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Team Agreement

Team Agreement

Owned by Duncan Strong
Last updated: Jan 09, 2025
2 min read

The agreement sets expectations for working together. 

Steps: 

  1. Define Key Areas: 

  • Collaboration (brainstorming, pair programming). 

  • Daily scrum blockers leading to meetings to elaborate on issues 

  • Communication (tools, response times, meeting etiquette). 

  • Discord, Teams, Email 

  • Decision-Making (consensus or role-specific ownership). 

  • Accountability (tracking progress and commitments). 

  1. Day-to-Day Expectations: 

  • Questions: “What behaviors and practices will help us work effectively?” and “What do I need from the team to succeed?” 

  • Examples: 

  • Regularly update progress in shared tools. 

  • Respond to messages within agreed timeframes. 

  • Participate actively in meetings and discussions. 

  1. Draft and Finalize: 

  • Combine input into a simple document with categories like collaboration, communication, and accountability. 

WORKING AGREEMENT DRAFT: 

  1. Transparency and Communication: 

We maintain transparent and honest communication about our progress, obstacles, and successes.  

We actively participate in all relevant meetings, respect the timeboxes and provide valuable input and feedback.  

  

  1. Focus and Adaptability: 

We remain focused on our sprint objectives, minimizing distractions and interruptions.  

We continuously evaluate and adjust our plans to optimize our effectiveness.  

  

  1. Collaboration and Accountability: 

We work as a unified team, supporting each other to achieve our sprint goals.  

We hold ourselves and each other accountable for our commitments.  

We maintain a 60-minute rule for problems encountered on any ticket, after which we are encouraged to ask for help (collaborate) so that work can be accomplished within a good timeframe.  

  

4. Commitment to Excellence:  

We pledge to deliver high-quality work that meets or exceeds customer expectations.  

We prioritize continuous improvement in our processes, products, and skills.  

We trust each other to take ownership of our tasks and responsibilities.  

  

  1. Confidentiality and Respect: 

We respect the confidentiality of sensitive information shared within the team.  

  

We will: 

Each team member demos their work during sprint review (preferably)  

Sprint retrospective  

Backlog refinement