collaboration

Person in an office wearing noise-canceling headphones Are Headphones Hindering Your Office Communication?

With all the chatter going on in offices, people often turn to headphones to block out the noise and be able to concentrate. Noise-canceling headphones block out distractions, but they can also block out communication. It may be a good idea to set some boundaries for their use so employees can still collaborate.

Naomi Karten's picture
Naomi Karten
Agile team contributing in a brainwriting session Brainstorming 2.0: Generate Better Ideas with Brainwriting

For decades brainstorming has been our go-to method for ideation, yet it holds back our success when the environment doesn't encourage everyone to contribute. Instead, try brainwriting—writing ideas on paper and letting teammates iterate on them. It improves not only the quantity of ideas you get, but also the quality.

Chris Murman's picture
Chris Murman
Unapproachable man scowling at his computer Are You Unintentionally Unapproachable?

Could you be giving off an air of unapproachability without meaning to? Is it possible that you exhibit some unwelcome behaviors that are so subtle you’re not even aware of them? Think about whether you have any of the following habits that could give your coworkers the impression that you are unapproachable.

Richard Estra's picture
Richard Estra
Agile team members putting together puzzle pieces Solving Problems and Seeking Solutions on an Agile Team

While teams are composed of individuals, all of whom solve problems and make decisions, people on consistently successful teams understand that they can be more effective when the focus is on the team, not the individual. Making the best decisions collectively delivers the most value to customers in the long run.

Steve Berczuk's picture
Steve Berczuk
Woman working remotely at a computer Agile Collaboration on Remote Teams

The first value in the Agile Manifesto is “Individuals and interactions over processes and tools,” and for many teams, being located in the same place facilitates these interactions. However, being part of an effective, collaborative team is less about location than it is about motivation and good practices.

Steve Berczuk's picture
Steve Berczuk
Apple cut open to reveal an orange inside 6 Signs Your Agile Project Isn’t Really Agile

There's a trend of organizations declaring they are agile without actually changing how they develop software. Declaring that an apple is an orange doesn’t make it so. These six key indicators can help you determine whether your agile project isn’t really agile after all—and give you some solutions to help.

Alan Crouch's picture
Alan Crouch
Magnifying glass looking at the words "Software testing" on a computer screen Making Testing Visible

Most testing work is invisible—something that happens inside your head and leaves no artifacts behind. This generally leaves testers feeling like no one understands what they do all day. Here are some ideas for collaborating with your coworkers so they can see—and start to understand—your testing work.

Justin Rohrman's picture
Justin Rohrman
Hand holding a camera lens focusing on faraway mountains Agile and DevOps Bring the Focus Back on Quality

As companies move to agile and DevOps, silos are coming down and there is more interaction and collaboration among teams. Quality is also becoming everyone's responsibility for the entire software development lifecycle. Quality is more than just testing: Consider a quality value stream along the overall value chain.

Michael Sowers's picture
Michael Sowers