Two weeks ago we decided to address an ongoing issue in the IT community. The issue is with the remote agile teams. Many experts on the subject would say that the term “remote agile teams” is a bit contradictory, as the Agile Methodology was created for teams that share the same physical space. Therefore, can we make Agile work in the new normal? Yes, we can. By providing dedicated teams for our clients, commonly known as staff augmentation. We have more than ten years of experience in shaping remote agile teams. Furthermore, we asked our colleague Maja Dimitrovska, who is an important part of the Bookmark team, how she succeeds on a daily basis with the aforementioned issue. 

As mentioned, these are strange and challenging times to lead agile teams. Can you tell us your secret? How do you manage to keep track of everybody’s tasks on Bookmark?

We are often told to confront unexpected changes, that we need to be agile and resilient. This is most accurate, as we try to respond to the changes brought by the coronavirus pandemic. As our world turns upside down, most companies are reacting rather than responding. In times like these, business agility provides stability, a way to manage change and respond productively. 

Agile is a framework that approves professionals and companies through developing high performing teams. In an Agile environment, changes are welcome; the client is the epicenter of the work and development is aligned with business needs. Company owners need to work on “enabling the best in their employees, rather than commanding it from them”. Leaders should empower employees to be self-organized.  

Remote working entails many challenges, one of which is knowing how to always be connected with other colleagues on your team, how to maintain an overall team culture, morale and motivation, how to run engaging meetings, how to track and communicate progress within the team, how to exchange ideas and share experiences (good and bad) and, last but not least, how to help the team focus on priorities. By communicating a clear vision, encouraging frequent communication and providing clear boundaries, team members feel better connected and remain focused and productive.

No one said that leading remote agile teams was going to be easy, and just like many other leaders faced with the sudden change to virtual team environments, we are also reorganizing our activities and the way we work. Some of our activities during these challenging times are:

• Following the team’s principles
• Clear team delegation and prioritization of tasks
• Communication, communication, communication
• Daily standups with the team via collaboration tools, such as Slack or Zoom
• Random chats (one-on-one) and co-working tools (Trello, Jira)
• Short-term goals
• Ensuring qualitative results

Even though the working environment has changed, the quality and quantity of our deliverables have not. Frequently sharing our achievements with the team and further improving are our regular activities.

During this crisis, leaders need to learn new ways to care for their people. Connect with them to detect unforeseen issues, respect and value team skills, personal needs and differences, encourage them to do their work remotely with less supervision. This is the beginning of a new way of leading.

According to you, what are the benefits of using Trello for project management in an agile environment?

Task management is the core and soul of every project. First, we divide the project into smaller pieces, then decide what needs to get done and which team member to do it. Trello excels at task management and it is considered as one of the platforms that employees can learn the quickest. Tasks and projects are systematized by using a three-part hierarchy: Boards, Lists, and Cards. You can create and organize these elements in any way you want. By assigning cards to specific users, due dates and files. Trello is a fantastic Scrum and Agile solution. It’s easy to use and it works like a traditional whiteboard, in digital form. 

Boards: The flexibility of Trello boards is perfectly aligned with the Scrum framework; it gives you full visibility into project stages, roles, deadlines and assignments. After you sign up on Trello, you can create multiple boards within your personal or team workspace.

Lists: Boards contain lists, which are grouped tasks. You can choose to rename or reorder any of the lists to match your team’s current needs for the project you are working on.

Cards: The same goes for cards. You can also move the cards from one list to another with just one click. Each card may contain a description, a checklist with subtasks, additional attachments, assignees, due dates and labels. Furthermore, team members can discuss aspects of the task by commenting. Every new person added to one of the cards gets access to previous discussions.

Power-ups: You can use Trello’s power-ups to connect to the card applications like Slack, Github, Jira, Google Drive, and many more. There are many items on the list of power-ups, and this only guarantees that Trello is a tool that easily integrates into one’s workflow.

Notifications: You will never miss important developments from the tasks that you are included in; you will be updated regularly by receiving a notification.

These capabilities make Trello great in terms of flexibility and how intuitive it is to use. Trello is distinct from other tools, thanks to its simplicity. Trello project management makes a great tool, whether you need to organize a whole team’s work or just your activities.

What other project management software do you prefer?

Project management software tools have become widely popular in recent years; there are plenty of options to choose from. Some of those tools are free to use with limited features, while others with advanced copy have more functions. Some require payment after a few days of the trial period. Choosing which tool to use can be quite challenging and also engaging.

Whether you want to find a simple way to organize tasks or need a powerful, enterprise-grade system, there is a PM tool for everyone. The project management software helps project managers and teams to collaborate and meet goals on time while managing resources and costs. Functions may include task distribution, time tracking, budgeting, resource planning, team collaboration, and many more.

Choosing the right approach for managing a project is crucial for successful project delivery. The way that managers manage work is defined by techniques that you use, tools that they use, and project scope activities on which they are working.

The process of leading Agile teams can be challenging at times because there are countless moving parts and evolving processes to manage. However, it is especially difficult if you do not have the right software behind you. Project managers should choose a project management tool that best suits their management style. Choosing the right tool for managing the Agile development team has not always been an easy decision. Certain factors must be evaluated as you’re assessing/shopping for different tools:

• Agile Framework Preferences
• Collaboration Features
• Team Size
• Project Type
• Reporting
• Usability

Some of the best agile project management tools available on the market are Trello, Jira, Asana, Monday, ClickUp, Smart sheet, etc. I have worked with different project tools during the past years and I can say that when choosing the right tool, you need to make sure that the options that the toll provides are the best fit for your team and future project plans.

Currently, we are using Trello, but we are open and exploring possible solutions on the market. To organize and achieve better integration, alignment with other company teams, and cover future planned project activities, we are also considering starting using Jira. Jira is a platform that allows teams to handle issues throughout the life cycle of the problem. Jira can be tailored to fit different organizational structures and is highly customizable. Jira also works great for smaller teams, as well as larger ones. The reasons why we are considering to switch to Jira are the following main features:

• Transparency 
• Flexibility
• User Experience
• Commenting
• Cost management
• Categorization
• Custom Workflow
• Knowledge management
• Integrations

In the end, no matter which project management solution you are going for, agile tools are sure to improve the way you streamline your workflow and team productivity.

In the end, quick question (that provokes a long answer): Kanban or Scrum? Or maybe Scrumban?

Agile is an enormous umbrella term that covers several different approaches, two of which are Scrum and Kanban. Scrum and Kanban apply agile principles in their own way to empower effective delivery cycles. Scrumban is a term for a hybrid approach making use of both Scrum and Kanban principles.

Agile is all about experimentation. Scrum, Kanban or Scrumban are not competitors; they can be experiments every team should run to find their best fit. The goal of using an agile approach is to deliver more value for the business in the quickest way possible. I think it is always a good thing to experiment and implement new processes that will enhance the way the team works and how project activities are organized.

From my experience with managing teams, I would say that Scrum is great for any team that can work on incremental delivery: a product, reporting, hardware, etc. Out of the three methodologies, Scrum is probably the hardest to adopt and the most complex and strict methodology. Scrum sprints can set clear goals and deadlines, thus giving full-control to the project manager. The Scrum framework is appropriate for experienced teams working on a product or a project which is longer than a year.

Kanban gives more freedom at the start. It is the most simple and most comfortable to adopt the method. It uses a Kanban board on which it visualizes the work and the work process, ensuring that everyone in the team is on the same page. It also reveals who are the bottlenecks in the workflow without losing its flexibility in production. Kanban is a good fit for supporting and maintaining teams. I love Kanban’s way of thinking to stop starting and start finishing.

Our team is using Scrumban. It combines the benefits of both Scrum and Kanban methodologies by using Kanban’s visualization and Scrum’s systematization while not introducing extra complexity. Scrumban is flexible in production and functions pretty good in large projects. It allows teams to have the agility of Scrum and the simplicity of Kanban while requiring no role updates.

Scrumban is a good fit for smaller teams, startups and loyal teams bringing more efficiency and freedom, teams who manage projects and work alongside keeping the business operational. Like in the process of choosing the right tool to manage the project team activities, the same approach should be used for adopting new agile methods or implementing changes in current that are used. Research each agile method, rescan the processes and bottlenecks in the team activities and then decide what you will implement as a new process for the Team. Strategies need to be revised and will be a matter of change until the best fit for the team is defined.

Discover why many Canadian and USA companies prefer hiring remote teams from Serbia and Macedonia. Tell us your needs and we will help you build an agile remote team. Arrange a free consultation today and we will get you started.

The post Remote Agile Teams Management – Success Story appeared first on Cosmic Development.

The stronger the team, the stronger the business, and it all starts with effective project management.

Programmers are notoriously difficult to seek out, screen, and onboard. They are artists; they are ambitious. Regardless of whether you have got a small team of programmers or a rapidly-expanding one, it is very likely that you will encounter situations that wreak havoc on employee happiness and morale. Many team managers within the tech industry still struggle to manage their teams of programmers. Truth be told, management does not come easily. Continue reading the article below for pointers, which will ensure that your team of programmers performs well and stays on track in the future. 

Nowadays, project management is in high demand in various industries. Why? Organizations today face fierce competition, and they have to combat global challenges. Moreover, they must answer internal/external issues without any delay. In response to those challenges, organizations need a structured approach to plan, organize, control, and manage their resources (and internal capabilities) so that they can deliver timely results.

How to Implement an Effective Project Management

Project management can be better explained as “the discipline of initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and shutting a team’s work to realize specific goals and meet specific success criteria.” Project managers need to be at a particular level of analytical and organizational skills so as to be effective in their roles. However, the project manager’s job does not end with completing project scope and budget documents. At the core of their work lies their ability to understand individuals and their management skills that direct the employees toward the simplest results. For this reason, possessing an efficient array of “soft skills” are often equally as important as possessing the hard skills that are typically related to the discipline.

Project management knowledge draws on ten areas:

• Communications
• Costs
• Human resources
• Procurement
• Quality of deliverables
• Business requirements
• Risks
• Schedules
• Project scope
• Stakeholders

The Importance of Time Management

In the extent of project management, time management is about using wisely the quantity of the time allocated to a project in order to satisfy expected deliverables and conclude all work before the project completion date. It requires project managers to ensure that their teams are organized, productive, and prompt at all times. This strategy is something that all project managers need to get comfortable with.

From a team’s perspective, having a transparent understanding of the varied individuals that structure the group – and their skill sets – can go an extended way in properly and efficiently assigning tasks. During this same regard, it is essential for a project manager to review which team member is liable for which task during a project and to avoid confusion and missed deadlines.

The best method for maintaining the stakeholders’ timeliness is to seek out ways to keep them engaged with the project. Sending weekly or monthly emails with a summary of the tasks accomplished during that period is one such approach that makes the tasks remain at the top of the mind. When project managers are ready to communicate this example clearly and concisely to the customer, while also finding out how to adapt their approach counting on the stakeholders’ previous reactions to high-stress situations, they are far more likely to realize effective results.

Critical Steps for Maintaining a Meeting Efficient

Another aspect of the project management strategy is to know how to keep a meeting efficient. Project managers should learn how to rely on work breakdown structures during the design phase of their projects so as to attenuate wasted time when it involves completing deliverables. Moreover, they will help team members to alleviate the strain that accompanies large-scale deliverables.

Suppose a project manager determines that an in-person meeting remains the simplest route for a particular team or group, on the opposite hand. In that case, it is important that managers follow a couple of critical steps for keeping the meetings efficient:

1. Take time to determine an agenda before the meeting of precisely what must be addressed. 

Determining an agenda before the meeting may help in eliminating the time-wasters from the session. Usual time-wasters in a meeting are segue questions, updates that are not on topic, or one-on-one conversations between two team members that could be completed outside of the larger meeting. Moreover, having a plan for the meeting may also help get over everything that must be addressed in time.

2. Make sure that the rationale everyone within the meeting has been included is clear.

Project managers need to make meeting attendees understand that they are all included in the meeting. If that is not the case, project managers should consider removing some of the people from the list of attendees, thus saving the group, as well as the individual, from wasting their time.

3. Entitle someone to take notes and supply action items for the next team meeting. 

At the end of a meeting, the attendees need to know what has been accomplished already, so having someone take notes from the meeting is very important. This may ensure that the employees are on an equivalent page about what has been accomplished already. Still, they will also know what they personally must achieve before the subsequent meeting. This action can ensure that future meetings will always be productive down the road.

The Benefits of Program Management in Organizations

So far, we have discussed the advantages at an organizational level and just a few of the ways how project management can help to enhance your entire business. But what about individual projects? What about the benefits that come from program management? What about situations when things get down sometimes, and with a simple addition of unnecessary bureaucracy in a company, employees may be left with an idea but with no room for innovation?

When organizations get to introduce project management, they can follow three important steps. They need to identify the program, develop different approaches, find the most convenient one, and finally identify an appropriate program manager.

Better project planning = better projects

Benefits of Implementing Program Management

Program management may be a crucial link between strategic services portfolios in a corporation and its component projects. By defining a program, there are significant advantages supporting an objective of subdividing component projects, then undertaking individual projects. Overall, program management strengthens the alignment towards organizational business strategy, ensures better control, and focuses on benefits realization. There are the four most important benefits of implementing program management in a company:

• Provides a Comprehensive View
• Works towards Organizational Benefits
• Formalizes Procedures
• Saves Costs

Is your project set for success? 

The inspiration for a successful program is born long before the project even starts. Therefore, project managers must know how to predict risks, support planned governance, but most importantly, how to manage processes, controls, and suppliers. Avoiding or taking shortcuts within the crucial pre-planning and formation areas can significantly impact project success. This impact may take the shape of missed deadlines, budget overruns, reduced benefits, and burned-out teams. Therefore, managers are mandated to learn how to reduce project failure rates and how to shorten costs. 

Reducing project failure rates

Without this vital step, a project team can miss crucial details, deadlines, and eventually deliverables. The two most important things that a company must know are deciding where to spend our energy and what to deliver first. What is most vital for the customer? Which features can have an immediate impact on the company’s revenues? These are only the first questions that managers need to answer in order to reduce the possibility of project failure. 

Managers also have to frequently discuss with developers about what are the company’s priorities. However, technical priorities are essential too: they can not always be ignored to think only about business priorities, because doing so is going to affect the business and the delivery of the software. Therefore, managers must understand that both business priorities and technical priorities must be considered when deciding on the next step they will work on.

It is indisputable that developers must work in cohesion with the project managers all the time. If you want to get a project manager that will take into consideration all the qualities mentioned above, contact us today and let our experts lead your team of developers.

Sources:

• proofhub.com/articles/why-is-project-management-important
• thedigitalprojectmanager.com/why-is-project-management-important/
• ntaskmanager.com/blog/why-is-project-management-important-for-an-organization/
• plan.io/blog/project-management-skills/

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