Cross Functional Teams

We need to appreciate the need for cross functional teams for speedy delivery of working software. A cross functional team is perhaps the single most important ingredient for project success. The cross functional team should have competencies ranging from requirements analysis, project management, software architecture, web development, database development, testing, etc. Every team member shares the responsibility for the delivery of working software to the client and operates without team boundaries and organization silos. Senior management needs to empower the team to make strategic and tactical decisions to meet the project goals. To a great extent, the success of cross functional teams depends on organization culture. Care must be taken so that the functional reporting managers do not burden the team members with conflicting assignments (serving vested interests and individual egoes) that dilutes focus away from the project at hand or demotivates the team members by not giving them credit for the project assignments that serves a bigger purpose for the organization. This requires strict vigilance and commitment from senior management. I have encountered several examples where a functional reporting manager indirectly penalized their subordinate for working on high performing cross functional team which did not directly serve the narrow interest of the functional manager.

Agile also advocates close collaboration with customers throught the project development cycle. However, breaking the psychological barrier between vendor and client is a prerequisite for such a collaboration. Honest and open communication is the bedrock of collaboration. Portraying a "happy picture" of the state of affairs by the vendor does not always serve the best interest of the project. Suppressing project challenges and risks to the customer during the project only increases the possibility of last minute surprises causing customer dissatisfaction and business risk (both financial and non-financial) for both the vendor and the customer.