In today's dynamic global economy, organizations must cultivate a flexible and resilient workforce capable of adapting to new challenges and opportunities quickly. A distributed workforce, as a facilitator of Agile delivery, focuses on multi-shore project delivery and offers many advantages. A distributed workforce collaborating on complex projects can provide access to diverse talent, greater innovation opportunities and the ability to tap into local market knowledge.
However, organizations face many challenges with managing distributed teams. Specifically, in the financial sector, these include cultural differences, conflicting leadership, varying software tools, and inconsistent quality standards.
This blog looks at three key success factors for distributed Agile delivery - coordination, communication, and collaboration. We will examine strategies to effectively align teams to a common visionand purpose, ensuring that organizations harness the full potential of their distributed workforce.
COORDINATION
Joint project delivery by multiple teams based in several locations often drifts apart, affecting the interdependent workstreams. Coordination is the linchpin here to ensure success of distributed Agile delivery. By focusing on crucial aspects of coordination (such as management tools and leadership styles), organizations can unlock their teams’ full potential while fostering a harmonious and efficient work environment.
Management tools
Leveraging project management tools such as Gantt charts, Agile software or kanban boards increases the project status visibility as well as facilitating better and faster documentdecisions, accuratelymeasuring productivity and improving the effectiveness of communication channels. These tools provide real-time transparency into the project progress and enable seamless communication across time zones.
Leadership style
The importance of leadership in preventing conflicting visions and priorities cannot be overstated. By establishing clear decision-making processes and ensuring that leaders support the organization's overall strategy, teams can work in harmony toward a shared goal.
COMMUNICATION
The lack of face-to-face interaction and time zone differences can make communication difficult and lead to misunderstanding.
Clear focus on information sharing
To cultivate an environment that enables teams to work in a joined-up and efficient way, achieving effective communication means focusing on the actual distribution and sharing of information rather than the protocol touchpoints. By setting clear meeting agendas, minimizing unnecessary meetings, and encouraging asynchronous communication, organizations can optimize their teams’ time and resources.
Providing feedback to teams
In addition, providing transparent feedback nurtures a culture of learning and continuous improvement, while laying the foundation for long-term success. As virtual communication often lack some of the nuances of face-to-face interaction, it is important to provide clear, measurable, and regular feedback to team members to ensure they are aware of their progress and performance.
COLLABORATION
Collaboration lies at the heart of thriving distributed Agile teams. Team members who work remotely may have fewer opportunities for spontaneous interaction and brainstorming, and it is essential to enhance the exchanges and ensure that everyone works towards a common target. Embracing key collaboration strategies fosters an environment that nurtures alignment, growth, and innovation. These are:
In-person ambassador meetings
Getting all teams from multiple locations together on a regular basis may be prohibitive but having ambassador meetings in person, with at least one representant from each location, provides an opportunity to share best practices, align on strategic goals and build relationships while keeping costs down. Combining these meetings with Program Increment (PI) planning sessions amplifies their impact even further. Ideally, the ambassador position should rotate within each location, giving the opportunity and motivation for more colleagues to interact and contribute.
Pair programming
Pair programming (two developers working on one device) has proven to yield better products in less time while ensuring higher satisfaction through the process of those involved. At first glance, this seems harder to achieve in a distributed Agile scenario because of the distance between teams. However, modern screen-sharing functionalities can provide viable alternatives and are available in most collaboration software. Effective calendar management between pairs is also necessary when time-zone differences come into play.
HOW CAPCO CAN HELP
Every company is unique and the implementation of distributed Agile delivery practices requires close collaboration with a team of Agile experts. Capco's Agile services partner with client organizations through every step of their Agile journey, from determining the organizational readiness to scaling and accelerating the transformation (where we recommend using the Scaled Agile Framework - SAFe).
Contact us to explore how we can assist your organization in establishing, enhancing, or scaling Agile, enabling you to reach your transformation objectives. Our expertise spans across all critical aspects and best practices to ensure your success.
