Dominika Bula: Building Stronger Agile Teams Through Working Agreements And Deliberate Collaboration

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Dominika shares a story about a growing team in a scaling agile environment where new members were joining frequently. This team lacked a proper working agreement, which resulted in disengaged team members who didn't participate fully in daily discussions. Dominika’s approach was to help the team start a buddy system for new joiners and ensure that everyone, especially new members, felt heard. She emphasizes the importance of developing a deliberate decision-making model and the need to differentiate between the Definition of Done (DoD) and a team working agreement.

Self-reflection Question: Is your team’s working agreement fostering participation and inclusion from every member, especially new joiners? Leave your answer in the comments, let’s get this conversation started! 

Featured Book of the Week: Kanban Pocket Guide by Dan Vacanti

Dominika recommends Kanban Pocket Guide by Dan Vacanti as a must-read for anyone interested in improving team flow. It’s a concise and practical guide that helps integrate Kanban into Scrum teams by focusing on value and transparency. Dominika appreciates its clarity, specific examples, and how it helps Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches refine their understanding of Kanban to enhance team performance. The guide is also a great resource to revisit regularly.

About Dominika Bula Dominika is an Agile Coach at SAP Signavio with a strong background in agile practices from her experiences at Oracle and Red Hat. She is passionate about Kanban and firmly believes that Agile and DevOps are the perfect combination. As a facilitator for the Women in Agile mentorship program, Dominika is dedicated to supporting and nurturing the next generation of agile leaders. You can link with Dominika Bula on LinkedIn.