publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/355985
ILTA WHITE PAPER: JULY 2014 WWW.ILTANET.ORG 41 THE AGILE LITIGATORS' MANIFESTO: BETTER, CHEAPER, FASTER The Agile approach allows the team to be very nimble. It provides a framework for quickly starting work on a project and for responding to changing circumstances as they arise (e.g., a new set of facts just discovered in litigation or a new set of features the end user just identified in a software project). Because the project is handled in small iterations, each sprint offers an opportunity to respond to changing circumstances as they happen. There is no need for a detailed plan of all work in the beginning. A key value of Agile is responding to change. This is in contrast with following a well-documented plan. The Agile approach is "designed to make sure that everyone has the information they need to make good decisions about the project," according to the nonprofit Scrum Alliance. Everything about the project is made clearly visible — the backlog of things to be done, as well as sprint-by-sprint progress. Open communication and transparency are key to succeeding with this method. Teams communicate what everyone is doing and what is blocking their progress. They adapt their actions as needed to continue moving the project forward. INCREASED COLLABORATION THROUGH DAILY SCRUM MEETINGS Open communication and transparency are achieved through frequent but short team meetings to assess progress toward a sprint's goals. This meeting is referred to as the daily scrum (named after a rugby formation). In this very short (15-minute), focused meeting, each team member takes a minute or so to describe three things: 1. What they accomplished since the last scrum, 2. What they will work on next, and 3. What, if anything, is blocking their progress. This helps to quickly identify and resolve any bottleneck issues that could come up during a sprint. Certain team members might meet after the scrum to discuss solutions to particular issues. Daily scrums are not intended for brainstorming, building strategies or reprioritizing backlog items. Separate meetings should be scheduled to focus on those items. Scrum meetings are reserved purely for assessing progress toward goals. According to the Scrum Alliance, the daily scrum provides rapid recognition of problems and builds the team's self-organization and self-reliance, and is a key element leading to transparency, trust and better performance. Team members are in continuous communication, so everyone is on the same page. They hear what others might be struggling with and can offer their help and expertise to move things forward. This encourages creativity and innovation. The team is encouraged to solve their own bottleneck issues in a way they deem appropriate. Agile methods are best for service-oriented projects and non-physical deliverables — think legal work and KM software tools.