What’s The Difference between Self Managed & Self Organized Teams?
The terms "self-managed" and "self-organized" often overlap in Agile and Scrum contexts, but they do have distinct meanings and implications for how teams operate. Here’s a detailed breakdown of the differences:
Self-Managed Scrum Teams
Self-managed teams are responsible for managing their own work and processes. This means they have the authority and autonomy to make decisions regarding their tasks and workflow. Key characteristics include:
Decision-Making Authority: The team makes decisions about how to accomplish their goals, manage their work, and resolve issues without needing approval from outside authorities.
Accountability: The team is collectively responsible for the outcomes of their work. They take ownership of their performance and are accountable for delivering results.
Task Management: Team members manage their own tasks, including planning, execution, and monitoring progress. They assign work among themselves and ensure that deadlines are met.
Resource Allocation: The team determines how to allocate resources, such as time and effort, to different tasks and priorities.
Self-Organized Scrum Teams
Self-organized teams have the autonomy to structure and manage their work in the way they find most effective. They decide how to approach their tasks and processes without needing directives from management. Key characteristics include:
Process Autonomy: The team has the freedom to choose and evolve their own processes, methodologies, and tools to best achieve their objectives.
Adaptability: They can adapt their work practices based on their experiences, feedback, and changing circumstances. This allows them to continuously improve and optimize their performance.
Role Distribution: Team members decide how to distribute roles and responsibilities among themselves. They determine who does what based on skills, interests, and workload.
Collaborative Culture: Self-organized teams foster a collaborative environment where everyone contributes to decision-making and problem-solving.
Here’s the example
I was the Scrum Master for a software development team working on a complex web application. The team consisted of developers, testers, a UX designer, and a product owner. Initially, the team was heavily reliant on the product owner and me for decision-making and direction. This dependency was causing delays and reducing the team's overall efficiency and morale.
Challenge:
The main challenges were:
Team members were not taking ownership of their tasks.
Decision-making was bottlenecked at the product owner and myself.
There was a lack of proactive problem-solving and innovation.
The team was hesitant to experiment with new ideas or suggest improvements
Actions Taken:
1.. Empowerment and Delegation:
Delegated Decision-Making Authority: During sprint planning, I encouraged the team to break down user stories and estimate tasks independently. I empowered them to make decisions about the technical implementation without needing constant approval from the product owner or me.
Encouraged Ownership: I reinforced the importance of owning tasks by setting clear expectations that team members would take responsibility for their work from start to finish, including identifying and resolving any blockers.
2. Clear Goals and Vision:
Aligned on Sprint Goals: We started each sprint with a collaborative session to define clear and achievable sprint goals. This provided a unified focus and made it easier for the team to self-organize around shared objectives.
Clarified the Product Vision: I facilitated a workshop where the product owner shared the long-term product vision and roadmap. This helped the team understand the bigger picture and how their work contributed to the overall success of the product.
3. Enhanced Communication:
Promoted Open Communication: I introduced a more structured approach to daily stand-ups, encouraging team members to discuss not only what they did yesterday and what they planned to do today but also to proactively raise any issues or suggestions.
Implemented Regular Feedback Loops: We conducted bi-weekly retrospectives and mid-sprint check-ins to ensure continuous feedback and adjustments.
4. Continuous Learning and Improvement:
Retrospective Action Items: We identified specific, actionable improvements during retrospectives. For example, one sprint we focused on reducing technical debt, and another sprint we improved our code review process.
Provided Training Opportunities: I arranged for team members to attend relevant workshops and training sessions to build their skills and confidence.
5. Collaborative Culture:
Encouraged Pair Programming: I promoted pair programming sessions, which helped in knowledge sharing and fostering collaboration.
Team Building Activities: We organized regular team-building activities, such as lunch outings and hackathons, to build trust and camaraderie.
6. Tools and Automation:
Automated Repetitive Tasks: We identified repetitive tasks, like deployment and testing, and automated them using CI/CD pipelines. This freed up time for the team to focus on more value-added activities.
7. Leadership and Support:
Servant Leadership: I adopted a servant leadership approach, focusing on removing impediments and providing the necessary support for the team to succeed. I regularly asked the team what they needed from me to perform better.
Supported Self-Organization: I encouraged the team to take ownership of their processes and allowed them to experiment with different approaches to find what worked best for them
Result:
Increased Ownership: Team members started taking more ownership of their tasks and felt more accountable for the outcomes. They proactively identified and resolved issues without waiting for direction.
Improved Decision-Making: Decision-making became faster and more efficient as the team felt empowered to make technical and process-related decisions.
Higher Morale and Engagement: The team’s morale and engagement levels improved significantly. They felt more valued and trusted, which led to higher job satisfaction and motivation.
Better Performance: The team's performance improved, with more consistent delivery of high-quality work and faster response times to changes and issues.
By implementing these strategies and fostering an environment of trust, empowerment, and continuous improvement, I successfully enhanced the self-management capabilities of the Scrum team. This not only improved their performance but also created a more positive and collaborative working environment.
Reference Link for an article associated with Scrum Guide 2020 updates about changing the word from Self organization to Self Managed.
https://www.scrum.org/resources/blog/scrum-guide-2020-update-self-mgt-replaces-self-organization