a specific iteration, you may have to change the order of the product backlog, which means you may not finish the most valuable work first.
Fungible Is Not the Answer
I'm not advocating that everyone obtains the same technical skills-that everyone becomes fungible. That's not possible and wouldn't be a good idea even if it were. People like doing certain kinds of work. The more they complete the work they enjoy, the better they become. But, if they loosen the boundaries around that work and learn a little more about related areas of a system, they become more valuable to the project and to the organization. And, the project is not subject to specialization bottlenecks.
Five Ways to Decrease Specialization
Here are five ways to learn more about areas of the system you don't yet comprehend:
- If you work alone on a component, work with other people on related components.
- Better yet, work with a team of people on a feature. Discuss what each of you needs to do to create the feature.
- Work with other people in pairing relationships. Make sure you pair with different people often.
- Explain to other people what your part of the product does.
- Conduct a code review of the code or a test review of the tests.
I bet you can think of even more ways that are applicable to your project.
Specialists hold the project hostage to their skills. If you can decrease the number of skills that are theirs alone, your project will progress more smoothly. And, you'll have a more valuable project team.
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About the author
Johanna Rothman, known as the “Pragmatic Manager,” helps organizational leaders see problems and risks in their product development. She helps them recognize potential “gotchas,” seize opportunities, and remove impediments. Johanna was the Agile 2009 conference chair. She is the technical editor for Agile Connection and the author of these books:
- Manage Your Job Search
- Hiring Geeks That Fit
- Manage Your Project Portfolio: Increase Your Capacity and Finish More Projects
- The 2008 Jolt Productivity award-winning Manage It! Your Guide to Modern, Pragmatic Project Management
- Behind Closed Doors: Secrets of Great Management
- Hiring the Best Knowledge Workers, Techies & Nerds: The Secrets and Science of Hiring Technical People
Johanna is working on a book about agile program management. She writes columns for Stickyminds.com and projectmanagementcom and blogs on her website, jrothman.com, as well on createadaptablelife.com.
