 6
7. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Relative Collocation Data for Agile Teams • Even by 2011, fewer than half of all agile teams were collocated • Scott Ambler’s survey, http:// www.ambysoft.com/surveys/ agileTeams2011.html • Several organizations are remote-first by design 7
8. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Dispersed Teams: The New Reality • 2020: All dispersed • 2021: Dispersed for at least several months, longer? • 2022: Expect most teams to be distributed • We’re never going “back” • How do we optimize for forward? 8
9. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Wants & Needs From Work 9 What People Want & Need What Companies Want & Need Work that means something (outcomes) Products that serve a need (outcomes) Autonomy mastery, purpose (with collaboration) Effective teams who can create those products Products that customers want (outcomes) Acquire and retain customers with products (outcomes)
10. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman How Can We Achieve Those Results? 10
11. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman How Do We Create Outcomes? • Pervasive communication to understand the work and its meaning • Use that communication to collaborate • Project rhythm to verify we’re on track • Sufficient transparency 11
12. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Deliver Those Outcomes • What do we need to create collaboration at distance? • Hours of overlap • Good intention • Work together (pair, swarm, mob) • Team resilience • Freedom to learn early 12
13. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Principles, Not Practices 1. Establish acceptable hours of overlap. 2. Create transparency at all levels. 3. Create a culture of continuous improvement with experiments. 4. Practice pervasive communication at all levels. 5. Assume good intention. 6. Create a project rhythm. 7. Create a culture of resilience. 8. Default to collaborative work. 13
14. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman 1. Establish Acceptable Hours of Overlap • Visualize “when” people can collaborate • Fewer than four hours and agile approaches might not work for your team • Chart has hours—your team might need to work in 20-30 minute blocks 14
15. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Visualize Your Team’s Working Hours by Day 15
16. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman 2. Create Transparency at All Levels • What information can your team members see? • How easy is that information to access? • What information can you not easily see? 16
17. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman 3. Create a Culture of Continuous Improvement with Experiments • Does the “book” work for you? • What freedom do you have to experiment? 17
18. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman • This team started with a Scrum board (not shown). They experimented with the board on the left and then moved to the board on the right with WIP limits. Easy Experiments: Boards! 18
19. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman 4. Practice Pervasive Communication at All Levels • Dispersed teams need many communication options 19
20. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Dispersed Teams Require Rich & Natural Communication 20
21. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman 5. Assume Good Intent Satir Congruence Model 21
22. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman 6. Create a Project Rhythm • Most projects need a drumbeat, a rhythm • Some work can use flow-based approaches • Every team needs a cadence of retrospectives, at the very least 22
23. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman 7. Create a Culture of Resilience • If we understand everyone else’s context, we can create a more resilient team 23
24. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman 8. Default to Collaboration • We tend to think of solo work when we are dispersed • However, our hours of overlap offer opportunities for collaboration. Our tools need to support these opportunities. 24
25. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Resource Efficiency vs Flow Efficiency • Resource efficiency looks efficient • But, everything takes longer because of the delays between people • Agile teams work best in flow efficiency 25
26. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Create a Value Stream Map • Value stream map helps you see your team’s system • How can your team support everyone’s work to create an outcome? 26
27. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Measure Cycle Time 27
28. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Can You Optimize for Flow Efficiency? • These principles create flow efficiency • See also: • https://www.jrothman.com/ flowefficiency • https://www.jrothman.com/ cycletime 28
29. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman My Near-Future Predictions • Remote work will remain an option • We will learn to use asynchronous work better (cycle time, cost of delay…) • (Orgs) Fund personal setups that work for each of us • More… 29
30. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Use These Principles for Your Distributed Team 1. Establish acceptable hours of overlap. 2. Create transparency at all levels. 3. Create a culture of continuous improvement with experiments. 4. Practice pervasive communication at all levels. 5. Assume good intention. 6. Create a project rhythm. 7. Create a culture of resilience. 8. Default to collaborative work. 30
31. © 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Let’s Stay in Touch • The book: jrothman.com/SDAT • Hours of overlap chart: https:// www.jrothman.com/HooChart • Online workshops: https:// distributedagilesuccess.teachable.com/ • Consider subscribing to the Pragmatic Manager: www.jrothman.com/pragmaticmanager • Please link with me on LinkedIn • A Product Value Team post: https:// www.jrothman.com/mpd/2019/04/product- roles-part-2-the-product-value-team/ 31