We are firmly convinced of the creation of the stable and long-lasting agile team, both a key competitive element of any company that wants to compete as a protagonist in today's market. The Agile teams were designed to proceed in that direction: small, self-managed, inter-functional teams, preferably located in the same room and possibly long-lasting. we will understand together why traditional project management approaches for creating the work team present important problems. We will understand the dynamics underlying the creation of the stable work team and we will review some of the techniques for creating the cohesive and high-performance team, completely changing the paradigm: from moving people towards work, towards work towards people. Finally we will understand why an agile team created according to those standards, possibly more resources to successfully deal with any changes in its physiognomy, while continuing to produce constant value.

1. Stable, Long-lived Teams
between Myth and Reality
Agile Venture Milano
IBM Studios
Piazza Gae Aulenti, 10 Milano
Emiliano Soldi
@AgileTriathlete
#avmi2020

2. Nowadays, Teams are requested to
deliver value continuously, improve
performance on a steady pace, while
quickly respond to new market scenario

3. However, too many companies still tend
to treat people like resources (cost)…

4. …which utilization must be
maximized for financial reasons,
ending in picking them up and
moving among projects, like boxes

5. Still stuck there?

6. Context Switching is a (bad) byProduct
of resource utilization maximization
Switching between projects requires an operational
overhead for anyone to figure out where she left off,
what is missing to be done, how that work synchronizes
with other activities, how to execute, etc.

7.  Overhead in accounting activities to keep track
of the work done by individuals
 Reduced team efficiency because of new
members integration or leaving ones
 Reduced team productivity, quality, engagement,
for members who work to more than one project
Context Switching Waste Production
Context switching between projects
costs 20% of your time. Per project.
“ “
Gerald Marvin Weinberg

8. But, problems that
organizations are
facing today are
unpredictable
and complex…

9. ..and facing complexity requires teams’
creativity and problem solving attitudes, who in
turn, require Trust, Autonomy, Focus and Time…

10. …which is impossible to achieve by using such an old way of thinking

11. We strongly believe that creating stable, long-lasting, teams, is
the key competitive element for companies who want to deliver
innovation and continuous stream of value to their customers

12. Stable Teams
60%
Better Responsiveness
Source: The Impact of Agile. Quantified.- CA Technologies

13. 60%
Better Productivity
Source: The Impact of Agile. Quantified.- CA Technologies
Stable Teams

14. 40%
Better Predictability
Source: The Impact of Agile. Quantified.- CA Technologies
Stable Teams

15. If you don't care about quality,
you can meet any other requirement
“ “
Gerald Marvin Weinberg
Yes, but what about Quality?!

16. A NASA study found that fatigued crews,
who had a history of working together,
made about half as many errors as
crews composed of rested pilots who
had not flown together before
Stable Teams
50%
Less Errors
NASA Study

17. Actually it seems that is worth investing in Stable Teams.
Now, let's see how to form and develop them.

18. That research explored the interactions
between the people belonging to a group,
and its following development as a team.
Bruce Wayne Tuckman (November 24, 1938
– March 13, 2016) was an American
Psychological Researcher who carried out his
research into the theory of group dynamics.
In 1965, he published a theory known as
"Tuckman's stages of group development".
Wikipedia

19. Forminginitial phase where, among the team
members, the development of a first sense of belonging
takes place; they share common values, align to the
corporate mission, live first joint experiences
Stormingphase in which conflicts can occur due to
the attempt of individual team members to find their place
and "impose" their individuality and leadership
Norming when/if successfully passed the previous
step, the team defines proper norms, working methods,
and refines roles and responsibilities. The sense of unity
initially only perceived, is now definitely established as a
team
Performing the team has achieved sufficient stability
to deliver continuous business value, achieving results. The
team autonomously improves its process and practices
Tuckman’s Stages Model

20. The model is clear and straightforward on how it presents
the sequence of phases and their impact on productivity.
However, it has some weakness.
First of all, one could think that phases of team development, follow
a discrete and linear sequence, while that's not the reality.
Phases can overlap and their duration changes from team to team.
Secondly, in the following years, due to lack of empirical validation,
the scientific community emphasized that the model shall be considered
more a conceptual declaration than the reality.

21. “Small, Short Duration Technical Team Dynamics” by P. Knight
A study conducted by the US Defense Ministry in
collaboration with the Defense Acquisition
University, shows that in teams formed by a few
members, with strong competence and
motivation, the phases described by the
Tuckman model, actually strongly overlap.
The Storming stage is limited in its wideness but
extended in time, so as to be called
"Brainstorming": reflection moments.
Additionally, it seems that the Norming phase
continues to happen until the end of the time
measured.
Another Point of View

22. Cool! And, what about Agile Teams?!
Acrobats on Uncertainty

23.  Small ones
 Technically competent
 Self-organizing
 Self-managing
 Cross-functional
 Inspect & Adapt
Agile teams have higher potential
to fulfill abovementioned criteria

24. …but still some guidance is needed…

25. A bad team design could lead to significant problems in
efficiency, quality of work and conflicts between members
Therefore, bad performance of a team could
lead to eventually re-shuffle it, which brings us
back to the starting point: instability of teams
Team Design is key to success

26. Richard Hackman and Ruth Wageman coined the heuristic
"60-30-10 Rule for Coaching Teams"
60-30-10 Rule
The heuristic explains the percentages of time/energies
that should be dedicated to the following activities:
60% on how a team is designed
30% on how it is launched
10% on how the team is coached
https://6teamconditions.com/bibliography/the-team-diagnostic-survey-and-the-60-30-10-rule-for-coaching-teams/

27. Senior executives were asked which
approach generated the best performing
teams, 63% of them identified self-selection
http://www.thinkwiseinc.com/impact-of-team-performance-survey-report.html#
Impact of Team Performance - Survey Report

28. Team Self-Selection Workshop
Product Owners prepares draft team mission, referring to strategic
themes with business objectives to achieve.
Team constraints are identified (e.g. competences, locations, etc).
Candidate team members walk around reading missions
and asking question to Product Owners.
When a candidate sees a good fit with a certain team, she sticks her
picture and short bio on that whiteboard.
Final discussion with Product Owners and managers to find ideal setup.

29. Every team needs a deviant, a skeptic, someone who can challenge team’s beliefs.
The tendency of a stable team could be to seek for too much homogeneity,
status quo, which stifles creativity and learning.
…however, be aware of Complacency and Status Quo

30. Lift-off : Set a Compelling Direction
http://www.plays-in-business.com/download/team-charter-canvas-poster-a0-format/
Team members need to agree on what they’re supposed to be
doing together, to avoid misalignment and misunderstandings

31. YES, WE THINK THAT STABLE LONG-LIVED TEAMS ARE THE RIGHT APPROACH
TO ACHIEVE BETTER PERFORMANCE WHILE REMAINING ADAPTIVE.
AGILE TEAMS ARE THE BEST FIT.
ACTUALLY, WE NEED TO BE AWARE THAT FLUIDITY AND UNCERTAINTY OF MARKET
AND TECHNOLOGY, COULD STRONGLY CHALLENGE TEAM COMPOSITION
DUE TO NEW OR DIFFERENT REQUIRED COMPETENCES.
CO-LOCATION IS ALSO CHALLENGED, AS MORE AND MORE ORGANIZATIONS ARE
GLOBAL ONES AND TEAM MEMBERS CAN BE DISTRIBUTED ACROSS THE WORLD.
BUT, DEFINITELY, EVEN IN THE EVENT OF SUCH LIMITATIONS, AGILE TEAMS ARE MOST
EQUIPPED TO FACE THOSE CHALLENGES AND FIND THEIR OWN STABILITY.

32. Emiliano Soldi
@AgileTriathlete
https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilianosoldi/