Last week, we looked at how big organizations need to adopt an engineering mindset and learn to think and act with the speed and agility of digital natives. A key challenge for leaders who want to adopt this approach is to create the right culture within their teams in order to foster autonomy and shared consciousness.
Here are five qualities of successful engineering teams observed across a wide variety of organizations:
Teams don’t always have to stick to the plan. Yesterday’s engineering solutions are history with how quickly digital is moving. The ability of smaller organizations to move from concept to product in a matter of weeks has changed the game. Innovation must be at the heart of the team’s mission. Not as a one-off, but all the time.
Respond rapidly. The future is becoming harder to predict and control, so responsiveness and agility is now paramount. Market conditions are changing constantly, and teams must be prepared to operate in an environment of continuous disruption, monitoring developments closely and repositioning as required.
Customer expectations are rising constantly. As customers become more digitally savvy—so must you. Customers are looking for the best digital experience, regardless of sector or market. They will constantly compare you to the best they’ve experienced and judge you accordingly. That’s why the test-and-learn methodology is critical. Don’t refine until perfect—launch quickly and use user feedback to inform engineering and optimization, which should then be tested again and further optimized.
Share across teams, share within guilds. The agile-at-scale enterprise start-up approach is based on constant experimentation and individual autonomy, backed by the sharing of ideas and innovations so that everyone can align with best practices and continual optimization. This works within and between engineering teams, as well as across guilds of agile coaches, business analysts and champions that are placed at the heart of each enterprise start-up team.
Only a strong engineering culture can power through chaos and disruption. Creating a cohesive team culture that prizes experimentation and individual autonomy as well as sharing of knowledge and a drive towards common goals is the key to success. Balance team effort and “playful competition” between individuals to foster an environment of continuous, incremental improvement.
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Experience isn’t just about what’s on the screen, but what customers will never see. It involves anything and everything that affects a customer’s interactions with a brand.
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