Agile is something of a buzzword in the business world these days, but it’s not a complicated concept. At least, it doesn’t need to be. Agile coach Luis Goncalves lays it out really simply: “agile describes an alternative form of project management.” It’s also a process that helps teams do three things:
- Allows teams to provide a quick response to feedback.
- Creates opportunities to assess the direction of a project.
- Allows for assessment opportunities in team meetings called sprints.
An agile is also a very empowering process “that helps companies design and build the right product.”
Santex follows the agile methodology. This enables us to provide the best talent in the right moment, thanks to our high performing teams. This article will cover how to create high performing teams at your own company, how to have a happy team, and how to improve product quality.
The Importance of High-Performing Teams
Having a high-performing team is vital to being agile. Collaboration and communication are two important components of a high-performing agile team. Communication increases transparency within the company. When there is transparency, team members are empowered to do a better job. Keeping common goals and the company’s mission statement top of mind motivates team members to help the company succeed.
When a high-performing team is agile, there is no micro-management required. A high-performing team can be given direction at the beginning and trusted to perform well without a lot of guidance and hand-holding. Without micro-management, teams have the autonomy to let their talents shine and become stronger in areas where they might have been weak.
On an agile high-performing team, every member has a voice. They are given opportunities they might not otherwise have. Team members are given opportunities to explore their strengths and weaknesses, to provide input on various projects, and be a part of achieving the goals the team has set forth.
A Happy Team Is A High-Performing Team
Members of agile high-performing teams are able to contribute their best work, which also enables them to give customers exactly what they need when they need it.
Agile high-performing teams are also well-rounded, with everyone bringing a variety of skills to the table to achieve success. Agile teams are also able to anticipate product changes and prioritize efforts and features in order to be successful.
Having agile high-performing teams leads to happy teams who are able to produce good work on a consistent basis. A happy team is open to learning new skills, as well as going above and beyond to meet their customers’ needs.
Other important elements of a happy team include being engaged in processes and decision making, having buy-in with the company, and being able to work directly with stakeholders to get questions answered.
Happy teams prefer conversation to exhaustive documentation during meetings and other check-ins. This also leads to lower attrition rates. The team’s focus tends to be better due to the lack of micro-management and constant fire-fighting.
A happy team that isn’t being micro-managed is also likely to be far more productive. They now have the freedom to just put their heads down and get the work done.
Using Agile Teams To Improve Product Quality
When it comes to improving product quality, agile teams are much more capable of doing so because they have a vested interest in the product and the company. Agile for business means being able to drive real value, not just building a bunch of fancy new features.
Agile teams are also able to increase feedback, remove waste and roadblocks, and make code fully testable throughout the improvement process. They have a clearer understanding of what changes might need to be made because they’ve had buy-in throughout the entire process.
The testing and tweaking of products is integral to improving their quality. Products should always be evolving, especially in an effort to reduce the disappointment a client might feel when the product doesn’t do what they’re hoping it will do. An agile team values outcomes over outputs and ensures their products are addressing customer needs as accurately as possible.
Conclusion
If you’re looking to make your team more agile and high-performing in 2019 and beyond, Santex can help with that. Our e-book, “Best Practices for Software Outsourcing,” offers advice to help you with your software development needs. Furthermore, not only do we offer a range of resources to help your team achieve its goals, but we can also provide the best talent in the right moment, talent that can take your team to the next level and create agile, happy, and high-performing teams within your company, regardless of what your goals and mission are heading into the new year.
