What Are Working Agreements In Agile?

Agile is a methodology that emphasizes iterative development and team collaboration. In a Scrum team, working agreements play a crucial role in promoting teamwork, reducing misunderstandings, and increasing efficiency. In this blog post, we'll dive deeper into what working agreements in Agile are, their benefits, and some examples of Agile working agreements.

What Is a Working Agreement in Agile?

Working agreements in Agile are a set of guidelines or rules that the team creates and agrees upon to ensure that everyone is aligned with the team's values and goals. Working agreements can be simple or complex, and they can cover various aspects of teamwork, such as communication, decision-making, conflict resolution, and accountability.

Benefits of Working Agreement in Agile

Working agreements can bring several benefits to an Agile team. Here are some of the main ones:

Clarify expectations: Working agreements help team members understand what is expected of them, both individually and collectively. This can reduce misunderstandings and improve team cohesion.

Foster collaboration: Working agreements encourage collaboration and teamwork by defining how team members should communicate, make decisions, and share knowledge and responsibilities.

Improve efficiency: By establishing clear guidelines, working agreements can help the team avoid unnecessary delays, rework, or conflicts. This can increase the team's efficiency and productivity.

Enhance accountability: Working agreements can help team members hold each other accountable for their commitments and behaviors. This can promote trust and respect among team members.

Agile Working Agreement Examples

Here are some examples of working agreements that an Agile team could create:

"We will have a daily stand-up meeting at 9:00 am to share updates and discuss any impediments."

"We will use a Kanban board to visualize our work and track progress."

"We will practice pair programming whenever possible to improve code quality and knowledge sharing."

"We will follow the 'two-pizza rule' for team size, meaning that we will keep our team small enough to be fed by two pizzas."

Conclusion

Working agreements are an essential tool for Agile teams to align their values and goals and improve their teamwork and productivity. By clarifying expectations, fostering collaboration, improving efficiency, and enhancing accountability, working agreements can help Agile teams achieve their objectives and deliver high-quality software. When creating working agreements, it's essential to involve the entire team and ensure that everyone agrees and understands the guidelines. With a good set of working agreements, an Agile team can become a cohesive and efficient unit that delivers value to its stakeholders.