Agile Principles in Tech Fleet

Clarity of Outcomes

• Begin by defining the problem that your team is trying to solve. Too often people start coming up with solutions before they fully understand the problem.

• Next, determine the user outcome. Once you have defined the problem, it’s much easier to achieve clarity about the user outcome that you envision.

• Then, always keep this high-level outcome in sight in everything you do. This will ensure you are delivering real user value, value that improves the overall user experience.

  Ways to act on this principle

  • Begin by defining the problem that your team is trying to solve. Too often people start coming up with solutions before they fully understand the problem.

  • Next, determine the user outcome. Once you have defined the problem, it’s much easier to achieve clarity about the user outcome that you envision.

  • Then, always keep this high-level outcome in sight in everything you do. This will ensure you are delivering real user value, value that improves the overall user experience.

Servant Leadership

Servant leadership is crucial for successful Agile teams. Being a servant leader means you're not telling people what to do or giving them the answer, or preventing them from failing. You are their guide and empowering them to find the answer on their own. Leads are not managers, they are not above anyone else on the team; they are contributors on the team who happen to lead and guide others to success while learning themselves.

Self-organized teams

• Build a small team to do the work.

• Select individuals for the team that have the right set of skills to do the work.

• Empower teams to make decisions and be accountable to find their own paths. Leaders only need to prioritize and provide clarity and then stay out of the way.

Source: IBM Skills Build – Agile Explorer

Failing Fast

• Start by doing and trying small pieces of work.

• Listen and learn from feedback received.

• Iterate by making adjustments based on feedback received. You might have to make some big adjustments to get yourself back on track. (By the way, another phrase for “getting back on track” is “course correct.”) That’s ok. Course correct as necessary so that you can continually improve on your user experience.

Psychological Safety

Trust

Trust is the willingness to be vulnerable with others. Trust sits at the bottom of every organization and is the foundation in which a company operates. There’s the basic kind of trust: the company trusts that you will show up to work and that you’ll work your required hours. Then, there is a deeper level of trust: a trust that requires vulnerability with the people you work with. This requires a belief that you can do things like make mistakes, ask for help, and take risks without being afraid of their reaction. Now, here’s the interesting part: being vulnerable actually builds trust. So, the more open you are, the more people will trust you.

Empathy

Empathy is the ability to understand another person’s perspective or circumstance whether or not you agree with this person. Possessing empathy means having the ability to put yourself into another person’s shoes and see things from this person’s perspective. Empathy is a team value that promotes high commitment and cooperation in the workplace.

Respect

Respect is the act of showing esteem and regard for an individual and treating a person with dignity. Showing respect allows the flow of diverse and different thinking, ideas, and solutions. Showing respect is about showing respect for everyone on the team, not just the ones you like or think like you.

Openness

Openness is the ability to have an open mind, the willingness to listen to other people’s ideas, and being able to freely express yourself without fear or intimidation. It also means being in touch with your own feelings and being willing to try new things. Openness means being inwardly receptive to new things and outwardly transparent with your team.

Courage

Courage can be defined as the strength to persevere, such as taking action or speaking up, in the face of danger, fear, or difficulty. Having courage means you speak up and share your ideas even though it is different from your team members or that you speak and suggest to the team to pause work when something is not working. Courage is the willingness to stand on your values and decide which of them you are willing to bend if the occasion warrants it.

Source: IBM Skills Build – Agile Explorer

Continuous Discovery