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Individual Reflection on work as an Agile Team using The Deming Cycle (PDCA cycle).

Introduction

The Deming Cycle is a popular framework for Continuous Improvement. Plan, Do, Check (Study), and Act are the four repetitive steps that make up The Deming Cycle, which is a logical progression for continual learning and improvement. Deming changed Shewart's cycle to PLAN, DO, CHECK, and ACT (Girvan & Paul, 2017). It's especially beneficial for managing daily tasks for the individual, the team, and the problem-solving process. The report is detailed description of how to carry on Deeming cycle in assessing individuals for best team building and evaluating their performance.

The steps involved in analysing individual roles in agile team through the Deming Cycle are:

Step 1. PLAN - Selection of team members.

1. To negotiate with the team, one need to

Identify the goals- The task of a team is to accomplish targets. Therefore, identifying targets becomes the first step in putting together a team.
Match the goals with individual skillsets- Identify a pool of skills and individuals to choose from that best suit your project targets.
Fine-tuning the team- Once the potential candidates have been identified, the final step is to optimize them as a team. This includes considering all attributes that would allow them to work with one another in harmonious synchronization to deliver the best results.

2.The important criteria in finding the team members are to identify their skills as compatible with the jobs requirement and observe how the individuals acts in a team with their skill sets.

Communication skills: Candidates for the team should have excellent communication skills at the very least.
Project management fundamentals: A solid foundation in work ethics requires a working knowledge of project management.
Organized: Team members need to be well-organized in terms of both quantity and quality. It lessens stress and makes it possible for people to use highly productive aspects of their unique personalities.
Reading people: The best team members are those who have a natural aptitude for leadership.
Accurately estimating tasks and deadlines: A project manager frequently depends on the estimates of his team for tasks and deadlines.
Confident: Each potential member of your project team must possess the confidence necessary to maintain a gracious but firm stance in the face of opposition.

3. To find the best match in team members, some of the questions would be used are:

Did you ever have to complete a task for work that you knew would be difficult?
Which upcoming technological development do you believe will have the biggest effect on you over the next five years?
What one ability should every human being possess?
What is the individual's most crucial quality for the group?
What quality about this individual most harms the team?

4. The team members selected for the group are as per their efficiency and compatibility and with the selection process they gone through, their deliverance of good result along with maintaining healthy work environment is promised.

Step 2. DO – Team Progress

1. The team has negotiated its formation by following two important keywords

Agreeableness- The secret ingredient of successful agile teams is agreeableness. High agreeableness among team members promotes mutual respect, cohesion, and information transparency among group members, as well as the ability to work in cross-functional networks.
Straightforwardness- It entails being honest and open about one's opinions while also having the courage to respectfully express those that differ from the teams.

2. Developing a working agreement via the team contract

Team working agreements are created to specify how members of the team will collaborate to produce a successful, effective process. The consensus is held together by inclusivity, which values the contributions of all members. The working agreement's goal is to make sure the Agile Team takes turns defining what is expected of them in terms of how they will work together and how to improve their self-organization process.

A team-specific agreement is required.
Discuss the difficult subjects.
All team members can access and maintain it with ease.

3. The establishing of sprints progress are through different phases:

Refinement of the Product Backlog: A product backlog is a collection of items that have been prioritised by the product owner. This phase aims to streamline the items into user stories that the development team members agree to finish within the sprint.
Planning a Sprint: The team then has a sprint planning meeting to decide what the sprint goal will be. They then discuss which well-groomed user stories should be given priority in order to assist them in achieving that objective.
The actualization: Daily stand-up meetings, or agile sprints, last 10 to 15 minutes. These gatherings are crucial for members to openly communicate and monitor the status of the project.
Review of Sprint: Developers present their work to the product owner and stakeholders during the sprint review.
Sprint Evaluation: The sprint retrospective meeting is held so that each participant can evaluate their own results and working style.

Team Progress

Figure 1: Spring progression through four phases (Whiteley et al., 2021)

4. The scrum boards progression of the agile team is:

The group divides a Scrum board into three categories: "To Do," "Doing," and "Done." These steps are used by Scrum teams:

Each task is listed on a sticky note by a team member and placed in the "To Do" column. Prioritizing tasks is necessary.
Assign the proper team members to the tasks listed in the "To Do" column.
Activate the "In Progress" column for the assigned tasks. Keep the sticky note for the user story in the "To Do" column if the tasks are sub-tasks of a larger user story until the team completes all the sub-tasks.
Move the story to "Done" if the team completes all of the smaller tasks connected to it. Move any tasks that don't pass their testing back to "In Progress" to demonstrate that the team is working on fixes. Repetition is required.
A convenient location for the Scrum board will ensure maximum visibility.

Step 3: Check- Analysing the result

Team demonstration of an Agile Mind set

The agile mind set is a way of thinking that emphasises collaboration, understanding, learning, and remaining adaptable in order to produce high-performing results. Teams in agile work environments have the flexibility to optimise their work for better and more efficient delivery thanks to the strong underlying system of guidelines. The teams is showing four important pillars of agile mind set which are

Showing respect to every team members,
Enhanced and sustainable flow,
Supporting new innovations as a team,
Focussing on constant improvement

Thus, agile mind set is demonstrated by the team for its efficiency.

2. The team has been developed and mentored to follow guidelines and customer’s needs. Even when in a position of authority, a servant leader typically exhorts their followers to put the needs of others ahead of their own interests. There is a shared vision; there is frequently greater trust between employees and leaders; leaders take into account staff opinions, which is likely to improve innovative efforts; individuals develop skills and can advance professionally in a supportive environment. As a result, the team shows servant leadership.

3. There is Psychological safety within the team by applying 4 principles:

Recognize your error.
Obtain feedback from the group.
Positively respond to scepticism and queries.
Forgive mistakes made by workers.

4. The team self-organizes and does not rely on or wait for a manager to assign tasks. Instead, they find their own work and control the responsibilities and deadlines that come with it. The teams are capable of much more than just locating and completing tasks. Self-organizing teams are also in charge of determining the most effective and efficient way to complete their tasks, and they frequently conduct experiments to find new ways to get better.

5. The teammates can talk about issues and exchange stories to help one another get better. Creating a space where ideas can be expressed without fear of retaliation not only enables them to collect more feedback, but it also makes the staff members feel more at ease. A clear-the-air meeting that is open and transparent can accomplish this goal without turning into a complaint or jeering session.

ACT- 3 action items for following 3 areas below:

1. Agile Mindset

When it comes to project management, the agile mind set is the capacity and willingness to be adaptable, flexible, and open-minded. An agile mind set accepts the need for change to accomplish the project's goal and enables quick response to change (Whiteley et al., 2021).

People and Interactions- The Agile mind set begins by acknowledging that PEOPLE ARE EVERYTHING!
Consumer cooperation- Not only are business and technology changing quickly, but also understanding, societal and corporate values, as well as related personnel.
Responding to Change- A plan is based on a goal. They give us a logical sequence of actions to take in order to accomplish that objective. Additionally, these plans are adaptable and can be adjusted for circumstances.

2. Servant Leadership within the team.

First, lay a solid foundation- A clear vision makes it easier for others to understand where you're going and what you want to be true once you get there. It should be substantial, audacious, and thrilling.
Encourage and Aid Others- Accountabilities, boundaries, and shared goals are the three components of effective self-management that the Scrum framework offers.
Set a Higher Bar- The organisation keeps raising the bar for performance and quality standards as others develop through empowerment and facilitation.

3. Working as a self-organised team.

Set up a quick introduction meeting- The most effective way to begin the procedure is with a brief introductory meeting.
Establish reasonable checkpoints and milestones- Before anything else, the team must plan at the start of each iteration. Setting reasonable checkpoints and milestones will help the team work effectively and produce results.
Encourage people to use their talents- Allow the team to choose the tasks for the following iteration cycle once milestones have been established, and then let team members choose the ones they want to complete.

Conclusion

Planning, doing, checking (or studying), and acting make up the PDCA cycle. It offers a straightforward method for dealing with issues and directing change. PDCA is used in organization-wide continuous activities as well as at the process, agile team building, and departmental levels. New standards are established, revised, and then replaced with newer, better standards through the PDCA process that would help agile teams in keep up with the continuous changing of the desired result.