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Characteristics of Agile Teams– A Discussion on Technology and Culture

Article  in  IMS Manthan (The Journal of Innovations) · October 2015

DOI: 10.18701/imsmanthan.v10i1.5656

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Badri N Srinivasan Debarshi Mukherjee

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Characteristics of Agile Teams– A Discussion on
Badri N Srinivasan*
Technology and Culture Debarshi Mukherjee **

Abstract
Agile methodologies offer an alternative to traditional
software engineering processes for developing software
products and systems. They focus on integrating
behavioral and social factors into software development.
The focus on people is a very important factor in the
implementation of agile methodologies in the workplace.
The focus on agile teams for developing software systems
and products using agile software development
methodologies predisposes the emphasis on the analysis of
the key components of agile teams which are important to
ensure that the characteristics of agile teams are factored
appropriately in the organization so that the teams are
having the pre-requisite environment setup for successfully
developing software systems.This paper investigates the
various components and social processes that contribute to
the characteristics of agile. The paper aims at highlighting a
framework made up of various components that focus on
the critical attributes of an agile team and if these attributes
are present in an agile team, then the probability for the
team to work as a high performance agile team and deliver
successful software products in the market place is
increased considerably.
Introduction
Key words – agile methodologies, agile teams, software
development, agile, complex adaptive systems (CAS) Agile methods provide various options as compared to the
long established software engineering processes for
developing software products and systems. Agile is all about
social change in the workplace (Beck, Kent, &Andres, Cynthia,
2004). Agile methodologies focus on integrating various
variables like culture, shared understanding of the vision and
other factors while undertaking software development and
they focus predominantly on the importance of individuals in
the work place. Software Development is a cooperative game
that is focused on invention and collaboration (Cockburn,
Alistair, 2006). Additional new concepts that were also
introduced by Alistair are - managing competition without
reducing collaboration; learning and up dating in sights from
lean manufacturing (Womack, Jones & Roos, 1990); and
pairing strategies for communication. As per Alistair
Cockburn - Software development is not a science and hence
the scientific method cannot be applied to it. If it was related to
engineering/model development, then engineering techniques

* PhD Research Scholar, School of Business, Galgotias University, Uttar Pradesh, India, E-mail:- thirumangaiazhwar@gmail.com
** PhD, Associate Dean, IMS, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India, E-mail:- debarshi.mukherjee@imsnoida.com

Author is grateful to the anonymous referees for comments and suggestions for improving the text and content of the paper. Author alone is responsible
for any errors/mistakes till remaining in the paper.
76
techniques cannot be applied to software development.
Software development is similar to game development and it
focuses on collaboration with other team members within the
specified time and other constraints. When software
development is focused as a game, then it gives improved
alternatives on how to manage the teams, how to apportion
the costs and how the work can be carried out (Coding Horror,
2007). Software development is a cooperative finite goal
directed game. Games can be considered as mathematical
constructs that need to be worked out to achieve the end goal
or objective and they are focused on using strategic moves to
arrive at the outcome and at the same time also having fun.
The stress on people is the crux as individuals are the key in
software development. The emphasison agile teams for
developing software systems and products using agile
software development methodologiespredisposes the focus on
the analysis of the key components of agile teams which are
important to ensure that the characteristics of agile teams are
factored appropriately in the organization so that the teams are
having the pre-requisite environment setup for successfully
developing software systems. The strength of a team is linked
to the member who is the weakest as the team has to work in
unison and the weakest memberis the constraint in the team.
This paper focuses on the various components that contribute
to the properties of agile teams. Agile teams areobserved as
complex adaptive systems (CAS) (Appelo, Jürgen, 2011).
Traditional general systemstheory (Bertalanffy L V, 1950), was
not found to be fully adequate todemonstrate research into the
keyphenomena occurring in agile teams Additional focus on
systems theory indicate that when a human agent is
introduced, then the nature of the system is changed and the
way to study that system is also changed. Focus needs to be
given on studying additional human traits like pride and other
factors. These aspects also need to be studied in more detail in
future psychological studies (Peterson & Seligman, Martin,
2013).
As per systems theory, systems are organized into three types:
deterministic which are also known as mindless systems;
animated which are also known as unminded systems; and
social which are also known as multi-minded systems
(Gharajedaghi J, 1999; Ackoff, Russell, 1999).When human
agents are introduced into a system, then the focus is shifted
tohuman behavior. The key point is to focus on how system
and subsystem goal align with each other. This is different
from the traditional cause and effect models of human
behavior. Focus should also be given to exploring the
interactions among the various system levels.
In the conventional systems theory, there are boundaries
which separate the system from its environment. This is due to
the vibrant interactions among the social network and the
porous nature of the organizational boundaries in reality
(Merali, 2004). The nature of individuals is such that it is not
modular unlike mechanical systems which are generally
modular. If the process models and the system models do not
take into account this aspect of non-modularity, then the
outcomes will be very different in reality as compared to
theory. This paper focuses on the key attributes of agile teams
as compared to the focus of individuals in a team. There is a
fine demarcation between a group which is considered as a
collective entity as compared to the individuals within a group
(Bion, Wilfred, 1961). A group wields significant influence on
the members in the group. The paper focuses on the concept of
agile teams made up of individuals and the whole team
IMS Manthan - Volume X, No. 1, Jan - June 2015
follows the agile implementation and the agile practices and
the psychological and social / cultural interaction among the
team members and other teams. (In this paper, to avoid
confusion and for purposes of simplicity, a group is considered
as a team, even though strictly speaking, a group and a team
are different). A group is generally informal and comprised of
members who are focused on solving short term problems and
issues whereas a team is more focused on the long term
solutions and it requires more coordination, collaboration and
structure.
Problem Statement
The important attributes and characteristics of agile teams that
will help them to effectively perform as an agile team
implementing agile practices in the work environment and
deliver successful software products for the market place as
per the market requirements is to be determined. Additional
emphasis is laid on the determination of the capability of the
agile practices to support and facilitate the attributes of agile
teams, apart from the focus on the determination of the
capability of the agile methods to facilitate, support and
recognize social identity and collective effort as one of the
important characteristics of agile teams.
The objective of this paper is to highlight the properties and
characteristics of agile teams and to expound on the
commonalities associated with teams in the area of agile
development projects. It is propositioned that agile is a
methodology that can facilitate teams to be more responsive to
the changing market requirements than traditional software
development models. The paper also focuses on the various
components related to agile teams for them to perform
effectively. While focusing on the various components related
to agile teams, a simple framework is evolved that explains the
key attributes of agile teams to succeed effectively in the work
environment and ensure successful delivery as per the
changing market requirements.
Literature Review
The present world of agile software development focused on
software product development and customer delivery assumes
that people focus on value, eliminate waste, work faster and
produce a better quality product, manage change
appropriately and focus on novel techniques of undertaking
work. It is also based on the idea that if a group of people are
brought together and made to work as a team, then due to the
team interactions and the theories behind team behavior, it is
expected that they will become effective quickly.Organizations
whichfollow traditional software development activities for
delivery may also decide to effectively solve issues using agile
methods so that they could reap the benefits of the agile
methods. However, they may not be geared up for the impact
that it may have on the team. Thus, if a simple framework
indicating key attributes of agile teams is available and which
can be applied for a team that is implementing agile methods,
then the probability of a successful project delivery is
improved considerably as compared to just performing as an
agile team and not focusing on the key characteristics which
make up an agile team. This will also impact existing agile
teams which do not focus much on the key characteristics of
agile teams and keep trying to find out how to improve their
project delivery as highlighted by the industry research which
indicates that agile teams are better suited for rapid and
quality delivery as per the changing market requirements
Characteristics of Agile Teams– A Discussion on Technology and Culture
(Dyba T & Dingsøyr T, 2008). Agile software development is a
collection of software development methods based on client
focused and risk driven iterative and incremental
development, and the project solutions grow through
collaboration between self-organizing, cross-functional teams
(Wikipedia - Agile Software Development, 2013). It encourages
evolutionary development and encourages rapid and flexible
response to change(Williams, Laurie& Cockburn, A, 2003).The
literature review indicates that different studies are available
regarding frameworks for identifying the key attributes and
characteristic of effective teams that will facilitate them to
effectively deliver good quality software products as per the
changing market requirements in a short period of time. The
payback derived from vastly effective and focused teams and
frameworks for high performing teams are given in various
studies (Nedelko, 2008; Ross T M, Jones E C & Adams S G,
2008; Ulloa B C R & Adams S G,2004; Daniel L & Davis C,
2009; Hoegl M & Proserpio L, 2004; Thamhain H J,2004;
Salas E, Sims D E & Burke, 2005). The industry research also
highlights how agile software development methodologies
could help facilitate the development of robust software
systems for the marketplace(Dyba T& Dingsøyr T, 2008;
Abrahamsson, Pekka, Salo, Outi, Ronkainen, Jussi& Warsta,
Juhani, 2002).However, the research studies diverge on the
key components that will result in effective agile teams. The
following sections highlight the key aspects of various
components of agile teams and the derivation of a simple high
level framework for identifying the key attributes of agile
teams.
Additional research gives more information on the social
nature of agile teams and explains how social identity and
collective effort are supported by agile methods (Whitworth,
Elizabeth and Biddle, Robert, 2007) and Building agile teams
focuses on the study of highly accomplished teams and the
results of the study are applied to teams that have embraced
the Agile methodologies (McGeachy, Robert, Building agile
teams, 2010).The concept of social identity is a very important
characteristic for the agile teams. Recent research pertaining to
self-organized work teams has focused on social psychology
(Ilgen D R, Hollenbeck J R, Johnson M, and Jundt D,2005), as
compared to organizational psychology. The social perspective
is important in describing various characteristics of agile
teams. Individual psychology operating in the social context is
given recognition in the Social Identity theory (Tajfel H and
Turner J C, 1986). A number of points regarding team work in
the agile context are highlighted. Individuals have several
‘social identities’ consistent with their observed membership in
social groups(Hogg M A and Vaughan G M, 2002). In
comparison, personal identity is derived from self-knowledge
of one’s distinctive personal qualities and relationships with
other individuals. An individual at any single point in time has
an identity that varies from the core social identity based on
the social context. Certain environmental contexts may
therefore increase the prevalence of personal or social identity.
Hence, diverse social contexts will cause a person to act, think
and feel differently and these social identities are generally
seen as a fundamental aspect of a person’s self-concept, and.
agile methods support constant collaboration with the team as
a whole and this supports the development of a shared
identity. Thus, agile methods are expected to increase the
value and importance of a team identity as compared to an
individual or role based identity. The idea of social comparison
is another concept tthat is related to social identity theory
77
(Festinger, Leon, 1954). The concept of social comparison
posits that positive self-concept is essential to the functioning
of the psychological make-up of the individual and it is based
on the assessment of the self in comparison with other similar
members. Thus, positive self-image and self-esteem can be
expanded in comparison with other team members and by
identifying with a team that holds itself with a high amount of
prestige. Thus, members of cohesive agile teams are expected
to show positive spirit in accordance with the fact that they are
recognized within the team on account of their abilities and the
self-importance with which they hold themselves in the
membership of their project team. Group comparisons lead to
increase in the enhanced stature of the individuals and groups
(Tajfel H and Turner J C, 1979). Agile teams were also expected
to associate their progress to the expectations and feedback of
the users and business towards their software product. As
agile teams deliver working software to the customer, it leads
to rapid delivery and feedback and therefore, agile methods
are expected to support improved stature and identification
within the project group and with other project teams. These
practices also provide a common platform for mediating
common social occurrences like comparison of inter-groups.
However, simple categorization into groups can lead to bias
which can further affect communication and collaborate in
organizations (Goodman P S and Olivera F, 1998) and this
could affect the characteristics of agile teams. Collective goal
commitment and consistency in agile team environments are
generally expected to be high. Key aspects of cohesive teams
were seen to arise from an inculcation of an agile culture in
teams. Thus, characteristics of agile teams may be considered
to be more than a specific software development
methodological property and individuals in agile teams
strongly identified themselves with the agile culture
(Gladwell M, 2000). The link between agile culture and
characteristics of unified agile teams may imply the
importance of observing the interaction between
organization culture and agile culture. Thus, where there is a
clash of the agile culture and the organizational culture, it
becomes difficult for the teams to exhibit all the
characteristics of agile teams and they find it difficult to
collaborate with other groups. Agile teams are also expected
to exhibit increased levels of social accountability and social
awareness. Amplified awareness in the team environment,
for example, is related to a reduction in social loafing; i.e., the
tendency for individuals to do less effort on a task when they
are working in a group as compared to when they are
working alone(Latane B, Williams K& Harkins S, 1979) .
However, agile teams should be cautious to avoid employing
agile methods in ways that support control collectively, but
that do not support flexibility in the team and freedom of the
individual. Thus, cohesive agile teams are generally expected
to engage in some level of team contemplation or
retrospection (Kerth N L, 2001). Agile culture is focused on
delivering the highest business value in the shortest amount
of time. This is an important characteristic of agile teams. As
indicated in the initial sections, agile methods also derive
their basic principles from lean thinking concepts. Thus,
conceptual tools used in agile methods like 'eliminate waste',
‘do the simplest activity that will possibly work,’ facilitate
group tendency towards intransigence and obstinacy, and
maintain team flexibility, malleability and efficiency. The
nature of agile culture which is action based is also expected
to reduce group influence leading to inertia in large teams. If
78
the technical practices of agile methods are implemented
without concern for the allied cultural factors, then it could
lead to the development of constrictive team norms and
activity which may lead to an inflexible and iron cage of agile
control. This can inhibit the growth of agile teams as the key
characteristics of agile teams will not develop further.
Additionally, an excessive focus on productivity and
performance to the exclusion of other factors may also lead to
exhaustion in the team environment (Whitworth, Elizabeth
and Biddle, Robert, 2007). Thus, the need to focus on the key
characteristics of agile teams that will enable them to
function effectively in the agile work place is very important.
The above literature study indicates that agile practices
facilitate and enable the attributes of agile teams and agile
methods enable, support and recognize social identity and
collective effort as one of the important characteristics of
agile teams. The residual sections give a brief overview of a
probable framework that will effectively try to address the
key characteristics and attributes of agile teams that need to
be taken into consideration for the team to be successful at
the agile work place.
High Level Characteristics of Agile Teams
Foundation and Background of Agile Software Development
Methodologies
Agile software development is a group of software
development methods which are based on customer focused,
risk driven and iterative and incremental development
practices. The requirements and solutions evolve through
communication and collaboration among self-organizing and
cross-functional teams. Agile methods focus on flexible
planning, development that evolves over a period of time and
an emphasis on time-boxed iterations. They encourage quick
and malleable feedback to change. Agile methodologies are a
conceptual framework that promotes intense interactions
throughout the development cycle. In February 2001, 17
people met at the Snowbird Lodge, Utah to discuss lightweight
software development methods. They brought out the
Manifesto for Agile Software Development to outline the
approach now known as agile software development. (Agile
Manifesto, 2014). Some of the manifesto's authors formed the
Agile Alliance, a non-profit organization that is focused on
software development according to the principles of the agile
manifesto (Wikipedia - Agile Software Development, 2014;
Badri N S, 2013). The word Agile in software development
parlance is defined by a set of values and principles. This is
unlike traditional software development methodologies.
Various agile methodologies are currently practiced in the
software industry, like Scrum, Extreme Programming (XP), etc.
(Wikipedia - Scrum, 2014; Wikipedia - Extreme Programming
(XP), 2014).In order to practice these various agile methods,
teams must ensure that they imbibe the agile values and agile
principles appropriately and these teams are known as agile
teams. However, these teams also exhibit certain
characteristics that enable them to perform the role of agile
teams effectively. This paper attempts to describe a simple
framework at a very high level that characterizes the various
attributes of agile teams that are expected to ensure that they
are effective at successful project delivery in an agile work
environment. This paper also focuses on what are the
characteristics of agile teams that make them successful in the
work place.
IMS Manthan - Volume X, No. 1, Jan - June 2015
Agile teams need to focus on the key characteristics that
reinforce the following concepts and principles -
One of the pioneers of the agile and lean movement
(Poppendieck & Poppendieck, 2003) emphasized the seven
principles of lean or agile methodologies
Additionally, tools for managing agile projects like - project
war rooms, white boards, self-organizing teams, daily
standups (scrums), iteration retrospective and collective team
approach highlights the importance of the focus on individuals
and interactions as compared to processes (Larman, 2004).
These practices have a profound impact on how teams work
and this can lead to significant stress for traditional
organizations and teams. The practices stress on flexibility,
change, openness and trust which many people and
organizations may find are difficult to implement for the first
time. This paper will focus on the changes that are required in
the characteristics of the agile team so that they are able to
follow the agile principles effectively. These form the bedrock
of the key characteristics of agile teams. Agile is more suitable
for emergent requirements specifications that are based on
capability than conventional top-down approaches. Agile
provides rapid business value to the customer, often delivering
capability while conventional methods are still focused on
plans. Agile methods empower the team who might be
burdened by the constraints imposed due to heavy processes.
Agile practices have been proven over a period of time and
they generally work as well as or better than some of the
currently accepted practices (Boehm & Turner, 2005); (Mc
Geachy, Robert, 2010).
In order to understand the key characteristics of agile teams, it is
important to understand the relevanceand origin of the key
components that are needed in a successful agile team. In order for
agile teams to be successful at the work place and meet the needs of
the changing market place, they need to exhibit characteristics and
traits that emphasize the ability to respond to change quickly which is
a basic characteristic of agility, apart from other factors. For this to
happen, the key component categories that need to be focused are
related to people, the interaction of the people with the environment
and the innovative work techniques used to arrive at the solution to a
problem or business need quickly and comprehensively(Fig 1).
Fig 1. Successful Agile Team (Complex Adaptive System
(CAS)) - Key Component Categories
Characteristics of Agile Teams– A Discussion on Technology and Culture
Usually, people adopt generally practiced and accepted
techniques for solving problems as per the industry or
problem domain and the nature of work. However, in order to
respond to change quickly and to arrive at solutions to
complex problems (which is generally the case for problems in
the software product development domain), the need to use
innovative work techniques area pre-requisite to resolve the
problem quickly and thoroughly. Using the same generally
practiced and accepted repetitive techniques may still yield the
solution but the response may be slow and there are still
chances for the issue to recur again in the future if it has not
been solved thoroughly. Hence, the combination of these
factors will enable the team to deliver the product successfully
and will also facilitate them to respond quickly to any change
that may happen in the market place. The relevant component
categories may not all be inter-dependent among each other
and some component categories may be independent of other
component categories. Further, within a component category,
the components may or may not be inter-related. As an agile
team is considered to be a complex adaptive system (CAS), the
combination of all the components exhibited as characteristics
of agile teams (in response to a stimulus from the
environment) will give an emergent output that is more than
the simple addition of all the constituent components within
the component categories.
Thus, the behavioral factors component include various traits
of people like maturity, empathy, creativity, team comprised
of individuals which is considered as a complex adaptive
system (CAS) and related factors. Apart from this, other key
people components are – Leadership, Reward and Motivation,
team member skills (diversity) and related factors. The team is
comprised of people who come together to work in a common
place called the workplace. Hence, other key components are -
collaboration and communication, physical work environment
and the impact of the organizational culture which are
prevalent at the work place. Additionally, due to advances in
technology, many teams are no longer co-located. A team
comprising of multiple team members may be geographically
distributed across the world. In these cases, an additional key
component – virtual work environment also needs to be taken
into account. Finally, in order for the team to be a high
performing agile team, the team members should also know
and focus on innovative techniques to arrive at the solution to
complex problems. This is a breakthrough and key component
that facilitates an agile team to respond quickly to the changes
that may need to be undertaken on account of the market
factors and also maximize their ability to respond quickly and
appropriately to the change. These component categories also
ensure that the teams exhibit agile behavior effectively by
imbibing the agile values and agile principles effectively.
These component categories thereby provide a sound structure
to identify and channelize the key characteristics of agile teams
appropriately.
The proposed framework is a two tier framework composed of
component categories and components within the component
categories and it focuses at a high level on practices centered
on the eight key components distributed among the
component categories as given below (Fig. 2) –
People Related Factors
x Behavioral Factors
x Leadership
x Reward and Motivation
x Selection of Team and Skills
79
Interactions of the People with the Environment
x Impact of the Organizational Culture
x Collaboration and Communication
x Virtual and Physical Work Environment
Innovative Work Techniques for Problem Solving
x Disruptive Innovation
Fig 2. Framework for Agile Teams - Key Components
Essential Traits of Agile Teams
The basic traits of agile teams are given below -
x The team should be comprised of self-motivated people
who have the necessary competency and skills as well as the
commitment and motivation to be in the team
x The team is cross-functional and self-organized and it is
empowered which indicates that it has the trust of the
stakeholders
x The team members should be able to trust each other in
order to complete the work successfully
x The team focuses on delivering work at a sustainable
pace in order to deliver high quality software
x Work activities of the team members should reflect
uniformity and should be aligned to the team goals
x The capacity of the team and the support from the team
members should be taken into account while executing the
work so that timelines are worked out rather than being forced
on the team
x Members should exhibit Servant Leadership qualities
x Team members should imbibe the agile values and agile
principles
The performance of the agile team is affected if the above
mentioned basic traits are missing in the team. The team may
then become dysfunctional and it is not in a position to
respond to the quick changes needed in the market place and
the quality of the work output will also not meet the customer
expectations appropriately.
Besides these constituents, additional generic features of agile
teams are given below -
x Transparent Communication
x Roles and duties (responsibilities)are outlined clearly
x Collaborative environment
x Goal Clarity
x Effective conflict management
x Leadership through participation (situational
leadership)
x Decision making which is effective
x Diversity in values
x Team relationships that are well managed
80
The above features and traits are expected to be present in a
typical agile team and when the framework is applied to an
agile team, the probability of the team to respond to market
changes quickly and successfully deliver the product to the
customer is increased considerably.
Principal Challenges
The principal challenges that were observed are –
Additional Research is needed to identify if and how the
basic framework outlined in the earlier sections regarding
the characteristics of agile teams is effective in successful
project delivery in an agile work environment and how the
basic framework could be expanded to cover all the
important characteristics of agile teams. The paper focuses
on the key components categories and components of agile
teams and does not focus on non-agile teams even though a
specific team has its own definite team characteristics. Thus,
additional research may be needed to understand the
specific components of agile teams that make them truly
agile. The paper focuses only on literature review and
actual data may be needed for arriving at an appropriate
conclusion and outcome apart from further research in this
area. As part of the changed global scenario, many of the
software development activities happen across various time
zones and in various countries. This may also impact the
software development activities. The paper does not focus
on this aspect fully and more data is needed to understand
the characteristics of agile teams that may need to be
preserved during distributed or global software
development (GSD).The framework highlights the key areas
that need to be focused when agile teams are set up in an
organization. The framework also focuses on how to make
sure that the teams are set up for success. However, the
areas highlighted are not exhaustive and detailed research
may be needed to explore other elements of the framework
that may also be needed to further explain the key
characteristics and attributes of agile teams. Despite
extensive interest regarding research on teams, a clear
definition of teamwork continues to be tenuous (Salas, E.,
Sims, D. E., & Burke, C. S. 2005). There are also many
divergent views and related research on what makes a team
effective. Additionally, there are numerous sources of
guidance regarding how to make the most of a team but in
all these cases, there are no easy rules or procedures. A
team is made up of distinct and independent individuals
and it cannot be generalized easily regarding how these
individuals will interact and how the team will continue to
make improvements ( Holcombe, 2008) . Team Dynamics is
an important aspect that needs to be considered for
effective teams. The concept of a team as a complex
adaptive system (CAS) is helpful to understand holistically
that the work output of the team is more than the sum of
the individual work outputs of the members and the inter-
relationships of the various components in the framework
may need to be viewed holistically within the context of
complex adaptive system theory. However, if the teams can
imbibe the appropriate practices, then the teams can hope
to achieve high performance ( Stewart, G. L, 2006 ) and can
also become effective agile teams when they fulfill the
elements of the frame work. This paper also does not
extensively highlight the specific individual transactions
that may need to be present for an agile team to work
effectively.
IMS Manthan - Volume X, No. 1, Jan - June 2015
Conclusions
In this paper, the attributes and characteristics of agile teams
are discussed and a simple framework is derived to explain the
attributes of agile teams that are necessary for a team that is
focused on implementing agile practices in an organization to
succeed in the work environment. This paper does not
extensively highlight the specific individual transactions that
may need to be present for an agile team to work effectively. It
is observed that if the attributes of an agile team as indicated
by the framework are present, then there is a greater
possibility for the team to succeed in the work place to deliver
successful software products as per the changing market
requirements. However, more detailed studies are required to
further substantiate the preliminary findings based on the
literature research and other secondary sources of information.
This study advocates that there are profound social forces
which are at work in agile teams that highlight the value of
agile methodologies. Agile practices such as daily standups are
seen to provide high levels of social acceptance, accountability
and support, information radiators which improve the team
awareness regarding the activities being undertaken by the
project team, cross pollination of information and other factors
is seen to enhance the emotional state of the individuals
toward safety, security and control in the work environment.
Investigation and consideration of social, psychological and
cultural issues in software development teams is essential as
the software engineering area focuses on agile teams which are
self-organized teams. Thus, the paper aims at highlighting a
framework made up of various components that focus on the
critical characteristics and attributes of an agile team and if
these attributes are present in an agile team, then the
probability for the team to work as a high performance agile
team and deliver successful software products in the market
place is increased considerably. Additionally, it is important
that the interaction among the components in the framework is
considered in the context of agile teams as complex adaptive
systems.
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82 IMS Manthan - Volume X, No. 1, Jan - June 2015

Table 1: Seven Principles of Lean Software Development (Poppendieck & Poppendieck, 2003)
Sl. No. Principle Explanation
1 Amplify learning
Ensure that there is maximum learning during the development of the product
2 Eliminate Waste
Ensure that anything that does not add value to the product is removed or
reduced to the maximum extent possible
3 Decide as late as In environments where the uncertainty is very high, late decisions are very
possible helpful
4 Deliver as fast as After the decision has been taken, it is imperative that the team delivers as fast
possible as possible. Short iteration cycles, quick and early feedback
5 Empower the team The members who are involved in developing the product are also involved in
taking decisions
6 Build Integrity In The focus is on conceptual integrity (integrity of the system) and perceived
integrity (integrity as perceived by the user/customer). There should be a clear
and simple architecture and which is high on usability and is fit for purpose,
maintainable, flexible and extensible
7 See the Whole The team should be able to see the big picture based on the vision and the
business objectives
Additionally, Boehm, who was part of the agile movement enunciated key defining practices of agile teams (Boehm,
Barry & Turner, 2005) (Table 2) –

Table 2. Key Defining Practices of Agile Teams(Boehm, Barry & Turner, 2005)
Sl. No. Key Practices
1 Embrace change
2 Frequent delivery,
quick cycles
3 Time-boxed iterations
4 Simple Design
5 Refactoring
6 Pair Programming
7 Retrospective
8 Tacit Knowledge
9 Test Driven
Development
Explanation
Harness change for the advantage of the customer. Change enables higher
creativity and quick value to the customer
Short periodic releases facilitate implementation of the features with the highest
priority functionalities, quick value delivery to the customer and enable emergent
requirements
Time-boxed iterations establish specific time frames This leads to focus on
development of prioritized functionality
Design should be simple and focus on what the team is planning to develop in the
current development cycle. As change is unavoidable, planning for future
functionalities may lead to wastage in effort
Restructuring software to remove repetition, improve communication, simplify, or
add flexibility without changing the behavior of the code; redesigning just in time
to ensure optimal design
A type of programming in which two programmers work at one workstation and
collaborate on the same design/code/algorithm/test with one member performing
the role of the driver and the other member performing the role of the navigator
A review of the effectiveness of the work performed, processes used and estimates
planned after the work in the iteration is completed. The review helps in collective
learning for the team and leads to improved estimation in the future iterations
Creating and modifying knowledge about the project in the head of the
participants instead of creating large documents (explicit knowledge)
Developers and customers incrementally write unit tests before and during coding.
It supports and boosts very short iteration cycles

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