Collaboration Explained is a deeply pragmatic book that helps agile practitioners understand and manage complex organizational and team dynamics. As an agile coach, Ive found the combination of straightforward advice and colorful anecdotes to be invaluable in guiding and focusing interactions with my teams. Jeans wealth of experience is conveyed in a carefully struck balance of reference guides and prose, facilitating just-in-time learning in the agile spirit. All in all, a superb resource for building stronger teams thats fit for agile veterans and neophytes alike.

Arlen Bankston, Lean Agile Practice Manager, CC Pace

If Agile is the new what, then surely Collaboration is the new how. There are many things I really like about Jeans new book. Right at the top of the list is that I dont have to make lists of ideas for collaboration and facilitation anymore. Jean has it all. Not only does she have those great ideas for meetings, retrospectives, and team decision-making that I need to remember, but the startling new and thought-provoking ideas are there too. And the stories, the stories, the stories! The best way to transfer wisdom. Thanks, Jean!

Linda Rising, Independent Consultant

The Hands-On Guide to Effective Collaboration in Agile Projects

To succeed, an agile project demands outstanding collaboration among all its stakeholders. But great collaboration doesnt happen by itself; it must be carefully planned and facilitated throughout the entire project lifecycle. Collaboration Explained is the first book to bring together proven, start-to-finish techniques for ensuring effective collaboration in any agile software project.

Since the early days of the agile movement, Jean Tabaka has been studying and promoting collaboration in agile environments. Drawing on her unsurpassed experience, she offers clear guidelines and easy-to-use collaboration templates for every significant project event: from iteration and release planning, through project chartering, all the way through post-project retrospectives.

Tabakas hands-on techniques are applicable to every leading agile methodology, from Extreme Programming and Scrum to Crystal Clear. Above all, they are practical: grounded in a powerful understanding of the technical, business, and human challenges you face as a project manager or development team member.

   Build collaborative software development cultures, leaders, and teams

   Prepare yourself to collaborateand prepare your team

   Define clear roles for each participant in promoting collaboration

   Set your collaborative agenda

   Master tools for organizing collaboration more efficiently

   Run effective collaborative meetingsincluding brainstorming sessions

   Promote better small-group and pair-programming collaboration

   Get better information, and use it to make better decisions

   Use non-abusive conflict to drive positive outcomes

   Collaborate to estimate projects and schedules more accurately

   Strengthen collaboration across distributed, virtual teams

   Extend collaboration from individual projects to the entire development organization

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