Understanding Behavioral Dynamics in Agile Teams

By: Ken Howard & Dr. Michael Abelson

1. 5/22/13   1   Understanding  Behavioral  Dynamics   on  Agile  Teams   Dr.  Michael  Abelson   CEO/President   The  Abelson  Group     Ken  Howard   Vice  President  ConsulFng   Improving  Enterprises   Common  Agile  Buzzwords?  
2. 5/22/13   2   The  Agile  Manifesto…   http://agilemanifesto.org/ Individuals  and  Interac=ons     Working  SoAware     Customer  Collabora=on     Responding  to  Change   Processes  and  Tools     Comprehensive  Documenta=on     Contract  Nego=a=on     Following  a  Plan   WE  VALUE:   OVER:   Processes     and     Tools   Individuals   And   InteracFons   Yet…  
3. 5/22/13   3   Processes     and     Tools   Individuals   And   InteracFons   SCRUM   TDD   User  Stories   Product  Backlog   Burn  down   XP   Burn  up   Velocity   Easy’ish   Processes     and     Tools   Individuals   And   InteracFons   Difficult’ish   ???  
4. 5/22/13   4   Please  answer  these  quesFons  as  you  write  your  story:   #1  -­‐  How  does  the  story  start?      #2  -­‐  What  is  going  on  now?   #3  -­‐  How  is  the  person  feeling  –  what  are  they  thinking?      #4  -­‐  How  does  the  story  end?  
5. 5/22/13   5  
6. 5/22/13   6   Self  Organizing  Teams   All  projects  require  fulfillment     of  certain  roles.     Individuals  are  oAen  assigned  to     one  or  more  of  these  roles.     When  roles  are  not  assigned,  a  self   selec=on  process  occurs.     It’s  natural  for  a  group    to  op=mize  over  =me.   Yin  Yang   Taoist  Philosophy     “Opposing  forces  are     seemingly  interconnected,   giving  rise  to  each  other.”      Yin  yang  are  opposing     Yin  yang  are  rooted  together     Yin  yang  transform  each  other     Yin  yang  are  balanced   Wikipedia.com
7. 5/22/13   7   Yin  Yang  and  SoUware  Projects   Analysis   Business   Development   Analysis   Quality  Assurance   Development   Project  Management   Business  Management   Natural  tendency:  Avoid  conflict;  Hide,  ignore  it.   BeYer  Approach:  Confront  conflict  and  cul=vate  its  yield.   Building  a  Dream  Team   1992   2002  
8. 5/22/13   8   Ge\ng  Things  Done   Lack  of  Knowledge   Inadequate  Skill  Level   Insufficient  Experience   Mood   AmbiFon  Level   Self-­‐MoFvators   Lack  of  Desire   DistracFons  at  Home   Work  Environment  DistracFons   Work  Ethic   Many  factors  can  affect   personal  producFvity.           It  may  be  impossible  to   eliminate  these  distrac3ons.           Healthy  team  dynamics  can   overpower  some   personal  distrac3ons.           P        =   ∑   TEAM   P   TEAM  MEMBER   When  a  person  becomes  people                            e.g.,  a  team     BUT..   We  oAen  experience:   Great  results  are  possible!!     Conflict   Impa=ence   Frustra=on   Anger   etc…   WHY?  
9. 5/22/13   9   ProducFvity  Spoilers   Dr.  Will  Felps,  Rojerdam  School  of  Management.   The  Jerk   The  Depressive   The  Slacker   The  SoluFon?           Blend    
10. 5/22/13   10   Tendency  of  a  “D”     Dominance   Need  to  Accomplish     !   Decisive     !   Thrive  on  challenge   !   Takes  authority   !   High  self  esteem   !   Deal  Straighlorward  with  people   !   May  interrupt  you  in  mid-­‐sentence   !   May  be  perceived  as  arrogant,   opinionated,  rude   The  stronger  the  “D”  the  more  intense  these  behaviors.   .   !   Trust,  accept,  like  others   !   Enjoy  talking   !   Animated:  speak  with  whole  face   !   Persuasive   !   Op=mis=c  outlook/dreamers   !   May  become  emo=onal/  excitable   !   May  be  poor  judge  of  character   The  stronger  the  “I”  the  more  intense  these  behaviors   Tendency  of  a  “I”     Influence   Need  to  Trust  and  Talk  
11. 5/22/13   11   !   Good  team  players   !   Avoids  ajen=on:  prefers  working  in  background   !   Good  listening  skills   !   Deliberate;  self  sacrificing   !   May  not  be  able  to  make  smallest  decisions     !   Can  walk  all  over  high  S  as  long  as  they  feel   appreciated   The  stronger  the  “S”  the  more  intense  these  behaviors   Tendency  of  a  “S”     SupporFve   Need  to  Support  Others     !   Aim  for  accuracy  -­‐  capacity  for  and  enjoy   concentra=ng  on  details   !   Think  systema=cally  -­‐  problem  solver     !   Serious,  intense,  thorough   !   Cau=ous  decisions  -­‐  need  lot  of  =me   !   Tend  to  set  high  standards  for   1)  themselves  which  are  above  norm     2)  others  -­‐  may  become  cri=cal  if  do  not   meet  their  standards   The  stronger  the  “C”  the  more  intense  these  behaviors   Tendency  of  a  “C”     Compliance   Need  for  PerfecFon/Quality    
12. 5/22/13   12   A  few  more  details  …     Mo6vated  by:   D  Accomplishment    I  Public  Recogni=on   S  Security   C  Precision/Accuracy     Goals:   D  Control  over  geong  things  done    I  Rela=onships/Posi=ve  Social  Interac=on   S  Working  on  group  goals   C  Geong  job  done  to  own  standards     Fears:   D  Loss  of  control    I  Loss  of  social  acceptance   S  Loss  of  acceptance  as  a  person   C  Recognized  for  poor  performance  
13. 5/22/13   13  
14. 5/22/13   14  
15. 5/22/13   15   ????  
16. 5/22/13   16   •  Understanding/Accep=ng  Others   •  People  Have  a  Need  to  Communicate  in  Their  Own  Language   •  Language  of  the  DISC   What’s  so  important  about  all  this?   How  would  these  teams  work?  
17. 5/22/13   17   The  Abelson  DISC  Behaviors  WheelTM   KEY   SS  =  Sean  ScrumMaster   JD  =  Joe  Developer   DD  =  Doug  Developer   SD  =  Stressed  Developer   TT  =  Tom  Tester   PP  =  Paul  ProductOwner   BB  =  Bob  BA   AA  =  Anne  Analyst   Natural  =  Blue  Caps   Adap=ve  =  lower  case       The  more  the  person  moves   to  the  outside  of  the  wheel   the  more  intense  their   behaviors   The  Abelson  DISC  Behaviors  Wheel,  ©  2012,     is  a  modifica=on  of  the  Target  Training  DISC  Wheel.     The  Abelson  DISC  Behaviors  WheelTM   SS   JD   DD   TT   PP   BB   AA   ss   jd   Y   dd     pp   aa   bb   sd   SD   KEY   SS  =  Sean  ScrumMaster   JD  =  Joe  Developer   DD  =  Doug  Developer   SD  =  Stressed  Developer   TT  =  Tom  Tester   PP  =  Paul  ProductOwner   BB  =  Bob  BA   AA  =  Anne  Analyst   Natural  =  Blue  Caps   Adap=ve  =  lower  case       The  more  the  person  moves   to  the  outside  of  the  wheel   the  more  intense  their   behaviors   The  Abelson  DISC  Behaviors  Wheel,  ©  2012,     is  a  modifica=on  of  the  Target  Training  DISC  Wheel.    
18. 5/22/13   18   The  Abelson  DISC  Behaviors  WheelTM   SS   JD    TT   PP        BB   AA   ss    jd          Y     dd     pp   aa   bb   sd   SD   KEY   SS  =  Sean  ScrumMaster   JD  =  Joe  Developer   DD  =  Doug  Developer   SD  =  Stressed  Developer   TT  =  Tom  Tester   PP  =  Paul  ProductOwner   BB  =  Bob  BA   AA  =  Anne  Analyst   Natural  =  Blue  Caps   Adap=ve  =  lower  case       The  more  the  person  moves   to  the  outside  of  the  wheel   the  more  intense  their   behaviors   The  Abelson  DISC  Behaviors  Wheel,  ©  2012,     is  a  modifica=on  of  the  Target  Training  DISC  Wheel.     DD   ABC  Company   Leadership  –     TEAM  V   Natural  &  Adapted   PB PB RH RH DB DB DBo DBo ES ES JF MM MM PC PC
19. 5/22/13   19  
20. 5/22/13   20   40%  of  Team   20%  of  Team  
21. 5/22/13   21    TradiFonal  /  Regulatory   Queen  of  England   Workplace  MoFvators™   Structure   TradiFon   Defined  rules   RegulaFons   “By  the  book”  approach   System  for  living       Empirical     RaFonal   Discovery  of  “truth”   CogniFve  approach  to  life   Seeks  to  observe  &     reason   Knowledge       Useful   PragmaFc   Efficient  use  of  resources   Money  –  for  security   PracFcal   Balance   Symmetry   Things  are  harmonious   Events  for  enjoyment   System  for  living   ArFsFc  Interests   Art,  Theatre       Selflessness   Kind,  empatheFc   Inherent  love  of  people   Desire  to  help  others   “Service”  to  others   Renown   Free  to  make   decisions   Personal  power  /   control   Takes  responsibility   Influence   JF   PC   PB   RS   PB   PC   DB   RS   DB   DB   RS   JF     PC   The  Abelson  Values  MoFves  Wheel  ™   Leadership   Team  of  ABC   Company   PB   JF  
22. 5/22/13   22     DISC  –  How  People  Behave     Hidden  MoFvators  –  Why  People  Behave     •  Theore=cal   •  U=litarian/Economic   •  Aesthe=c   •  Social   •  Individualis=c/Poli=cal   •  Tradi=onal/Regulatory   Workplace  MoFvators   Understand  what  all  the  fuss  is  about  now?      QuesFons  &  Answers  
23. 5/22/13   23   Our Contact Info … Ken Howard ken.howard@improvingenterprises.com Blog: www.agilist.net 972.467.3001 Dr. Michael Abelson abelson@abelson.net www.TheAbelsonGroup.com 979.696.2222 888.ABELSON