What makes a software development team agile?
According to Darren Hale in an Oct. 20 article on InfoQ, a successful team has the following components:
* Skilled developers
* Established team values
* Good communication
* Always looking to improve
The process of building an agile team isn't as easy as it looks, warns Hale. "Many managers and team leads hire technically capable people, throw some form of an agile process at the team, and hope that everything works...this approach is not only unrealistic, but it is prone to failure," he says.
Hale goes on to describe how his company built their team.
He says: "We recognized early that the characteristics that were important to us included having a customer perspective, collaborating effectively, managing by fact, and focusing on execution. A team that embodied these principles would be well positioned for success."
First, Hale's company focused on communication, making sure the physical layout of their office would enable easier communication and discussion. They refined their interviewing process to hire developers that not only had the level of talent and skill they sought, but would mesh well with their existing team.
Finally, they focused on process improvement. Reviewing their existing processes has helped them improve the team on a continual basis.
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