Unleashing Team Creativity with Agile Tecova Practice

Writen by Dr. Rigoberto Garcia

Introduction: Modern project management continues to evolve. Creativity and efficiency must go hand in hand. In 2001, as I managed a team of expert scientists and engineers, I realised that we were hitting constant roadblocks. Brainstorming sessions often ended up being a complete waste of time, as team members couldn’t agree on which path was best. There was often a lack of cohesive collaboration in the team.

A Pattern Emerges: Did we fail as a team? No! A pattern began to emerge: the more the team met, and the more willing team members were to listen to each other, the barriers began to break down. Initially, there was collaboration in creating prototypes. However, as the team discovered problems, they didn’t go back to the drawing board. Instead, other team members started researching ways to overcome the lack of success. At first, I called them band-aid fixes, yet I quickly realised that it was not a fix but rather a discovery path.

The Birth of Agile Tecova Practice: Since we had implemented an Agile extreme practice, I saw a need for something more, which brought me to Tecova (Team Core Values). I started by determining what was common within the team and discovering what the blockers were. Deadlines were often blockers, even simple sprints were blockers when it came to Data Scientists, who needed the flexibility to continue their hypothesis research.

This led to a white paper I published in the summer of 2002, called Managing Creative Teams Using Agile/Tecova as a Practice. The Agile Tecova Practice empowers teams to deliver top-quality results in record time by embracing principles of agility, flexibility, and continuous improvement.

Key Features:

1. Small Functional Teams: Deliver faster solutions with less turnaround.
2. Decision-Making Autonomy: Teams make decisions independently.
3. Early Testing and Delivery: Encouraging feedback at every step of the way.

Creative Process in Agile Tecova:

• Brainstorming Process:Team comes up with ideas.Team picks the best viable idea.Team presents the idea to the client.Once approved, the prototype phase begins.Client gives feedback, and the work begins.

Benefits of Agile Tecova Practice:

1. Flexibility and Adaptability: Quick adjustments to changing requirements without disrupting workflow.
2. Cross-Functional Collaboration: Teams comprise individuals from diverse skill sets and backgrounds, fostering innovative ideas.
3. Continuous Improvement: Regular feedback loops and retrospective meetings refine the creative process.
4. Tecova™ Team Core Values (Beyond Zappos):
5. Deliver WOW!
6. Not a Job but a Lifestyle
7. Not a Service rather a Commitment
8. Embrace and Drive Change
9. Be Adventurous
10. Take Risks through Experimentation
11. Pursue Growth and Learning
12. Build Open and Honest Relationships through Communication, Experimentation, and Education
13. Build a Positive Team, a Family instead of Employees, a Home instead of Brick and Mortar

Case Study: John and Beth’s Creative Team Success Story John and Beth are software developers on a team charged with creating an online system through which customers and vendors could access vital information about opportunities. Under extreme time pressure, they successfully applied the Tecova™ Process to avoid project failure and deliver a better solution to the customer.

How They Did It:

1. Open Brainstorming (Discovery) Session: John and Beth began with a team meeting in which all members provided solution ideas. All viable ideas were writen a list of the top three ideas was presented to the team the next day, to reasearch the feasibility of each idea. All team members were encouraged find a better solution, even if not listed. A three day research deadline was given to the team, on the fourth day, the team met, as a collective it was decided that none of the listed approach would cover all the need of the customers, an althernative solution was proposed, the solution and presentation was, “Human-Centered Designed”. The team agreed this was the best approach.

2. Human-Centred Approach: Emphasised collective team decision-making, the team also suguested to add additional resources from Security, and Cloud Architecture. The team agreed thta to utilised Microsoft’s Azure Cloud (Azure Stack HCI), and Cosmos DB.

3. Prototyping and Feedback: The team met with the customer, explained the solutions which enabled rapid testing and client feedback, ensuring the solution met all requirements.

Key Takeaways:

• Empower Teams: Solutions seldom come from an individual; empower teams to find creative solutions collectively.

• Human-Centred Approach: Serve the creative process, enabling solutions rather than creating roadblocks.

• Integrate Values: Align team core values with creative goals to foster innovation.

Setting Unrealistic Project Goals Amidst a Pandemic: The Agile practice can unify staff and teams, enabling them to focus on a common goal to serve their corporate family and strengthen loyalty bonds. Amidst a crisis, the creative process and utilisation of Tecova inspire everyone to refocus while maintaining operations and supporting creativity.

Agile Tecova Practice Impact: The Agile Tecova Practice has profoundly impacted modern project management by prioritising adaptability, teamwork, and continuous improvement. Dr. Garcia’s work remains influential in academia and industry, inspiring leaders to embrace agility amidst technological advancements.

References:

1. Understanding the Creative Process (2002)

2. Agile Tecova Practice: A Comprehensive Guide

3. Managing Data Science Teams with Tecova Principles

4. Creativity and Collaboration in Agile Tecova

5. Cybersecurity Trends for 2024

6. Is Global Collaboration Dead Amidst a Pandemic?

7. Corporate Website – Software Solution Corp

8. Digital Books – Dr. Rigoberto Garcia