There has been a fundamental shift in where the knowledge resides in an organization. Previously, it was in the domain of our management team to gather the requisite information on what needed to be done and then orchestrate the work from above. 

Now, much of the work our software teams carry out requires improvisation and the use of judgment in situations that are often ambiguous. As we've already discussed, most of the problems we solve are complex and necessitate an empirical (scientific) approach to solving them. To do this successfully means they have to be good at gathering and wrangling vast amounts of information from initial ideas to specifications, UX design to test cases, code development to review feedback, and code quality metrics to production performance data.

Our experience of the sports teams that we follow or play in has a degree of influence on how we create high-performing teams. For example, in the game of rugby, each position on the field has a specialization and carries out a different job—forwards, wings, backs, fly-half, fullback, to name a few.

Despite their specializations, all of the players of a rugby team have to work in close collaboration to successfully win the game. Nonaka and Takeuchi observed something similar in successful product development teams; they called it The Rugby Approach in their paper, The New New Product Development Game, HBR, 1986.

They noted that when teams were comprised of a small number of people and the requisite specializations were given the autonomy to act on a clear purpose, they self-organized to solve the problem in ways much faster than any manager could have guided them.

Excellent communication is one significant aspect of a high-performing team. On the sports field, for example, communication often happens at a pace between players, it has to be clear and concise. In a sports situation, it has to happen face-to-face; it's a combination of body language, signals, and verbal information. Well-honed communication transforms an average team to a high-performing team. It requires practice and only occurs when team members know each other well; whether they are improvising or playing set pieces, team members need to be able to read the signs.

For a product development team, we also need clear communication to disseminate knowledge and understanding among our members. As with a sports team, this is a much higher bandwidth when face-to-face, as we're able to include other forms of communication to convey our message. For instance, by using hand gestures, or drawing on a whiteboard, or physically acting out a scenario, we're able to explain what we're saying more easily.

The performance also increases between people who have formed strong relationships, that is, just like a sports team, they understand what each other is capable of and seek to play these strengths.

In this chapter, we'll look at some of the dynamics of Scrum teams and also look at ways in which we can change our game to perform better.