What is an agile team?

An agile team is a small group of people from different departments that come together to work on a project, often seen in product development. Agile teams use a specific methodology for organizing projects into repetitious and incremental segments that are repeated in order to get the best end result or the best version of a product.

Each person on an agile team will have a different role and will contribute their unique skills at each phase of the project until the final product is finished. An example of this would be in product development when an agile team might be made up of designers, production of the product and testers.

These teams will meet together weekly to continuously work on the new product, creating many drafts until they come up with the final result. This type of teamwork is most effective for projects that have fast-changing deliverables as they are able to make changes as they come out.

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Who uses the agile team structure?

The concept of the agile team was first developed by software developers where projects often have a lot of changes in requirements. By using the agile team structure, software developers were able to speed up delivery times while still dealing with constant feedback and changes in scope.

Once the idea of using agile teams for projects took off in the software development field, other industries began to use it, especially within the technology industry and product development. In very basic terms, using the agile team structure is helpful for any projects that are liable to change a lot or that do not have clear requirements.

For example, when developing a product, the team needs to be able to come up with ideas on how to design the product, make improvements and then produce prototypes. These tasks often need to be done numerous times before the product is ready for the public, so using an agile team can make this process run quickly and smoothly.

Characteristics of an agile team structure

When building an agile team, you want to make sure to include the following characteristics.

• Cross-functional– each team member has their own specific skill set and work together to come up with the best solutions.
• Collaborative– agile teams in their nature are collaborative, meaning there is open communication between members and they are all working together for the same end result.
• Non–hierarchical– no leader within the group where people are given autonomy to work independently and organize themselves.

These characteristics are common among all agile teams and are part of what makes them successful.

Since agile teams work on projects that can change quickly, you need members that have expertise in a particular skill but are able to collaborate well with people with other skills. Some members will also cross-train meaning they will work with people from different departments in order to gain new skills.

Related: How to Build an Effective Coaching Culture

Agile teams can work best together when no one within the team is the leader as the point of an agile team is for individuals to bring their expertise to the group. That means that the team can work together without having to worry about trying to impress someone or staying in line.

With a non-hierarchical structure, people are able to be more independent and can come up with creative solutions that might not “fit into the box”. This type of innovation can be a great addition to an agile team as they are working on large projects that need to be adaptable to changing requirements.

Agile team structure types

There are four main types of structure that an agile team can take. They are:

Generalist

• Team members have a lot of knowledge in a lot of different areas
• Often called the “jack of all trades” team
• Tend to be smaller teams
• Often seen in sales

Specialist

• Each team member is a specialist in their area of expertise
• Team members will be experts in their field within the organization
• Works best with larger teams
• Often seen in computer programmers, database administrators and product developers

Hybrid

• A combination of generalist and specialist structures
• Often have better teamwork than other agile team structures
• Often seen in software development

Parallel

• Members change tasks with each iteration
• Often seen in marketing

These different structures allow you to create the type of team that is best suited for your industry and project.

Key roles within an agile team

When building an agile team, you have some specific roles assigned to people in order to keep the project on track and to keep the team working towards the same end result. Though some agile team methodologies will take a more fluid approach to roles within a team, having defined roles can create clarity and allow for a better workflow.

The following are the defined roles that should be included in an agile team.

• Team Member: these are the members of the team that do the actual work on the project. They might be separated into smaller teams (designers, testers, producers) within the larger team.
• Team Lead: this is the person who coordinates the entire team to make sure the process is run smoothly. They organize new requests, manage tasks, monitor workflow and host meetings.
• Product Owner: this member represents the needs of the client. They outline the customer’s requirements and communicate this with the team. They meet regularly with the team and offer guidance on features to include and tell the team what should be prioritized.
• Collaborator: this position is not directly involved with the project activities but they play a vital role in determining the final deliverables. They will meet often with the team members, team lead and product owner to check in on how the project is going and if they are meeting the deliverables. Collaborators can be investors or senior executives within the organization.  

Having a good understanding of the above roles will help you create an agile team that works effectively no matter the project.

How to build an agile team

Now that we’ve gone through the different components of an agile team, we can now move on to the actual creation of one. There are three steps to take when creating an agile team.

1. Choose your structure: Before you can pick your team, you have to decide on what structure will best suit your organization and the types of projects you do.

For example, if you are a product development company, you might want to choose a hybrid structure. This will give you, people with a lot to contribute and the specialists you need for the specific type of product you are developing.

Having a good idea of what type of structure will best suit your needs is very important as it will define the type of people you will need for your agile team.

2. Assign roles. You might already have an idea of who you would want to work with on the agile team but remember that it is more about the skills they bring than the position they hold in the company. 

Make sure that the team will be well balanced and have the type of skills that will make the project successful. Pick people who will complement each other’s skills so that the team can easily collaborate and be cross-functional.

3. Adapt when needed. An agile team structure is designed to be adaptable so make sure that you can quickly pivot if needed. It might take a while for your team to get to know each other so give it time to work its kinks out. Also, listen to your team and if something is not working make adjustments.

By following these steps you will be able to build a successful agile team that can easily work and finish a project.

Agile teams can be an incredibly handy tool for any organization. By placing emphasis on skills and having multiple drafts, projects can get the attention they need from different departments at the same time. This means projects can be done quickly and efficiently, which is what every organization strives for.