Assembla DocumentationPublic Space

Assigning Work

 

On an Agile team, the emphasis is on team members taking ownership of their own work and carrying out tasks. The tricky part is that at different stages of a project, people have different knowledge about an item, or the ability to do an item changes. There are two ways to assign work, and each method is appropriate at different times.

Single Leader

A group leader figures out who should do what task at what time. That’s a classic management structure that can work even if the shared goal isn’t clear to everyone.

Self-Organizing

A group of people that self organizes in the sense that they pick their own tasks, and any one of them can lead the effort if needed. A team can form if people have a strong sense of a shared goal.

When to Use Each

Both models are useful and there are specific factors which determine when they should be used.

Single Leader

Self-Organizing

A leader is in place to make it work

New team members are ramping up, they are still learning the vision

Each team member is skilled and self-reliant.

The vision and goal is clearly defined and easily understood.

The team members have been on the team long enough to “get it” (understand the vision).
No comments yet. >
View Page History
Print this page