Overlapping Work: How Agile Team Collaboration Happens

Agile team collaboration is essential for success with an agile framework like Scrum. A sprint is not a mini-waterfall, where one team member works alone to complete "their job" and then hands it off to another team member. This is the opposite of how a good agile team works. But why?

Mike Cohn, author of three best-selling agile and Scrum books, introduces 2 good things that happen when teams overlap work, and explains how agile teams are meant to have work overlap, so that teams deliver value sooner and get quick feedback.

0:25 2 good things that happen when work overlaps
0:45 Why overlapping work saves time
1:18 Time to value vs. the time it takes per task
1:50 How fast feedback benefits teams and customers
2:26 A simple example of how agile teams overlap work
4:31 What gets smaller when work overlaps
4:50 Why teams aim for one acceptance criteria at a time
5:45 Overlapping work as a measure of team agility

We'd love some feedback. Let us hear from you! Is your team still doing mini-waterfalls? What obstacles have you run into when overlapping work? What was the most surprising thing you learned in this video? Let us know in the comments.

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[thood]

“If getting value into your customers hand quickly is important…” This is a key statement. I’ve been places where “efficiency” is far more important than ever shipping anything. Great content Mike.

[mohammedabbasdar]

Mike, your articulation is ALWAYS amazing! This is exactly how as an Agile Coach, I coach the teams. Incredibly important!

[gregb]

Mike can’t tell you enough how much I appreciate your videos books trainings. I’m working with a team new to agile and the concept of sequential work is hard to break. As is the habit of telling the team how to do it versus leaving the team figure it out. 😊

[preciousoguntunde]

Thanks for sharing Mike, I found it insightful...does overlapping work here mean that all members of the team are working at the same time to meet the definition of done of a PBI before moving to the next PBI

[GowriBhat-wihl]

Hi Mike, I’m the scrum master for 2 teams - I have a challenge with overlapping work, at times the developers are ready with the build and waiting for that last piece of requirement to reach the finish line, this has led to spill overs of stories in multiple sprints . How do we approach such issues.