Team Structures (Agile)
In Agile, teams are set up in ways that encourage teamwork, independence, and self-organization. Agile teams are cross-functional, which means they have all the skills and knowledge they need to do a full piece of work. Here are some popular ways that Agile teams are put together:
1. Self-Organizing Teams: Most agile teams are self-organizing, which means they can handle their own work on their own. They are in charge of planning, carrying out, and delivering the job within the limits that were agreed upon. Team members work together and make decisions as a group, making sure that the skills and information of the team are used well.
2. Cross-Functional Teams: Agile teams are made up of people with a wide range of skills and knowledge that are needed to make a product or piece of work. This includes jobs like developers, testers, designers, business analysts, and anyone else with the skills needed to make something valuable. Cross-functional teams cut down on dependencies and make performance faster and better.
3. Dedicated Teams: Ideally, agile teams work on a single project or product. This lets them focus their efforts and learn a lot about that area. Dedicated teams make it easier for people to work together, talk to each other, and take responsibility for their actions.
4. steady Teams: Most agile teams are steady, which means that the people on the team stay the same over time. Stable teams build trust, unity, and a sense that everyone owns what they do. They help people on a team get along well, learn about each other’s skills and weaknesses, and improve their work over time.
5. Teams that work together or in different places: Agile teams can work together in the same physical area or in different places. Co-located teams make it easier to talk to each other in person and work better together. Distributed teams use technology and virtual teamwork tools to get around the fact that they are in different places and make sure they can communicate and work together well.
Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) Structures: Scaled frameworks like SAFe can be used to set up Agile teams in bigger organisations or projects. These frameworks add more layers of team structures like Agile Release Trains (ARTs), Solution Trains, and Value Streams to help different teams working towards the same goal coordinate and align their work.
7. Embedded experts: Agile teams can have specialists who help the team with their specific skills or knowledge. For example, an Agile team might include a UX/UI specialist, a security expert, or a performance engineer to help with certain requirements or technical problems.
It’s important to remember that the structure of a team can change based on the organisation, the project, and the needs of the industry. Agile teams are urged to work together better and change their structure as needed to be as effective as possible at giving customers what they want.