Agile Project ManagementWhat is project management? Project management encompasses all - often standardized - tasks that... More starts in the developer's head. What opportunities does the systematic use of certain soft skills open up?
It takes more than expertise: from I-Shaped to T-Shaped
A company thrives on the things that its employees do. That is why the central task of HR is to recruit the most capable candidates. For a long time, this simple logic was more or less easy to follow: I need a technical consultant, so I look for a technical consultant; I need an application developer, so I look for such a developer.
But: A consultant is not a developer and vice versa!
Experts naturally have in-depth knowledge and experience in their respective fields. Today's working world is characterized by strong networking and is tending more and more towards knowledge work. Conditions have changed to the extent that too much in-depth knowledge (i.e. I-Shaped) is at the expense of other skillsets or know-how.
Not because specialist knowledge is becoming useless (quite the opposite, as we know, specialists are urgently needed), but because other skills are also required. It will therefore be difficult to pursue your own work with blinkers on.
The different types of expertise:
I, X, T-Shaped
Now more than ever, companies are faced with the challenge of creating a diverse mix of teams and employees. This relates not only to diversity, but also to the various qualification profiles, as shown in Figure 2.
In addition to specialist knowledge, there is also the dimension of soft skills. These include skills such as
- Organizational and communication skills
- Empathy
- Creativity
- Social competence
Figuratively speaking, specialist knowledge is vertical, as it goes into depth and characterizes an expert in a field. Soft skills, on the other hand, are located horizontally, as these skills are more broadly based. There is also specialist knowledge that is not particularly in-depth, but is available in several areas. This results in a number of forms (see Figure 2) that make up a profile.
The agile approach for clever solution development
The individual shape of all employees is based on the Scrum project management method. It is a framework for distributing expertise, responsibility and planning in agile software development. With this form of the agile approach is primarily about freedom, efficiency and the development of an ever-improving product.
The distribution of work is realized in individual roles that interact with each other in the Scrum model.
How do these roles fit together with the shapes?
I-Shaped People
As already mentioned, they are absolute experts in their field and have in-depth knowledge that makes them very valuable. However, it is possible that they lack the ability to present themselves and interact properly within the structure of their teams and stakeholders.
The development team works operationally on solving the existing business problem. They are the experts and implementers of the operation and the collected feedback flows to them. They (in theory) have little to worry about other than the product and its functionality. Obviously, I-Shaped People are very well suited for this. Someone who is passionate about software development and doesn't want to be restricted by resource problems is ideally suited to the DEV team. This is where their technical work counts, because without their in-depth understanding, creations and optimizations are impossible.
T-Shaped People
The product owner works on the concept and vision of the finished output. Together with stakeholders (customers, other specialist departments, interest groups), they develop the problem situation and a solution approach. He summarizes the requirements for the end product in a so-called product backlog. T-Shaped people are ideal for this position. Thanks to their selective expertise, their perception of interdisciplinary relationships and their excellent social skills, they are able to oversee the implementation of the project.
X-Shaped People
In addition to the qualification profiles described above, there is a third type: so-called X-Shaped People continue the development from I to T and usually form a group of management personnel. Specific operational work, which requires the corresponding specialist knowledge, does not fall within their area of responsibility. In this respect, they tend to be generalists who understand a lot of things. The X shape symbolizes the bringing together of different specialist areas, teams or companies. X-Shaped People are, even more so than T-Shaped People, very skilled interpersonally and usually do this of their own accord, without having learned it. They know how to bring people together in order to create the best possible conditions for working together.
The Scrum Master assumes overall responsibility for the smooth running of the project in terms of infrastructure. To this end, it is necessary to provide the process and the team with all possible resources and to be a competent point of contact for various requests from all directions. In terms of content, he is less involved. X-Shaped People fit seamlessly into this role, as they have the ability to bring people together, coordinate teams and create the right conditions for a successful sprint.
The world is not divided into I, X or T-Shaped People
Like all human profiles, these three "prototypes" of modern employee profiles naturally have fluid boundaries. No person is purely I-Shaped, or T-Shaped. No X-Shaped person does not have a special area of expertise in which they have in-depth knowledge. This is how the "alphabet" of personality profiles can be continued:
- M-Shaped People
like T-Shaped, but several specialist areas - Pi-Shaped People
like T-Shaped, but two separate areas of expertise - Y-Shaped People
like I-Shaped, but with two other superficially familiar themes
Team diversity as the key to success
It turns out that not all people in the company can be the same. An I is not a T, a T is not an X and certainly not an I. Nevertheless, everyone is needed to achieve a common goal. In interdisciplinary teams, it is important to orchestrate specialist knowledge, coordination, organization and other soft skills in a profitable way. Soft skills are less tangible and therefore less quantifiable, but they add extreme value to teamwork.
Diversity is therefore not only reflected in the skills of the employees (= interdisciplinarity), but also in their way of thinking, which must complement each other just as much as their operational creativity.
In an agile project and its feedback loop, exchange never falls by the wayside. Experts are in mutual exchange with others (such as managers, customers, etc.). Inevitably, new knowledge and skills are developed that can be used on a broad scale. Targeted coaching and further training can also quickly build up soft skills. On the one hand, an agile project requires T-Shaped People, on the other hand, no one comes out of such a project without having developed in different directions. Changing employees through constant learning creates agile solutions. And agile scrum teams are a valuable asset.
Curious?
With over 30 years of experience in the development of process solutions, we have already experienced a lot of project management - be it classic, agile or hybrid. If you would like to find out more or have questions about design thinking or Scrum, please contact us.
Cihan Klingsporn
Senior Account & Marketing Managerin
Business Process Automation
cihan.klingsporn@isr.de
+49(0)151 422 05 471
