Reflection on agile ways of working and agile teams

Reference no: EM133675051

Agile Project Management

Assessment - Reflection on Agile ways of working and Agile teams

Learning Outcome 1: Reflect on the Agile process and the influence on the individual's professional development within the method used in this subject with particular emphasis on Agile roles within teams.

Task Summary

You are required to write and submit a 1500-word individual reflection about Agile ways of working and Agile teams in preparation for your group assignment. The aim of this assessment is to maximise your team performance through practical project experience with learnings you can take to your future workplace (some people in your team may annoy you now, but they are very likely to represent the people you will work with in future - so learning these lessons now gives you a head start in the soft skills required for your career).

You will be expected to examine and reflect upon Agile Ways of Working in your team - working towards Assessment 3 as a project with your team, specifically on the following conceptual areas:
Servant leadership
The Agile Mindset
Psychological Safety

Context
In professional life, while some parts of a job require individual contribution but progressively more work requires collaboration and group work.

Group learning is designed to help you to learn about the process of collaboration in preparation for your career.

Agile teams and agile ways of working are becoming ubiquitous in workplaces, and you will likely be a part of an agile team in your career. However, agile is very different from the more traditional ‘command and control' management methods to which many people are accustomed. It requires self-organisation and teamwork, rather than being told what to do.

QUESTION 1 - Servant Leadership

"....The great leader is seen as servant first..." - Robert Greenleaf

Leadership is often conflated or associated with a ‘command and control' culture with people who ‘take charge'. Robert K Greenleaf, and subsequently other thought leaders, saw a different way.

Servant Leadership as a management ethos is not only associated with Agile but is interwoven into broader management theory. Before answering this question review this article in the Torrens Library online paying close attention to the following sections: Abstract, Introduction, Literature Review, Conlusions and Managerial Implications.

In relation to your team and the way that it is working,
Discuss 2 examples of how team members are working ethically towards their personal growth and development.
Is there someone in the team who has stepped up into the servant leadership role - or is
working as "primus inter pares" in the group:
If so, what contribution is this making to the group's performance?
If no one is doing this, what could you do to undertake this role?
Based on this reading, why do you believe that Servant Leadership is favoured as a transformational leadership style?
Back your arguments and your position with evidence of your research - as a first point, your readings from lectures, secondly this article, and thirdly articles that you have selected from the references in this article. 3-4 references from academic sources are required for this question.

QUESTION 2 - Mindset

In your subject readings, you have sources from both Dweck (2008) and Mordi and Schoop (2020) which discuss mindset as a concept. In the reading below Eilers, Peters and Leimeister (2022) have undertaken a study to capture and measure the Agile Mindset - you will need to read this article in full to answer this question.

Looking at the questions of the Agile Mindset and the key attributes of each attitude dimension, answer the following questions:
Attitude towards learning spirit:
Select one attribute in which you believe you are really strong - use an example of how you have demonstrated this attribute in action in your group work.

Select one attribute that you believe is an area for personal improvement for you - use an example that illustrates this from your group work, and suggest a way of improving in this area.
Attitude towards collaborative exchange:

Select one attribute in which you believe you are really strong - use an example of how you have demonstrated this attribute in action in your group work.

Select one attribute that you believe is an area for personal improvement for you - use an example that illustrates this from your group work, and suggest a way of improving in this area.

QUESTION 3 - Psychological Safety

This short article combined with your subject readings will help you to answer this question:

Before reading the article: Consider what support would you expect from your manager to be able to feel psychologically safe. Capture your initial thoughts in the first paragraph of your answer.

After reading the article: Looking at the lessons learned section of the article, which activity produced the best results in improving psychological safety?

Is this the outcome that you expected? Why or why not?

Why do you think the change in managerial behaviours made such a difference?

Looking at the three benefits that companies can achieve - why do you think some managers may remain resistant to a change of this nature?

Task Instructions

Write a 1500-word reflective report addressing the concepts of agile teams and agile ways of working.
Please structure your report as follows:

Title page: include a title page with the subject code and subject name, assignment title,
student's name, student number and lecturer's name.

Table of Contents

Introduction (100-150 words): this will also serve as your statement of purpose for this report - this means that you will tell the reader what you are going to cover in your report. You will need to inform the reader of:

In brief - what you have reflected on

What the reader can expect to find in the body of the report

The body of the report (1000-1200 words) - word distribution is something you need to consider in your assessment response design:

QUESTION 1 - Servant Leadership

QUESTION 2 - Mindset

QUESTION 3 - Psychological Safety
Conclusion: summarise the one important element from each question as the most important action that you can take to make sure that your group optimise their performance and achievement for Assessment 3.

Referencing
It is essential that you use appropriate APA style for citing and referencing research.

Reference no: EM133675051

Questions Cloud

Mutations that promote longevity : Where should researchers look for mutations that increase life span (i.e., mutations that promote longevity)?

Develop a unix-compatible operating system : What project was launched in 1983 by Richard Stallman, originally to develop a Unix-compatible operating system? How does this impact the history of Linux?

Barriers to adoption of telehealth technologies : What are the facilitators and barriers to the adoption of telehealth technologies for your client? How might you address the barriers?

What cultural considerations might be assessed and addressed : What cultural considerations might be assessed and addressed? What long-term planning should be considered?

Reflection on agile ways of working and agile teams : Reflection on Agile ways of working and Agile teams Assessment - Reflect on the Agile process and the influence on the individual's professional development

Overview of the Lyme disease-treatment options : Give an overview of the Lyme disease, treatment options available for the Lyme disease, and what the long term outcomes of the Lyme disease are.

Creates physical and emotional stress : Ella is a 32-year-old African American, single working mother with a demanding workload that creates physical and emotional stress.

How does the pattern maintain organizational equilibrium : Can you discern if your normal reaction is rooted in a desire to comply, protect, or control? How does this pattern maintain organizational equilibrium?

Identify cardiac or respiratory dysfunction : Identify a cardiac or respiratory dysfunction and its cause. Outline the key steps necessary to prevent the dysfunction and improve health status.

User Account

All Pages