Blog Series: Did You Pack the 12 Agile Principles on Your Agile Journey? Pt. 4: Work Together

At CapTech, we believe the 12 Agile Principles from the Agile Manifesto are building blocks for a successful, sustainable Agile journey. Many pitfalls that organizations experience are due to oversight and lack of adherence to the Agile Principles. In this CapTech blog series, we will review the 12 Agile Principles, common issues that lead organizations astray, and solutions to get back on course throughout any Agile journey.

Agile Principle #4: Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.

Common Issues that Lead Organizations Astray

• Business People and Developers speak different languages, metaphorically or literally, making daily collaboration difficult and cumbersome.
• A lack of co-location makes it difficult to come together daily.
• Office space is not conducive to collaboration creating physical silos.
• Offices and teams are globally distributed, introducing time-zone and online collaboration issues.
• Cultures lacking trust and respect cause breakdowns between the organizations.

Solutions that Lead Organizations Back on Course

• Introduce/Empower the Scrum Master role - Scrum Masters are expert facilitators and collaborators. They can seamlessly liaise between all aspects of an organization.
• Find opportunities for Business People and Developers observe each other working to help each side understand the challenges the other faces.
• When possible, co-locate all individuals involved with the work ensuring daily availability.
• Tear down the barriers! Move desks, tables, walls, etc. into a collaborative formation that brings everyone together in one easily accessible place.
• Be conscious and sensitive to time zone constraints and find a "golden window" of time when all individuals can come together for at least one hour a day.
• Be the change… Start by making collaboration a priority and finding time daily to be available so that a culture built on trust can begin to form.

Click here to download CapTech's 12 Principles of Agile Poster

Blog Series: Did you Pack the 12 Agile Principles on Your Agile Journey?

• Part 1: Deliver Value
• Part 2: Changing Requirements
• Part 3: Deliver Frequently
• Part 4: Work Together
• Part 5: Motivated Individuals

Part 6: Face-to-Face Conversation

Part 7: Working Solutions

Part 8: Sustainability

Part 9: Technical Excellence

Part 10: Simplicity

Part 11: Self-Organizing Teams

Part 12: Reflect