What is Agile Coach?

Introduction to Agile Coach

For the development of any project, there is a requirement of following sets of rules and regulations. These rules and regulations are nothing but the set of guidelines which are drafted by people so as to do smooth development of the software or any project. There are several methodologies that exist for proper SDLC. Here SDLC stands Software Development Life Cycle. There are several methodologies like waterfall model, spiral model, agile process, etc.
However, following such practices is not so easy and straight forward. The team involved requires a person who can guide them related to best practices of a particular development process. Similarly, for following best practices of the agile process, we are going to need an Agile Coach and this will be the center of discussion in our current article. So let’s understand who is an Agile Coach, what does he do and other related things.

An agile coach is a person who is well experienced in agile processes. A person who is aware of the best practices of various agile processes and could guide other new team’s who are new to this process. It is the role of the coach to look for the loopholes for the new team who has just started the process. However, it should also be noted that the coach can guide an experienced team also and is not limited to the only newer team. The coach could guide an experienced team also who wants to do perform at a higher level.

Definition of an Agile Coach

An Agile Coach is a person who is well experienced with all the practices of agile methodology and is well known enough to guide others. This coach is similar to any sports coach who mainly guides his team players about how to do better. Similarly, this coach also guides his teammates to follow rules and guidelines of methodology in the crux to obtain the best practices.

Salient Features of an Agile Coach

The following are the salient features. Let us look at each one by one

Agile Coach is an Agile Process Expert – An agile coach is generally an agile coach expert who is well versed enough to know the best practices of the process involved and followed.
Generally is Not from an Organization – It is possible that an agile coach is not from the same organization to which the whole team is associated. An agile master could be from a different organization and would only look to provide guidelines.
It is Totally Unbiased – The most important feature of an agile master is that he is politically unbiased and knows every aspect of good practices.
It is An Agile Expert – Of course, this is quite obvious that an agile coach is already an agile expert.
Has Implemented Agile Process across Different Environments and Cultures – A good agile coach should have worked under different environments and cultures. He should not be limited to the only certain environment but should be comfortable enough to work across teams operating under different cultures and environments too.
Should have Worked with a Team of Varying Sizes – A good agile coach should have experience of working with teams of varying sizes. He should be able to handle a small team as well as a large team too.
Not a Part of a Team – One of the most important salient features is that an agile coach is not a part of a team. He only guides team members and does not actively participate as a team member.

Qualities of An Agile Coach

Now with that let us know a few other qualities. Let us see the other four basic qualities:

Know about Agile ideas – Agile is not a simple process. We can say that it is a complex philosophy and there are no certain sets of rules or documentation which could be referred as per requirement. There are several agile methodologies like DevOps, Scaled Agile Framework and many more. A good coach should know each one and also know what to use when.
Have an Open Mindset – A coach should have an open mindset and should be open to adopting any of the agile methodologies which best suits the requirements. He should not be restricted to any particular methodologies only.
Handling Conflicts – It is very likely that while following agile processes, there might crop up a few conflicts. A coach should have the ability to handle such conflicts and learn from such conflicts so as to avoid such conflicts from cropping up again.
Should have Patience – A coach should have patience. There are possibilities of trying different agile methodologies to find the best suited agile methodology as per the requirement. Although he should also learn from his experiences and try to improve further.

How to become a Good Agile Coach?

It is not so easy to become a good coach so easily. One needs to have both patience and presence of mind in order to develop himself from a simple agile member to a good coach. Certainly, a person could develop all the features of a good agile coach slowly and should practice the bottom-up approach.

A brief about what is a bottom-up approach?

A coach should follow a bottom-up approach. The role of an agile coach is not to discuss what needs to be achieved but in fact, he should tell how it needs to be achieved.
A coach should work with each team member so as to develop a sense of unity and togetherness. While working with each team member at the granular level he should understand the qualities of each team member and should then try to develop them.

Conclusion

For a good SDLC, we need to follow a methodology. There are several methodologies and out of them, agile methodology is one of them. The agile process is one of the most comfortable SDLC methodologies which develops quite an interest. It is the role of a good agile coach to guide the team members and follow the best agile process.

Introduction to Agile Coach