Designing Your Team Operating System

”Ways of Working” (WoW) is the set of protocols a team uses to coordinate.

Common Frameworks

• Agile/Scrum: Sprints, Standups, and Retrospectives. Focuses on predictability and iterative delivery.
• Kanban: Visualizing flow and limiting Work In Progress (WIP). Focuses on continuous delivery and throughput.
• Shape Up: De-risking work before starting and working in “cycles” without daily standups.

The Power of the Retrospective

A team that doesn’t reflect cannot improve.

• What went well?
• What didn’t go well?
• What are we going to change? (Actionable items only!)

Continuous Improvement (Kaizen)

WoW should never be static. If a meeting feels useless, change it. If the PR process is too slow, automate it. The team owns the process; the process does not own the team.