Embracing the Digital Reality: Redefining Face-to-Face in Agile

In the past three years, I have supported teams in full remote or quasi-full remote environments. Like many, we've had to adapt to a new reality and create brand new ways to interact. While I wasn't initially an advocate for remote work, after three years, I am now a believer. I have seen firsthand how a team can leverage the benefits of remote work, rather than fixating on the drawbacks, to create an overwhelmingly positive experience that supports Agile values and principles. Here are a few thoughts from my own experience.

An old problem with brand new solutions

Agile ways of working respond to the rapidly changing needs of businesses and customers. These methods prioritise flexibility, collaboration, and constant adaptation over traditional, rigid approaches to work. One of the key principles of the Agile Manifesto is the "face-to-face principle," which states that the most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.

In the early years of Scrum, co-location was a hotly debated topic. Bringing team members together in the same physical space in order to facilitate face-to-face communication and collaboration was often considered a prerequisite for a successful Scrum team. Indeed, even then, Agile teams were rarely truly co-located: many organisations relied on geographically distributed teams, if not actual remote working.

So the problem is not new, but the culture, tools and processes have finally caught up.

Digital communication tools, such as video conferencing and instant messaging are not a substitute for face-to-face interactions. Yet, when used well, the benefits they bring compensate for the benefits of co-location: better productivity with less wasted time, better work-life balance, access to talents who otherwise struggle with on-site requirements, cost savings, ... the list goes on.

But to fully realise the benefits of remote work, we must redefine and expand the definition of face-to-face interaction to include digital face-to-face. Remote teams are here to stay, so let’s make it work.

Ideas to make digital face-to-face work for your teams:

1. Master your tools. If your team doesn’t know how to use the latest communication tools, they will and you will suffer. Slack, Teams, Jira, Notion, Miro, and many more can become your best friends, or biggest obstacle. My first month of using Slack was not good: lost messages, constant interruption, no structure…. It took me a month to realise the problem was my poor use of the tool. I had to learn how to use it. Now I miss it when I can't use it. Tool adoption also relies on the management adoption of those tools. So if you are in a managerial role, do get on board as it will directly improve your team's productivity.
2. Make the most of asynchronous communication. I use synchronous communication (such as video conferencing) for fixed ceremonies, 1-on-1 meetings, and social events. I encourage as many traditional meetings as possible to move to asynchronous discussion. It means less distraction, better inclusion of team members in different time-zones, better traceability of decisions, etc.
3. Over-communicate. You can’t do too much of it. Encourage team members to repeat important messages in different forums or channels along with as much context as possible to ensure everyone is on the same page. And where possible, invest in a serious internal communication strategy. I haven't seen it done often enough.
4. Bring social, non-work time online. Build a sense of community among team members online. In-person meet-ups can be beneficial, when possible, but it's important to avoid creating a mental distinction between "social in-person" and "work online" as this can negatively impact day-to-day communication and lead to isolation, especially for team members in full-time remote set-ups or in different geographic locations.
5. Consciously promote remote work. Ensure your on-site events are fully hybrid and include the remote team members without any reservation. Invest in the technology that will allow you to do so. Prioritise online first and focus on online communication. I know it sounds radical, but it’s important to ensure you don’t create a two-tier organisation. You can either embrace it or reject it, but a half-way solution will serve no-one, and you risk losing the benefits of both.

In short

Indeed, face-to-face interactions are a critical component of Agile software development. Managing geographically distributed teams has always presented significant challenges. However, with the rise of advanced digital tools and processes for remote work, many of these obstacles have been overcome. It is now essential for Agile teams to adapt their definition of face-to-face interactions to include digital face-to-face. By fully embracing the latest tools and processes, teams can not only maintain the effectiveness of their Agile practices, but also enhance it by leveraging the many benefits of the new digital reality. This will not only boost team's productivity but also increase their adaptability and flexibility in the ever-evolving business environment.

#RemoteWorking #Agile