Updated June 8, 2023
Introduction to Agile Coach
The following article provides an outline for What is Agile Coach? A person well experienced with all the agile methodology practices and well known enough to guide others. This coach is similar to any sports coach who mainly guides his team players on improving. Similarly, this coach also guides his teammates to follow the rules and guidelines of methodology in the crux to obtain the best practices. For the development of any project, there is a requirement to follow sets of rules and regulations. These rules and regulations are guidelines drafted by people to develop software or any project smoothly. Several methodologies exist for proper SDLC. Here SDLC stands for Software Development Life Cycle. There are several methodologies like the waterfall model, spiral model, agile process, etc.
However, following such practices is not so easy. The team requires a person who can guide them to the best practices of a particular development process. Similarly, to follow the best practices of the agile process, we will need an Agile Coach, which will be the center of discussion in our current article.
What is an Agile Coach?
It is a person who is well experienced in agile processes. A person who is aware of the best practices of various agile processes and could guide other new teams who are new to this process. The coach’s role is to look for loopholes for the new team that has just started the process. However, the coach can guide both newer and experienced teams. The coach could guide an experienced team also who wants to perform at a higher level.
Salient Features of an Agile Coach
The following are the salient features:
Let us look at each one by one:
- Agile Coach is an Agile Process Expert – Generally, an Agile coach is an expert who is well versed enough to know and follow the best practices of the process involved.
- Generally is Not from an Organization – It is possible that an agile coach is not from the same organization with which the whole team is associated. An agile master could be from a different organization and would only look to provide guidelines.
- It is Totally Unbiased – The essential feature of an agile master is that he is politically unbiased and knows every aspect of good practices.
- It is An Agile Expert – Of course, this is quite obvious that an Agile coach is already an Agile expert.
- Has Implemented Agile Process across Different Environments and Cultures – An excellent agile coach should have worked under different environments and cultures. He should not limit himself to specific environments but be comfortable enough to work across teams operating under different cultures and environments.
- Should have Worked with a Team of Varying Sizes – An excellent agile coach should have experience working with teams of varying sizes. He should be able to handle a small team as well as a large team too.
- Not a Part of a Team – One of the most significant salient features is that an agile coach is not part of a team. He only guides team members and does not actively participate as a team member.
Qualities of an Agile Coach
Now with that, let us know a few other qualities:
First, let us see the other four basic qualities:
- Know about Agile Ideas: Agile is not a simple process. We can say that it is a complex philosophy, and there are no certain sets of rules or documentation that could be referred to as per requirement. Several agile methodologies like DevOps, Scaled Agile Framework, and many more exist. A good coach should know each and what to use when.
- Have an Open Mindset: A coach should have an open mindset and be open to adopting any agile methodologies that best suit the requirements. He should not be restricted to any particular method only.
- Handling Conflicts: It is very likely that while following agile processes, there might crop up a few conflicts. A coach should be able to handle such conflicts and learn from such conflicts to prevent such conflicts from cropping up again.
- Should have Patience: A coach should have patience. There are possibilities of trying different agile methodologies to find the best-suited agile methodology per the requirement. However, he should also learn from his experiences and improve further.
How to Become a Good Agile Coach?
It is not so easy to become a good coach so quickly. One needs patience and the presence of mind to develop himself from a simple, agile member to a good coach. Indeed, a person could slowly develop all the features of a good agile coach and practice the bottom-up approach.
A brief about what is a bottom-up approach:
- A coach should follow a bottom-up approach. The agile coach does not discuss what needs to be achieved but instead tells how it needs to be completed.
- A coach should work with each team member to develop a sense of unity and togetherness. While working with each team member at the granular level, he should understand the qualities of each team member and should then try to develop them.
Conclusion
For a suitable SDLC, we need to follow a methodology. There are several methodologies, and; agile methodology is one of them. The agile process is one of the most comfortable SDLC methodologies, which develops quite an interest. It is the role of a good agile coach to guide the team members and follow the best agile process.
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