Teams and teamwork are the heart and soul of every project.  This is especially true for agile teams. It is not the individual performance or accomplishment that counts but that of the team.  Just like in team sports the team succeeds and fails together.  The Agile Manifesto puts the team at the center of interaction.  It states, “The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.”  But what does “self-organizing” mean?  Does “self-organizing” mean that team building is no longer necessary and that instead the teams do this by themselves? And, if teams are self-organizing why do so many teams and projects still fail?

This fall I will be answering these and other related questions at the PMI Global Congress North America in Vancouver. My whitepaper and preliminary Power Point presentation are now available for free download.

I am curious about your experiences with self-organizing teams.  Please share your thoughts and insights.