Virtual Agility: Being Agile in a Remote Environment

4.3 Million People. That's the number of employees who telecommute at least half the time according to a recent JS census Bureau Study Conducted by at-home job* among the non-self-employed has grown by 140% since 2005, nearly taster than the rest of the workforce the self-employed. T his trend goes to show that telecommuting as a delivery model in the modern work environment is something that isn't going away any time soon. What does this mean for agile teams is it possible to remain wing project management frameworks that So heavily promote face-to-face collaboration? The answer may unsurprising one requires specialized technology. rather more a behavioral change in the mindset Of agile team members.

The Agile mindset is what remote agile team members really need to focus on in order to be effective contributors. Let’S review the Agile Values and break down how team members can work to implement each of the values in their remote deliveries:

  • Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
  • Working software over comprehensive documentation
  • Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
  • Responding to change over following a plan

Valuing individuals and interactions over processes and tools is paramount for agile teams to retain cohesion in a remote environment. What does this mean? Well, for starters, keeping open and active lines Of communication with fellow agile team members. By staying in constant contact through the use of chat applications like Skype or Slack, team members are able to stay in-the-know when problems arise and are able to swarm more effectively to resolve those challenges before they grow and start affecting downstream activities.

Valuing working software over comprehensive documentation is rather important as well. After all, the goal of every agile team should be to release potentially shippable increments (PSI) of software as soon as possible, which is why frameworks such as Scrum and SAFe utilize Sprint Reviews/Demos where backlog items are demoed for Product Owners and team members alike to review the latest state of the product in question.

Valuing customer collaboration over contract negotiation is something that good agile teams took very seriously. For on-site teams, this is as simple as stopping by your customer’s office and having a friendly chat about what they may be looking for out of a particular Capability, Feature, or Epic, but remote teams have o bit more work cut out for them. For remote team members, this typically means being proactive in reaching out to customers to gain clarity, whether by phone, email, or chat. If you know during Sprint Planning that you’re working on a User Story that may require you to ask your customer some clarifying questions, chock their Outlook calendar to ensure that they'” bo in tho office and set up some time from beforehand to connect regarding the User Story and clear up any ambiguity that may exist. Maintaining an open line of communication with customers in addition to team members helps bridge the gap that remote team members experience from their on-site counterparts. Always remember — over-communicating is a safer bet than under- communicating.