320: Retiring Outdated Processes and Building Agile Teams for Organizational Stability

Leaders can build a more agile and effective team by fostering organizational stability through psychological safety

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Human-Centered Engineering Management with Agile

Agile methodology is designed to value creativity and uncertainty while providing a structured approach to learning that encourages teams to evaluate their product and the process used to create it. Prioritizing tasks based on value enables teams to complete the most critical 20 percent of their work efficiently and often results in the realization that the remaining 80 percent is unnecessary. Agile promotes teamwork and incremental progress toward a common goal, with team members communicating their progress, plans, and obstacles during meetings.

In agile software development, a sprint refers to a predetermined time frame, typically lasting between 1-4 weeks, in which a particular set of tasks are accomplished. While not all agile practices have been successful, developers must prioritize the fundamental principles of agile and discourage ineffective management to ensure sustainability and a consistent pace across sponsors, developers, and users. At the end of each iteration, team members reflect on their interactions, practices, and processes to identify areas for improvement and overcome challenges. Agile allows teams to work faster without the need for detailed reporting to management. 

Although Agile was created to bridge the gap between stakeholders and developers, the same disconnect can occur between customers and the delivery team. Engineering managers play a vital role within the team, including career coaching, technical leadership, liaising between stakeholders and developers, and being a technical authority. However, engineering managers must stay connected to everything to ensure they know what needs to be done at any given time. A flat organizational structure without leaders or authorities is necessary to create a safe environment for customer solutions.

Many companies in the software industry need help implementing a human-centered approach to engineering management. The software engineers are the resources, and software development is a dynamic process involving daily problem-solving and evolution. To achieve a human-centered approach to management, delivery teams must take responsibility for the entire working pipeline and understand that their everyday actions are interconnected with the rest of the processes. This can be achieved by team members helping each other and focusing on providing value to the company without intermediaries. Improving soft skills and engaging in direct conversations is crucial to eliminate ambiguity. Initiating a human-centered approach to engineering management can be effectively done by starting with no managers. The industry must evolve and recognize the increased complexity of software engineering in today's era.

Retiring Outdated Processes and Building Agile Teams for Organizational Stability

Managers holding one-on-one meetings to update project progress could suggest flaws in the Agile process. Various practices and processes, such as Kanban, aim to make project progress visible and prompt team action. Suppose an Engineering Manager still requires status reports. In that case, it may indicate that the delivery process is flawed and hindering the team's effectiveness, potentially rendering the entire company dysfunctional.

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