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Saturday 16 June 2012

Working With Distributed Teams in Agile Methodology

Working With Distributed Teams in Agile Methodology

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Outsourcing a portion of work is becoming more and more common for IT departments around the world. The main reason an agile software development company may outsource is to reduce costs due to lower wages in foreign countries or to seek out expertise not found in their local area. When a company outsources a portion of work to a team in another location, the two groups must work as a distributed team. While many people do not consider working on a distributed team as ideal compared to working with co-located teams, there are many ways to improve the group dynamic and achieve optimal results. The agile methodology can be an excellent way to work with distributed teams.
Communication is key when working with distributed teams. It is very important for all barriers to communication to be removed so the team members can work together easily. This includes utilizing conference call and video conferencing software that is reliable. Conferencing is important for group meetings but instant messaging is available for team members to discuss work one-on-one. In the agile methodology, stakeholders and designers meet after each increment of work to discuss what has occurred, re-evaluate requirements and determine priorities. All team members should have access to these meetings in addition to constant communication during the iteration.
Meeting in-person at some point will increase team cohesiveness. Although the team may be in two different locations, it is important to meet face-to-face a few times throughout the project. Team members should try to meet at the beginning of a project in order for everyone to get to know each other and get an idea of what it will be like working together in addition to creating a team bond, which will keep morale high during the project.
Reducing the effects of time zone differences will improve the work of the distributed agile teams. Agile teams need ample opportunity to communicate, therefore it is important to maximize the time both teams are working. All team members should be aware of the hours of operation for the members to ensure high communication during those hours. Teams that are spread across vast time zone differences may need to adjust their work hours so there is some overlap in business hours. Many companies are moving toward nearshoring, outsourcing to a country that is near the location of the main team. This minimizes or eliminates the differences in time zones so the team can work in real time.
Language barriers need to be addressed. If the two teams who are working on the project are in different countries, they may have to deal with members who speak different first languages. Ensure meeting times are long enough to deal with any language issues that may arise. In many situations, written communication is easier to understand when working in different languages, therefore, using chat sessions may be more beneficial than video conferencing. Also, keep in mind that with nearshoring or when two teams speak the same language, they are still barriers in communication due to culture.
Ensure access to all materials for team members. All team members need to have reliable access to the documents they need to do their work. This may require investing in tools to share documents in a central location with easy access for all.
Working with a distributed team poses some challenges, but they can be overcome in order to gain the benefits associated with offshore or nearshore companies.
Agile methodology relies heavily on communication, which can improve the way distributed teams work. The two teams must come together often to discuss work and meet with the product owner and users. Misunderstandings and miscommunications can be addressed early, reducing mistakes and delays in getting the end product to the market.

Working With Distributed Teams in Agile Methodology

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