When Kings Break Barriers: A Case For Collaboration!

Before we begin with Silos or Agile, let me tell you a small story 

The Rivalry 

Long long ago, very long ago two fictional kings who ruled two fictional neighboring kingdoms were separated by a river. They had a long standing rivalry despite their shared heritage.

The Chaos

A massive flood hit the region, and the Kings were faced with a common threat. The kings realized now, that they could not remain divided if they had to address this distress. Despite their long-standing rivalry, they realized that they needed to work together to overcome the challenges posed by the flood. 

The Realization

At first, the kings and their advisors struggled to find common ground due to deep-seated animosity and mistrust. However, they soon realized that the only way to succeed was to work collaboratively, share resources, and leverage each other’s expertise.  

The Approach

Slowly, they adapted an approach that was agile in nature and broke down the barriers that had separated them for so long, working collaboratively and communicating openly to achieve their shared objectives.

Key Takeaways:

• Collaboration and teamwork can help overcome even the most daunting challenges.
• Open communication and a willingness to work together can break down long standing barriers.
• By pooling resources and expertise, individuals and organizations can achieve more than they could on their own.
• A shared objective or goal can bring people together and motivate them to work towards a common purpose.
• Being flexible and adaptable is key to overcoming unexpected obstacles.
• A willingness to learn from past mistakes can help individuals and organizations improve and grow.

This story provides a powerful illustration of the value of breaking down barriers(silos) and working collaboratively, in the face of threats that can undermine our very existence. As we understand, organizational silos hinder communication, collaboration, and innovation in the workplace. They create barriers between departments and teams, preventing them from working together effectively and achieving their shared objectives. 

In contrast, the Agile approach emphasizes collaboration, cross-functional teams, and iterative processes to drive success. By breaking down silos and adopting Agile methodologies, organizations can achieve greater efficiency, better outcomes, and a more collaborative workplace culture. 

Measuring the Impact of Organizational Silos on Agile Teams and Technical Performance

Even though Agile methodologies promise to revolutionize the way organizations approach software development, they can’t deliver that promise in the presence of Silos in organizations! These silos are a result of an organization structure based on functional division which allows the divisions to behave like the Kings in the above story! These Silos can hinder communication, collaboration, and knowledge sharing across teams, especially when the organization faces heavy challenges like global recession and heavy competition.

Measuring the impact of organizational silos on Agile teams and technical performance is crucial. In this article, we will discuss:

• The metrics and indicators for measuring the impact of organizational silos on Agile teams and technical performance, 
• Techniques for collecting and analyzing data
• Best practices for addressing organizational silos in Agile teams, 
• Real-world examples of successful implementations, challenges, and 
• Tips for organizations looking to measure the impact of organizational silos.

Metrics and Indicators for Measuring the Impact of Organizational Silos on Agile Teams and Technical Performance

Cycle Time: The time it takes to complete a specific task, from the moment it is initiated to the moment it is delivered.

Lead Time: The time it takes to deliver a feature, from the moment it is requested to the moment it is delivered.

Productivity: The amount of work completed by the team in a given period, typically measured in story points or other similar units.

Quality: The number of defects found in the product, as well as the time it takes to fix them.

Team Satisfaction: The level of satisfaction among team members with their work, including morale, motivation, and job satisfaction.

When your organization’s performance is lower than a benchmarked performance standard, you can initiate a Root Cause Analysis to figure out if Organizational Silos are present. As you break down the Siloed structures in your organization and move towards building agile teams, each of these indicators will show a northward trend. 

Techniques for Collecting and Analyzing Data Related to Organizational Silos and Agile Teams

Surveys: Internal Surveys can be used to collect quantitative and qualitative data on team members’ perceptions of the presence of a siloed work environment. External Surveys can help in benchmarking our performance indicators.

Interviews: Interviews can be conducted with team members to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges they face due to organizational silos.

Retrospectives: Retrospectives can help identify and address challenges related to organizational silos.

Data Analysis Tools: Tools such as dashboards and reports can be used to analyze data related to organizational silos and Agile team performance.

Challenges in Measuring the Impact of Organizational Silos on Agile Teams and Technical Performance

Resistance to Change: Addressing organizational silos can be challenging due to resistance to change within the organization.

• Some team members may be comfortable working within their own department and resist the idea of working with others from different teams.
• Managers who are used to traditional hierarchical structures may resist the idea of breaking down silos and creating cross-functional teams.

Lack of Data: Gathering accurate data on the impact of organizational silos can be difficult without proper data collection and analysis tools.

• Without the right tools and processes in place, it can be difficult to gather accurate data on the impact of organizational silos on team performance.
• Data may be scattered across multiple systems and teams, making it challenging to gather and analyze in a meaningful way.

Organizational Politics: Organizational politics can hinder efforts to address silos by creating conflicting priorities and agendas.

• Different departments may have conflicting priorities, agendas, and budgets, making it challenging to align on common goals and objectives.
• In some cases, individuals within the organization may be more concerned with their own personal success or advancement than with the success of the organization as a whole. This can create tension and hinder efforts to break down silos and work collaboratively.

Tips for Organizations Looking to Measure the Impact of Organizational Silos on Agile Teams and Technical Performance

Define Clear Metrics and Indicators: Define clear and measurable metrics and indicators to help track the impact of organizational silos on Agile teams and technical performance. Make sure to select metrics that align with the organization’s goals and objectives.

For example, a metric could be the time it takes to complete a project, and an indicator could be the number of delays or issues caused by silos between departments.

Involve Team Members: Involve team members in the process of identifying and addressing organizational silos. This can help to gain buy-in from the team and improve the accuracy of data collection.

For example, holding team brainstorming sessions to identify potential silos and gathering feedback through surveys or focus groups.

Use Agile Practices: Use Agile practices to foster communication and collaboration across teams. This can help to break down silos and improve overall team performance.

For example, implementing daily stand-up meetings or sprint retrospectives to encourage collaboration and identify areas for improvement.

Invest in Data Analysis Tools: Invest in data analysis tools such as dashboards and reports to help analyze data related to organizational silos and Agile team performance. This can help to identify areas for improvement and track progress over time.

For example, using business intelligence software to create custom dashboards that track performance metrics and silo-related data.

Foster a Culture of Continuous Improvement: Foster a culture of continuous improvement by encouraging team members to share ideas and feedback on how to improve processes and address organizational silos.

For example, holding regular team meetings to discuss process improvement ideas and implementing a suggestion box system to gather feedback.

Be Prepared for Resistance: Be prepared for resistance to change and develop strategies to address it. This may involve engaging stakeholders, providing training and support, and communicating the benefits of addressing organizational silos.

For example, holding informational sessions to educate stakeholders on the benefits of addressing silos and providing training and support for new practices and tools.

Prakya: A platform that can help break the Silos and build an agile team 

Prakya can address organizational silos in agile teams with its range of features and capabilities. 

• You can easily create a cross-functional team, assign work to team members and monitor the progress of work using visual Kanban Boards. Prakya makes identifying the build up of work in progress a breeze.
• Prakya’s Team Room allows your teams to access all the relevant data points that empower them to make quick decisions about their work. This enables the program manager to empower team members to be self directed, spot trouble and course correct.
• Prakya captures data points about work and its progress and auto propagates the data from the team level to the program and epic levels. This data is presented to different stakeholders to fit their context. Teams don’t have to spend extra time and effort in creating the visibility of their work. This results in increased productivity as teams get to focus on their work.
• Prakya’s program management capability allows program managers to define clear dependencies between work items using a visual program board. This makes it relatively simple and easy to define dependencies and coordinate with relevant teams, eliminating operational inefficiencies.

By implementing these tools and techniques, Prakya can foster cross-functional teams, promote communication and collaboration across departments, and create a culture of innovation and creativity. Prakya’s platform serves as a model for how organizations can adopt agile practices, break down silos, and achieve success in their software development projects.

To gain a perspective, you can look at “5 Agile Tools You Need to Manage Your Next Project” to see how Prakya implements a powerful set of tools that help in breaking down silos.

Conclusion

In conclusion, organizational silos can hinder the performance of Agile teams and impact technical performance. Measuring the impact of these silos can help organizations identify areas for improvement and develop strategies to address them. By defining clear metrics, involving team members, using Agile practices, investing in data analysis tools, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, and being prepared for resistance, organizations can effectively measure the impact of organizational silos on Agile teams and technical performance, and work towards a more efficient and collaborative workplace.

Do not hesitate to break down your organizational barriers with Prakya’s Agile Platform. We are committed to helping your teams scale up without any pain. We can enhance your work’s visibility without you lifting an extra finger. Join hands with Prakya and experience the transformation. Book a demo today.