Imagine how it feels to be an offshore developer working on a key project, only to be asked to become ‘more agile’.
Imagine the agile coach explaining that your participation in the client’s agile transformation was mandatory, because the offshore development team is no different to anyone else.
Imagine working to tight deadlines whilst being a non-native English speaker, communicating electronically, having a physically distant client or product owner, and residing in a different time zone.
Imagine now receiving user stories that are ‘placeholders for conversations’ and having to work from ‘constant conversations’ with the customer.
I don’t want to imagine this any more, and I want to forget the times I’ve seen it happen.
Indiscriminately enforcing local practices in situations like this is unhelpful and sometimes harmful. What the remote developer needed was more structure and guidance, not less.
Written communication becomes even more important for remote teams and asynchronous working.
If you are unhappy with your development team, they may need more detailed guidance.
Better software requirements can help with this.
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Frank Ray Consulting. Software requirements for agile development teams, particularly remote, outsourced and offshore development teams working in financial services. |