Concepts
Agile working agreements serve as a set of guidelines that a scrum team follows in order to facilitate better communication, collaboration and overall performance. These agreements are usually decided upon collectively by the team, and reflect their preferred working practices.
Below are three kinds of agile working agreements that CSP-D exam takers should familiarize themselves with:
1. Definition of Done (DoD):
This agreement is essential for any agile team. The definition of done refers to the set criteria that must be met for a task to be considered as completed. These criteria might include key factors such as code reviews, testing and documentation. A clearly laid out DoD can help in avoiding any ambiguity over what the completion of work entails, thereby ensuring that all team members have a shared and uniform understanding of the work.
2. Team Roles and Responsibilities:
Under this agreement, every member’s role and responsibilities are clearly laid out. This helps in establishing workflows, decision-making processes, and accountability. It also helps in mapping who does what in the Scrum events like Daily Standups, Sprint Planning, Review and Retrospectives for example, who facilitates the meetings, who participates and who can merely observe.
3. Communication Norms:
This agreement outlines how the team wishes to communicate with each other. It includes the expected response times for messages, the primary modes of communication (email, Slack, face-to-face), how to share documents and files, and how to request and offer help. Additionally, norms around providing and accepting feedback, raising issues and resolving conflicts are often included.
To uphold these working agreements, one potential action plan could be:
A. Regular reviews and updates:
These agreements are not set in stone and should be revisited on a regular cadence, e.g., at the end of each sprint during the retrospective. The team should assess how well they are sticking to the agreements and what improvements can be made. Such reviews promote transparency and allow the team to adapt the agreements based on their evolving needs, changes in the project or organization changes.
Additionally, here are some practices that can help uphold these agreements:
- Clear communication: Ensure that all individuals in the team understand and sign-off on these agreements. Provide necessary information and be open to feedback to improve them.
- Shared ownership: All team members should feel that they jointly own these agreements and have a role to play in upholding them.
- Lead by example: Team leaders should show their commitment to these agreements by abiding by them as well – be it respecting communication norms or meeting the definition of done.
- Accountability: Teams should create a culture where members hold each other accountable for adherence to the agreements.
By implementing such agile working agreements, CSP-D certified developers can effectively foster a high-functioning, cohesive and collaborative team. Based on the experience gained, we can refine or introduce new agreements as needed.
Remember, the intent is to help the team work well together – adapt and tweak as required, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution in agile!
Answer the Questions in Comment Section
True or False: An Agile working agreement is utilized within a Scrum team to set guidelines on how the group wishes to work together.
- Answer: True
Explanation: Agile working agreements establish how a team wants to work together to improve performance and quality. They may cover areas like communication norms, decision-making processes, and meeting schedules.
Which of the following could be a type of Agile Working Agreements?
- a. Daily Standup Agreements
- b. Definition of Done Agreements
- c. Pair Programming Agreements
- d. All of the above
Answer: d. All of the above
Explanation: These are all good examples of Agile working agreements. The agreement types can be very diverse but are always based on the team consensus about best work practices.
A key action plan to encourage adherence to an Agile Working Agreement is to:
- a. Implement strict penalties for non-compliance.
- b. Enable team participation and consensus in creating the agreement.
- c. Keep the existence of the agreement secret to the team.
- d. Frequently change the agreement depending on the situation.
Answer: b. Enable team participation and consensus in creating the agreement.
Explanation: Agile is all about collaboration. Creating an agreement together and collectively agreeing on it will increase the likelihood of its successful implementation.
True or False: Agile working agreements are created only by the Scrum Master.
- Answer: False
Explanation: Agile working agreements should be team-based decisions where everyone contributes. The responsibility of the Scrum Master is to facilitate their creation and help uphold them.
Single Select: A Scrum Master’s action plan to uphold an agile working agreement should include:
- a. Regularly reminding the team members of the agreement
- b. Punishing non-compliant team members
- c. Changing the agreement frequently
- d. Creating the rules without the team’s input
Answer: a. Regularly reminding the team members of the agreement
Explanation: Reminder of the agreement should be part of the regular practices that Scrum Master uses. This is to ensure that the agreement is not forgotten or ignored.
True or False: Agile working agreements are set in stone and should never be revised.
- Answer: False
Explanation: Agile working agreements should be living documents open to revisions. As teams evolve, so should their agreements.
Multiple Select: Agile Working Agreements can cover which of the following topic areas?
- a. Communication Norms
- b. Expected Work Hours
- c. Tools and Technologies to be used
- d. Project Deadlines
Answer: a. Communication Norms, b. Expected Work Hours, c. Tools and Technologies to be used
Explanation: Agile working agreements often cover practical aspects of team dynamics like norms for communication, working hours, and the use of tools and technologies. Project deadlines are determined separately and not usually part of working agreements.
True or False: Agile working agreements are successful even if they are not accepted or understood by the entire team.
- Answer: False
Explanation: For a working agreement to be successful, it must be fully understood and accepted by the entire team.
Multiple Select: Which of the following are key benefits of Agile Working Agreements?
- a. Enhanced team productivity
- b. Improved communication within the team
- c. Greater transparency and trust among team members
- d. Reduced need for regular team meetings
Answer: a. Enhanced team productivity, b. Improved communication within the team, c. Greater transparency and trust among team members
Explanation: Agile working agreements, done right, can enhance productivity, improve communication, and foster trust within the team; However, they don’t necessarily reduce the need for regular team meetings.
True or False: Imposing a working agreement on a team without their input typically results in high buy-in and acceptance from the team members.
- Answer: False
Explanation: Imposing a working agreement is contrary to agile principles. This process should be collaborative, enabling all team members to contribute, thereby ensuring buy-in and acceptance.
Great post! Here are three kinds of agile working agreements between teams: 1. Communication protocols (e.g., daily stand-ups at a specific time). 2. Definition of Done (DoD) agreement among developers, testers, and other stakeholders. 3. Regular retrospectives to analyze and improve team performances.
I agree with the regular retrospectives. They really help in continuous improvement.
For upholding these agreements, an action plan can include setting specific, measurable goals and regularly tracking progress against those goals.
One other agile working agreement could be pair programming to improve code quality and knowledge sharing.
Thanks for this insightful blog post!
My team uses a shared project management board to maintain visibility on tasks and deadlines. It’s become a crucial part of our agile workflow.
I disagree slightly with the idea of daily stand-ups. I think thrice a week should be enough to avoid meeting fatigue.
Amazing post! Very helpful.