| <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> |
| <org.eclipse.epf.uma:ContentDescription xmi:version="2.0" |
| xmlns:xmi="http://www.omg.org/XMI" xmlns:org.eclipse.epf.uma="http://www.eclipse.org/epf/uma/1.0.5/uma.ecore" |
| xmlns:rmc="http://www.ibm.com/rmc" rmc:version="7.5.0" xmlns:epf="http://www.eclipse.org/epf" |
| epf:version="1.5.0" xmi:id="-kGPLyLlIylW-w3B0RlwbwQ" |
| name="how_to_adopt,_ERIDQOMPEdyM47cGD2jiaQ" guid="-kGPLyLlIylW-w3B0RlwbwQ" changeDate="2008-07-21T08:29:01.483-0700" |
| version="7.2.0"> |
| <mainDescription><h3> Getting started&nbsp; </h3>
 |
| <p>
 |
| There are several steps to get started with the Whole Team practice.
 |
| </p>
 |
| <p><b>Understand the underlying philosophies behind this practice.&nbsp;</b><br />
 |
| These philosophies are captured in the&nbsp;<a class="elementLink" href="./../../../practice.mgmt.whole_team.base/guidances/guidelines/self_organize_work_assignments_F47FC314.html" guid="_rmBEkJjsEduad8I_c-ogIA">Self-Organize Work Assignments</a>,&nbsp;<a class="elementLink" href="./../../../practice.mgmt.whole_team.base/guidances/guidelines/maintain_a_sustainable_pace_A132240B.html" guid="_KzYHYMLmEdysDsQChI42QQ">Maintain a Sustainable Pace</a>, and&nbsp;<a class="elementLink" href="./../../../practice.mgmt.whole_team.base/guidances/guidelines/daily_meetings_3690A7AD.html" guid="_251UMCmREdyy6Oss2-0s1g">Daily Meetings</a>&nbsp;guidelines.&nbsp; </p>
 |
| <p><b> Discuss the implications of this practice with management.&nbsp;</b><br />
 |
| The Whole Team practice often requires changes to the way that projects are 
 |
| managed and&nbsp;governed, because "whole teams" are&nbsp;often more self-contained 
 |
| than traditional project teams.&nbsp;For example, with self-organization, detailed 
 |
| planning is typically&nbsp;performed at the beginning of each iteration in a 
 |
| just-in-time manner and not at the beginning of the project.&nbsp;The implication 
 |
| is that management will receive different and often better-quality artifacts 
 |
| at different points in time than from project teams that do not adopt this practice. 
 |
| </p>
 |
| <p><b>Discuss this practice with your team.&nbsp;</b><br />
 |
| The concept of maintaining a sustainable pace is often attractive to&nbsp;team 
 |
| members.&nbsp;But are they&nbsp;comfortable with self-organization?&nbsp;Are 
 |
| they comfortable with sharing their current status in daily meetings?&nbsp;Do 
 |
| they appreciate how a Whole Team approach can improve their overall productivity? 
 |
| </p>
 |
| <p><b> Identify viable aspects of this practice for your situation.</b> <br />
 |
| Your team may not be able to adopt all aspects of this practice.&nbsp;For example, 
 |
| if your project is a high-priority, "emergency" project, perhaps you will not 
 |
| be able to adopt a sustainable pace in the short term. </p>
 |
| <p><b> Prioritize your adoption efforts. </b><br />
 |
| Some project teams can adopt this practice all at once, while&nbsp;other teams 
 |
| find that they need to ease into self-organization or into daily meetings.&nbsp;Adopt 
 |
| the aspects that are easy for your team right away, and then adopt the other 
 |
| aspects one or two at a time, as appropriate, over a period of several weeks. 
 |
| </p>
 |
| <h3> Common pitfalls </h3>
 |
| <p>
 |
| There are several common pitfalls that project teams run into when adopting this practice.
 |
| </p>
 |
| <p> <b>Traditional project management culture <br />
 |
| </b> In many ways, the whole team practice is all about pushing many management 
 |
| activities into the hands of the people who do the actual work, a philosophy&nbsp;that 
 |
| goes against the grain in some organizations.&nbsp;For example, your&nbsp;organization 
 |
| may&nbsp;have a belief system where "managers do the planning; the rest of the 
 |
| staff does what they are told" or an "estimation should be left to estimators" 
 |
| mindset. You will need to overcome those kinds of&nbsp;beliefs when adopting 
 |
| this practice.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p>
 |
| <p> <b>Insufficient time to change <br />
 |
| </b>It can take weeks, if not months, for experienced professionals to get used 
 |
| to some of the aspects of this practice, in particular daily meetings and self-organization.&nbsp;You 
 |
| cannot expect people to change overnight.&nbsp; </p>
 |
| <p> <strong>Individuals struggle at first to see the "whole team"</strong> <br />
 |
| Many people, in particular specialists, are used to working on their own and 
 |
| not as part of an overall team.&nbsp;They often struggle to understand why it 
 |
| is&nbsp;important to do so.&nbsp;For example, you may hear people ask why they 
 |
| need to participate in&nbsp;a daily meeting when a weekly status report is easier 
 |
| to write.&nbsp;They do not&nbsp;realize that it is&nbsp;critical for everyone 
 |
| on the entire team to understand everyone's status, not just for the manager 
 |
| to know.&nbsp;Although the individual might be proceeding effectively on one 
 |
| task, they might not realize that several others are being blocked by their 
 |
| lack of progress on other tasks that they haven't started yet.&nbsp; </p></mainDescription> |
| </org.eclipse.epf.uma:ContentDescription> |
