collaboration

Two hands reaching toward each other How to Offer Help in a Way That’s Actually Helpful

When you see a coworker who’s stuck or upset, it’s natural to ask, “What can I do to help?" But this can be the wrong thing to do because the question, though well-intended, is too vague. It puts the burden on someone who is already stressed to identify the possible ways you might help. Here's what you can do instead.

Naomi Karten's picture
Naomi Karten
Tester paired with a developer, photo by Alvaro Reyes Elevate Code Quality by Integrating Testing and Development

Pair programming generally involves two programmers working on a single change from start to finish. You can augment this pattern by adding a test specialist, so you can test-drive feature changes first and the tester can ask questions and guide test and code design. What you get is quality built in from the start.

Justin Rohrman's picture
Justin Rohrman
Foosball table photo by Pascal Swier The Difference between Groups and Teams

Have you thought about what makes a team versus just a group of people working on the same thing? The difference is not purely semantics; it's a question of goals. A group is some individuals working together to get something done, while a team shares the same purpose. Do you share values and a mission with your team?

Jason Wick's picture
Jason Wick
A box of crayons, photo by Leisy Vidal Self-Organization: What Your Scrum Team Can Learn from Kindergarteners

Some kindergartens are experimenting with new approaches to teaching, including letting students form groups to accomplish tasks that interest them, which also allows them to support and engage with each other. This is self-organization, the heart of Scrum. If five-year-olds can do it, your agile team likely can, too!

Steve Berczuk's picture
Steve Berczuk
Globe with locations plotted on it For Distributed Team Success, Think Differently about When

For distributed teams, activities usually get scheduled based on constraints such as availability and time zone, but people don’t often take into account when the most effective time to meet would be. Neglecting people’s work tendencies and schedule preferences could make it harder for the team to be successful.

Steve Berczuk's picture
Steve Berczuk
A group of people fist-bumping How Testers Can Collaborate with the ScrumMaster

ScrumMasters serve the team by providing facilitation and coaching, but they also have many challenges. Those in testing roles are in a good position to collaborate with the ScrumMaster to improve agile processes. Here are some ways testers can partner with, support, and assist the ScrumMaster—and the rest of the team.

Michael Sowers's picture
Michael Sowers
Two people meeting and shaking hands How Face-to-Face Meetings Can Heal Team Conflicts

When distributed teams have a conflict, it's easy for one team to place the blame entirely on the other and even start to think of them as disagreeable, incompetent, and worse. This fault-finding can be especially bad when the parties have never met. Face-to-face meetings can make all the difference in improving trust.

Naomi Karten's picture
Naomi Karten
Virtual reality photo by Samuel Zeller 4 Ways to Use Virtual Reality in Your Workplace

Businesses are adopting virtual reality as a means of strengthening marketing tactics, increasing collaboration, and connecting with consumers. For those new to VR, it’s important to understand how a virtual world could be used in your day-today operations. Here are four ways virtual reality will impact the workplace.

Anthony Coggine's picture
Anthony Coggine