Developing Self-Organizing Teams

Development of self-organized teams

The Challenge

The Innovation Workshop (IWS) department at carexpert operates at the intersection of business units and IT. Two teams were responsible for implementing strategic projects. Since the department was founded in 2016, the teams have grown steadily. At the same time, the complexity of the work has increased significantly. The teams had been working according to Scrum, though this was heavily adapted to carexpert’s specific conditions (e.g., concept development, testing procedures, backlog structure, etc.). The increased complexity and the exceptionally high communication overhead were straining the teams’ work. The delivery velocity was too low. It was not sufficiently possible to make binding statements to internal stakeholders regarding the sprint delivery results. HyPlus was commissioned to find a solution to the organizational challenges facing IWS. Following a phase of intensive observation and analysis, various interventions were implemented. These were aimed at reorganizing IWS and advising the teams on a fresh start with Scrum.

Our solution

In parallel with day-to-day business, the IWS teams were prepared for the upcoming changes during a transition phase:

Division of the teams
Close alignment of the new teams to the value stream
Fundamental restart with Scrum

` Through intensive Scrum training, they were prepared for the transition to the new structure and agile working methods well in advance. Product Owners, Scrum Masters, and team members received targeted support and development in their agile roles through one-on-one coaching sessions. Working together with team members, a new, meaningful team structure was developed during scoping workshops. It was important that employees could take responsibility for the team structure and thus for a segment of the value stream. Two oversized teams were transformed into four lean, high-performing teams: two product teams and two platform teams. The “Agile Potential Model” from HyPlus was used for team development. This is a structured process facilitated by an Agile Coach. The goal is to assess a team’s current status and identify growth potential and needs. The model supported the practical transfer of responsibility from management to the team and the associated contribution to self-organization. This approach is accompanied by targeted team and individual coaching sessions, including with the responsible manager.

The result

These measures contributed to the successful establishment of an agile collaboration model within the innovation workshop. The project is characterized by an iterative approach. The project sponsor regularly assesses the progress of the digital transformation.

carexpert’s digital transformation encompasses the further development of business processes, IT systems, and corporate culture. Daniel Konrad, Agile Coach at IT service provider HyPlus, guides our change process and supports the implementation of our strategic projects. To improve our service and customer support, we are driving the development of modern, modular software solutions. Together with HyPlus, we are establishing an agile form of collaboration between the innovation workshop, IT, and business units, thereby promoting the sustainable development of carexpert. Ivan Tott Head of IT and Project/Process Management at carexpert

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