Table Of ContentCollaboration Explained: Facilitation Skills for Software Project Leaders
By Jean Tabaka
...............................................
Publisher:A ddison Wesley Professional
Pub Date: January 06, 2006
Print ISBN-10: 0-321-26877-6
Print ISBN-13: 978-0-321-26877-8
Pages: 456
Table of Contents | Index
"Collaboration Explained is a deeply pragmatic book that helps agile practitioners understand
and manage complex organizational and team dynamics. As an agile coach, I've found the
combination of straightforward advice and colorful anecdotes to be invaluable in guiding and
focusing interactions with my teams. Jean's wealth of experience is conveyed in a carefully
struck balance of reference guides and prose, facilitating just-in-time learning in the agile
spirit. All in all, a superb resource for building stronger teams that's fit for agile veterans and
neophytes alike."
Arlen Bankston, Lean Agile Practice Manager, CC Pace
"If Agile is the new 'what,' then surely Collaboration is the new 'how.' There are many things
I really like about Jean's new book. Right at the top of the list is that I don't have to make
lists of ideas for collaboration and facilitation anymore. Jean has it all. Not only does she
have those great ideas for meetings, retrospectives, and team decision-making that I need
to remember, but the startling new and thought-provoking ideas are there too. And the
stories, the stories, the stories! The best way to transfer wisdom. Thanks, Jean!"
Linda Rising, Independent Consultant
The Hands-On Guide to Effective Collaboration in Agile Projects
To succeed, an agile project demands outstanding collaboration among all its stakeholders.
But great collaboration doesn't happen by itself; it must be carefully planned and facilitated
throughout the entire project lifecycle. Collaboration Explained is the first book to bring
together proven, start-to-finish techniques for ensuring effective collaboration in any agile
software project.
Since the early days of the agile movement, Jean Tabaka has been studying and promoting
collaboration in agile environments. Drawing on her unsurpassed experience, she offers
clear guidelines and easy-to-use collaboration templates for every significant project event:
from iteration and release planning, through project chartering, all the way through post-
project retrospectives.
Tabaka's hands-on techniques are applicable to every leading agile methodology, from
Extreme Programming and Scrum to Crystal Clear. Above all, they are practical: grounded in
a powerful understanding of the technical, business, and human challenges you face as a
project manager or development team member.
· Build collaborative software development cultures, leaders, and teams
· Prepare yourself to collaborateand prepare your team
· Define clear roles for each participant in promoting collaboration
· Set your collaborative agenda
· Master tools for organizing collaboration more efficiently
· Run effective collaborative meetingsincluding brainstorming sessions
· Promote better small-group and pair-programming collaboration
· Get better information, and use it to make better decisions
· Use non-abusive conflict to drive positive outcomes
· Collaborate to estimate projects and schedules more accurately
· Strengthen collaboration across distributed, virtual teams
· Extend collaboration from individual projects to the entire development organization
© Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Collaboration Explained: Facilitation Skills for Software Project Leaders
By Jean Tabaka
...............................................
Publisher:A ddison Wesley Professional
Pub Date: January 06, 2006
Print ISBN-10: 0-321-26877-6
Print ISBN-13: 978-0-321-26877-8
Pages: 456
Table of Contents | Index
"Collaboration Explained is a deeply pragmatic book that helps agile practitioners understand
and manage complex organizational and team dynamics. As an agile coach, I've found the
combination of straightforward advice and colorful anecdotes to be invaluable in guiding and
focusing interactions with my teams. Jean's wealth of experience is conveyed in a carefully
struck balance of reference guides and prose, facilitating just-in-time learning in the agile
spirit. All in all, a superb resource for building stronger teams that's fit for agile veterans and
neophytes alike."
Arlen Bankston, Lean Agile Practice Manager, CC Pace
"If Agile is the new 'what,' then surely Collaboration is the new 'how.' There are many things
I really like about Jean's new book. Right at the top of the list is that I don't have to make
lists of ideas for collaboration and facilitation anymore. Jean has it all. Not only does she
have those great ideas for meetings, retrospectives, and team decision-making that I need
to remember, but the startling new and thought-provoking ideas are there too. And the
stories, the stories, the stories! The best way to transfer wisdom. Thanks, Jean!"
Linda Rising, Independent Consultant
The Hands-On Guide to Effective Collaboration in Agile Projects
To succeed, an agile project demands outstanding collaboration among all its stakeholders.
But great collaboration doesn't happen by itself; it must be carefully planned and facilitated
throughout the entire project lifecycle. Collaboration Explained is the first book to bring
together proven, start-to-finish techniques for ensuring effective collaboration in any agile
software project.
Since the early days of the agile movement, Jean Tabaka has been studying and promoting
collaboration in agile environments. Drawing on her unsurpassed experience, she offers
clear guidelines and easy-to-use collaboration templates for every significant project event:
from iteration and release planning, through project chartering, all the way through post-
project retrospectives.
Tabaka's hands-on techniques are applicable to every leading agile methodology, from
Extreme Programming and Scrum to Crystal Clear. Above all, they are practical: grounded in
a powerful understanding of the technical, business, and human challenges you face as a
project manager or development team member.
· Build collaborative software development cultures, leaders, and teams
· Prepare yourself to collaborateand prepare your team
· Define clear roles for each participant in promoting collaboration
· Set your collaborative agenda
· Master tools for organizing collaboration more efficiently
· Run effective collaborative meetingsincluding brainstorming sessions
· Promote better small-group and pair-programming collaboration
· Get better information, and use it to make better decisions
· Use non-abusive conflict to drive positive outcomes
· Collaborate to estimate projects and schedules more accurately
· Strengthen collaboration across distributed, virtual teams
· Extend collaboration from individual projects to the entire development organization
© Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Copyright
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Tabaka, Jean
Collaboration explained: facilitation skills for software project leaders
/
Jean Tabaka
p. cm.
ISBN 0-321-28677-6 (pbk. : alk. Paper) 1. Computer
softwareDevelopmentManagement. I. Title.
QA76.76.D47T32 2006
005.3dc22
2005027650
Copyright © 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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First printing, January, 2006
Dedication
To Jim and Norma Tabaka, my mentors in humor and love
Praise for Jean Tabaka's: Collaboration
Explained
"Collaboration Explained is a deeply pragmatic book that helps agile practitioners
understand and manage complex organizational and team dynamics. As an agile coach,
I've found the combination of straight-forward advice and colorful anecdotes to be
invaluable in guiding and focusing interactions with my teams. Jean's wealth of
experience is conveyed in a carefully struck balance of reference guides and prose,
facilitating just-in-time learning in the agile spirit. All in all, a superb resource for
building stronger teams that's fit for agile veterans and neophytes alike."
Arlen Bankston, Lean Agile Practice Manager, CC Pace
"If Agile is the new 'what,' then surely Collaboration is the new 'how.' There are many
things I really like about Jean's new book. Right at the top of the list is that I don't have
to make lists of ideas for collaboration and facilitation anymore. Jean has it all. Not only
does she have those great ideas for meetings, retrospectives, and team decision-making
that I need to remember, but the startling new and thought-provoking ideas are there
too. And the stories, the stories, the stories! The best way to transfer wisdom. Thanks,
Jean!"
Linda Rising, Independent Consultant
The Agile Software Development Series
Alistair Cockburn and Jim Highsmith, Series Editors
Agile software development centers on four values identified in the Agile Alliance's Manifesto:
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan
The development of Agile software requires innovation and responsiveness, based on
generating and sharing knowledge within a development team and with the customer. Agile
software developers draw on the strengths of customers, users, and developers, finding just
enough process to balance quality and agility.
The books in The Agile Software Development Series focus on sharing the experiences of such
Agile developers. Individual books address individual techniques (such as Use Cases), group
techniques (such as collaborative decision making), and proven solutions to different
problems from a variety of organizational cultures. The result is a core of Agile best practices
that will enrich your experience and improve your work.
Titles in the Series:
Steve Adolph, Paul Bramble, Alistair Cockburn, and Andy Pols; Patterns for Effective Use
Cases; 0201721848
Alistair Cockburn; Agile Software Development ; 0201699699
Alistair Cockburn; Crystal Clear; 0201699478
Alistair Cockburn; Surviving Object-Oriented Projects ; 0201498340
Alistair Cockburn; Writing Effective Use Cases ; 0201702258
Anne Mette Jonassen Hass; Configuration Management Principles and Practice ; 0321117662
Jim Highsmith; Agile Software Development Ecosystems ; 0201760436
Jim Highsmith; Agile Project Management ; 0321219775
Craig Larman; Agile and Iterative Development ; 0131111558
Lars Mathiassen, Jan Pries-Heje, and Ojelanki Ngwenyama; Improving Software
Organizations ; 0201758202
Mary Poppendieck and Tom Poppendieck; Lean Software Development ; 0321150783
Jean Tabaka; Collaboration Explained ; 0321268776
Kevin Tate; Sustainable Software Development ; 0321286081
For more information visit www.awprofessional.com/series/agile
Acknowledgments
"Who knows, today from yesterday may learn to count no thing too strange."
Edwin Arlington Robinson
In moving from my yesterday, of no book, to the today of having this book, I realize that I
harvested guidance from a number of people. With bottomless gratitude, I wish to
acknowledge those who helped ferry me across that unknown land.
I couldn't have imagined how my life was about to change when I met Paul Petralia of
Addison-Wesley at the Agile Development Conference in Salt Lake City, 2003. Relentless in his
annoyance and support, Paul remained ever firm in his conviction that this was the right book,
at the right time, and that I should be its author. I gratefully acknowledge his vision and
fortitude. In addition, I am thankful to Michelle Housley, Chris Guzikowski, Jesssica D'Amico,
Kristy Hart, and Rose Sweazy of Addison-Wesley for their patience and support in guiding me
through the many editing cycles, schedule changes, and even the loss of a laptop. Your polish
and aplomb continually guided me to safe harbors.
Paul was crafty enough to bring sure-footed sherpas to guide me on my authorship trek. I am
so very grateful for the consistent, clear-voiced, and masterful guidance I received from my
reviewers Mike Cohn, Alistair Cockburn, Linda Rising, Tom Poppendieck, Jim Highsmith, and
Kent Beck. Each managed to nudge and poke me through some treacherous spots and
potential pitfalls while making sure I lived to tell about it.
I am so honored to have been invited to contribute to Jim Highsmith and Alistair Cockburn in
their Agile Software Development Series. Walking in the path of giants, I am grateful for their
having cleared the way for me and for their conviction around this topic.
I am remarkably blessed to have met Janet Danforth, Lori Barnes, Bob Moir, Ellen
Gottesdiener, and David Spann in my salad days as a novice facilitator. Each of them has
provided a unique blend of experience and passion in this field that has served to inspire and
motivate me to follow humbly in their footsteps. Similarly, I've been lucky enough to be a
recipient of enthusiastic guidance from the wonderful participants in the Retrospectives
Gathering and Yahoo! group. In particular: Tim Bacon, Rachel Davies, Esther Derby, Diana
Larsen, and Linda Rising. All of these people are the true guardians of collaboration through
facilitation, and I am honored to be counted in their ranks.
For day-to-day, on the field of play support, I wish to express my thanks to the staff and
patrons of Caffe Sole coffee shop in Boulder, Colorado. Just as the bench by the front window
has a permanent indentation from my many early-morning and late-night visits there, so do
each of you in me for being so genuinely interested in how the book was coming along. It's
done!
Brilliant and supportive colleagues are never to be squandered, and so I gratefully
acknowledge my wonderful colleagues at Rally Software Development. Tim Miller and Ryan
Martens in quiet wisdom and with sincere support created a wide swath in which I was able to
navigate my life as a consultant, mentor, trainer, and writer. They have opened amazing
doors for me, and I am forever indebted to their great faith in my abilities. Michele Sliger gets
the award as my most exuberant and vocal cheerleader. She would not let me stop writing! I
am grateful for her persistence and cheer in moving me to complete these materials and to
make the book something she truly sought to own. My deep and heartfelt gratitude goes to
my colleague Hubert Smits. In addition to being an encouraging colleague, Hubert, through
his detailed and insightful reviews and suggestions, managed to carefully provide that last
push of support and energy my weary brain needed to finally see the book through. Finally,
Jami Yannett, Brad Norris, Cindy Hagg, Richard Leavitt, and Dru Jacobs at Rally have all been
