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Circle Roles & Responsibilities

Each circle has different levels of contributors​

  • Circle Coordinator/Owner = coordinator of the circle, is not a boss
  • Member
    • Works on stories of the circle
    • Is also a circle stakeholder
    • Follows the scrum meetings
  • Contributor (can ad hoc do something for the circle, only works on existing stories, is ad hoc work)
    • Pup+ level in P2P Awareness Level
    • No need to follow scrum meetings, all can happen ad hoc, will probably work together with a circle member to contribute effectively.
  • Stakeholder (has something to loose or win by the output of the circle)
    • No need to follow scrum meetings
    • Can follow priorities and provide input
  • Circle follower (is following whatever happens in the circle)
    • We attempt to have circles very open, everyone can follow

There is a specific important role called story coordinator

  • Story Coordinator or Story Owner (is a member but coordinates at least 1 story)
    • Coordinator of one of more stories in the circle
    • Is a circle stakeholder or member
    • Wolf+ level in P2P Awareness Level, or has the ambition/capability to grow/surpass that level.
    • Takes full responsibility for the Story just like a Circle Owner does for the Circle
  • Basic before you can be a story owner
    • DO NOT accept to "own" a story before you 100% understand the following:
      • the deliverables & specifications
      • required budget
      • deadlines
      • feasibility to execute in required time
      • buy in from the required contributors (will they do what they are supposed to do in time)
      • ou understand enough about the topic to own it
    • MAKE SURE your story will be completed before end of the sprint.
    • MAKE SURE to escalate if it looks like the timing cannot be met
    • COMMUNICATE with the stakeholders of the circle to make sure people understand about progress & risks
    • DEMO at end of the story, can be a manual, small video, zoom call, or just some comments on the story where you show that the story is completed
    • MAKE SURE the story is good enough executed and in line to deliverables for which you got consensus before starting with the story
  • DO NOT START A STORY BEFORE ABOVE REQUIREMENTS ARE DONE, it could be you need a story before to have the information required before you can accept to own a story e.g. to create a prototype, or create specs, ...

Remarks​

there are max 10 circle members/coordinators per circle to keep it efficient. There can be many more followers & contributors.

Levels of coordination​

Coordinator = Circle Coordinator​

Coordinates (helps) a team of people working on one or more stories and ensures that:

  • There is a circle home page with updated information (wiki part of circles tool)
  • All members understand our Agile principles of working together
  • All members find their way into our community & our tools & information
  • All members are happy to contribute and are motivated/passionate
  • Is able to eliminate the blockages that circle members might experience

Circle coordinators are often also story coordinators (of X nr of stories)

A Circle coordinator = Coordinator is not a controller! It's a person at the service of his or her team.

  • coordinators manage circles.
  • A circle is a group of people working together around a set of specific topics.
  • A coordinator in an agile organization does not control, has no decision power.

It's the reverse of an authoritative, or autocratic power play. A coordinator does not command or take decisions. Decisions happen automatically because an agile process is being followed. A coordinator makes sure others can easily contribute and they can find all the information they require, they discover and clear road-blocks and make it possible for people to be their best, it's about getting the process to work smoothly without being in the way.

A coordinator:

  • is at service of the circle or the larger community they work for
  • makes sure that:
    • every contributor of the circle understands and follows the agile principles and becomes a good contributor
    • the mission or strategy of the circle is known & understood - documentation e.g. a wiki is ideal
    • the goals are translated into achievable work and this happens by means of stories
    • quality stories are created (well explained, done is done, requirements known, a story is not a task)
    • stakeholders have input on the stories and they can follow progress
    • story coordinator's (people who own a specific story) can do their duty (keep to time, have the resources they need, know the specific goal of the story, know who and how to escalate to, make use of comments to clearly track progress)
  • is a teacher or coach
    • they get alongside people and help them be their best
    • they help people to become a better contributor
    • are able to explain why agile principles work so well within an organization like ours

My personal estimate is that less than 1% of existing professionals have the skill to be a good Circle Coordinator, its not an easy job.

Story Coordinator​

Main responsibilities:

  • Story card is done in time
  • Story card has clear deliverables and it's easy to be understood
  • Requirements for the card are met
  • Done means done!
  • Communicate to stakeholders about the card
  • Define tasks that need to be delivered to close the story card = checklist in story
  • Story card respects the timelines on the kanban
  • see also above

Stakeholder​

  • Anybody who has something to lose or win by the acceptance/progress on a story card
  • Stakeholder main responsibility is to be part of the required storyboards & be vocal about requirements
  • This is a very generic definition & can be quite broad.

What for technical people?​