Paper and Presentation: Three Critical Characteristics of an Agile Scrum Development Team
Abstract: “Three Critical Characteristics of an Agile Scrum Development Team” demonstrates that high levels of technical skill/experience, motivation and confidence are critical characteristics that allow a scrum development team to self-organize successfully and develop valuable products for customers.
I will tell the story of a small federal government pilot that used agile scrum to develop knowledge work products such as business process improvements and technical documents. The pilot reveals the importance of assembling an effective, self-organizing development team. The presentation will show you how to prevent the development of a disappointing product by assessing the presence of technical skill/experience, motivation and confidence in the development team, and taking steps to address any gaps uncovered by the assessment.
I will show an Apollo 13 movie clip that demonstrates a self-organizing team in action. A comparison between the pilot development team and the Apollo 13 team will highlight that technical skill/experience, motivation and confidence are three characteristics that allow a team to self-organize.
Agile scrum does not emphasize how to create a self-organizing team. I will provide the needed steps to assemble a development team that is highly skilled, motivated, confident and, as a result, able to self-organize effectively. You will leave the presentation with a development team assessment tool that should be used to identify a development team’s technical skill/experience, motivation, and confidence when embarking on the development of a product using agile scrum.
PMI Talent Triangle: Ways of Working
Biography: Mrs. Ledbetter has over twenty years of experience as a successful senior leader in the federal government. She owns a consulting firm and holds certifications in project management, cybersecurity, and IT operations. She has a Bachelor of Science in Math and English (double major) from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Science in Computer Systems Management from the University of Maryland.
Mrs. Ledbetter has been responsible for a program portfolio with an annual budget of over $10 million and currently provides guidance to a staff of over fifteen project managers. She conducted a pilot initiative where knowledge workers used the agile scrum project management framework to complete knowledge work deliverables such as standard operating procedures and streamlined processes. Mrs. Ledbetter served as the President of the Silver Spring Chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI); the organization responsible for providing the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. Mrs. Ledbetter has mentored several employees who are now successful project managers, and she emphasizes the application of project management concepts to assist students in pursuing project management-related careers.
