By Ayeni Wole DAPO
AYENI WOLE DAPO is a Technical Product Manager and an Agile coach. He holds a Bachelor degree in Project Management, and is also a certified Scrum Product owner. In this article, Dapo provides insight into how businesses can successfully manage an agile team remotely.
Covid 19 has impacted millions of businesses around the world, forcing all businesses to transition to a remote working style. Hence, agile adoption has gained significant traction as businesses strive to stay responsive to the dynamic, fast-paced environments they face.
However, remote work presents unique challenges to Agile, which is typically designed for co-located teams that thrive on frequent face-to-face interactions.
Findings from the case study I did on two Nigeria Startups adopting Remote Work
I recently conducted a case study on two Nigeria-based startups that adopted remote work, see below my findings;
- Communication delays and misunderstandings were common.
- Team morale was low, impacting productivity.
- Sprint planning and daily stand-ups were less effective due to remote communication hurdles.
- Time zone differences hindered seamless communication.
- Work-life balance became difficult to manage due to the lack of social interaction.
- Teams frequently missed deadlines due to lack of cohesion.
To address these issues, it is crucial to understand the core problems and implement strategic solutions.
Problem 1: Fewer Organic Interaction Opportunities
Why?:
- Agile thrives on spontaneous, informal interactions, but remote work makes this difficult.
- Large team sizes can make video calls overwhelming, restricting meaningful dialogue.
Solution 1: Create Smaller, Cross-Functional Subteams
- Break larger teams into groups of 2-4 to maintain close, constant communication.
- Smaller groups can schedule ad-hoc meetings, allowing for rapid feedback.
- This reduces the wait time for speaking during video calls, fostering more dynamic interactions.
Problem 2: Low Engagement in Remote Agile Meetings
Why?:
- Team members may multitask or disengage during remote meetings.
- Higher barriers to participation (the “fear of the mic”) often reduce contributions.
Solution 2: Foster Engagement in Virtual Meetings
- Encourage everyone to keep their cameras on, promoting a sense of togetherness.
- Start meetings with informal, light conversations to break the ice and encourage participation.
- Introduce regular polls or voting sessions on key issues to ensure involvement.
- Take breaks or even walks to improve focus and avoid burnout.
Problem 3: Meeting Overload in Remote Agile Teams
Why?:
- Remote work often leads to more scheduled meetings, reducing time for focused work.
- It’s easy to invite too many people to meetings, creating inefficiencies.
Solution 3: Protect Non-Meeting Time
- Block out dedicated “focus time” on calendars to avoid back-to-back meetings.
- Rotate team members in larger meetings and have them report back to the full team.
- End meetings 5-10 minutes early to give team members time to transition or take breaks.
Problem 4: Remote Leadership Struggles with Support
Why?:
- Remote leaders often revert to hierarchical management, especially in crises.
- Employees may feel disconnected and hesitate to reach out for help.
Solution 4: Adopt Empathetic, Proactive Leadership
- Leaders should reach out regularly, checking in on both personal well-being and work progress.
- Defend your team’s interests in meetings and help employees set realistic goals and workloads.
- Create open communication channels for employees to seek guidance easily.
Problem 5: Impeded Knowledge Sharing in Remote Agile Teams
Why?:
- Remote teams tend to work in silos, reducing organization-wide knowledge sharing.
- Without face-to-face interactions, teams miss out on exchanging best practices across the organization.
Solution 5: Promote Knowledge Sharing through Tools and Roles
- Use collaborative Agile tools (like Jira or Confluence) to make processes and progress visible across the company.
- Schedule cross-team meetings to share knowledge and insights.
- Appoint “knowledge champions” who actively distribute best practices and key learnings to other teams.
To make remote Agile work seamlessly, the right tools are essential. Here are key platforms to adopt:
- Microsoft Teams or Google Chat: For real-time communication and team messaging.
- Slack: Create dedicated channels for teams or projects, organizing conversations and keeping discussions accessible.
- Jira or Trello: Manage backlogs, track work, and visualize sprint progress for everyone.
- Zoom, Google Meet, or MS Teams: Use these for video conferencing during daily stand-ups, sprint planning, and retrospectives.
- Miro or MURAL: Digital whiteboards to mimic in-person brainstorming sessions, useful for collaborative planning and retrospectives.
These tools help remote teams maintain the same level of communication and collaboration as co-located teams.
In conclusion, adapting Agile to remote work doesn’t mean sacrificing collaboration or efficiency. By embracing smaller, engaged teams, protecting focus time, promoting empathetic leadership, and using the right collaboration tools, remote Agile teams can remain just as productive and cohesive as their in-office counterparts.
With the right strategies, Agile can be adapted to meet the demands of remote work while maintaining its core principles of flexibility, transparency, and continuous improvement.
Contact information: ayeni.oluwole.oladapo@gmail.com
