Agile Team Working Agreements

Agile Teams with useful and collaboratively generated Working Agreements have the best opportunity at success.

Working agreements are guidelines and expectations that a team establishes for how they will work together and communicate. They can include things like how and when team members will communicate, how conflicts will be resolved, how decisions will be made, and how team members will support and hold each other accountable. Working agreements are important because they help establish a clear and consistent framework for how team members will work together, which can improve communication, collaboration, and productivity. They can also help prevent misunderstandings, conflicts, and other issues that can derail a team's progress. Overall, working agreements are essential for ensuring that a team is able to work effectively and efficiently towards their goals.

Here are a few examples of starter ideas for establishing your own Agile Team Working agreemements.

• We will always communicate openly and honestly with each other.
• We will work together as a team to achieve our common goals.
• We will respect each other's ideas and perspectives.
• We will attend all meetings and stand-ups on time and prepared.
• We will actively participate in all team discussions and decision-making processes.
• We will take ownership of our individual tasks and responsibilities.
• We will strive to continuously improve and learn from our experiences.
• We will support and encourage each other in our professional development.
• We will provide constructive feedback to each other in a respectful manner.
• We will strive to create a positive and inclusive team culture.

Just as important on agreeing on the WHAT - the team should agree on the WHY when making Working Agreements. For many teams, their organization may already have an established culture and values that can be bolstered if they are already in agreement with working the way their company has designed over time. A great way to start a conversation about establishing and updating Working Agreements can be prompted by whiteboarding with the Agile Team the most important values they hold from Scrum, Agile, the organization, and even personally to contribute. I recommend reviewing Working Agreements as often as you feel necessary, and no less than twice per year. Additionally, when team members change on a team, it is a great time to bring up Working Agreements to make sure they still make sense for everyone.

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