Votre équipe agile est en désaccord sur les changements de projet. Comment gérer efficacement les opinions contradictoires ?

Most of the conflicts are always ignited by mere misunderstandings, priority differences, and requirements that are not clear. We should first listen to the problems that the team members are having. After that, with the collective information of all team members, we can plan a conflict resolution strategy and prioritize our work accordingly.

Firstly, foster a culture where everyone is comfortable questioning the decisions made. Additionally, in case of a conflict, creating a Pros-Cons list on a whiteboard for any technical conflict always brings the most optimum solution.

Create a safe space for team members to express their concerns and ideas openly. Encourage active listening and avoid interrupting others.

In der menschenzentrierten Teamentwicklung ist es wichtig, auf die Bedürfnisse der Beteiligten einzugehen. Nützliche Fragen sind: „Aus welcher Rolle heraus verspüre ich den Konflikt?“, „Welches tiefere Bedürfnis steht dahinter?“ und „Welche Gefühle schwingen mit?“. Die Herausforderung liegt darin, zwischen der Sachebene („Was brauche ich?“) und der menschlichen Ebene („Warum bin ich wütend?“) zu unterscheiden. Intensiver Konflikt erhöht die Emotionalität und erschwert diese Differenzierung. Durch die gewaltfreie Kommunikation – aktives Zuhören, Empathie, klare „Ich-Botschaften“ und gemeinsame Lösungsfindung – können emotionale und sachliche Aspekte getrennt werden. So lässt sich eine Strategie finden, die für alle Beteiligten optimal ist.

1. Probleme verstehen Vielleicht kommt die Uneinigkeit durch die Kommunikation. Das ist sogar meistens so. Jede Botschaft hat vier Seiten (Schulz von Thun) Da gibt es die Sachbotschaft, die Beziehungsebene, die Appellebene und auch die Selbstbotschaft. Hier gilt es nach dem Harvard Prinzip darum auf die Sachebene zu kommen. Als Mittel zur Wahl ist da für mich die Retrospektive. Hier wird analysiert, was bisher gut gelaufen ist, was nicht so gut gelaufen ist und was man Besser machen muss. In einer Retrospekive kann man anonym die Karten auf den Tisch legen. Das wird benötigt um die Sachebene zu erreichen. Dann wird nach dem WSJF Prinzip priorisiert.

From my experience, I've learnt that usually in big teams, where there's a disagreement about ways to move forward, it's usually due to multiple parties having different understandings of what's expected, leading to others getting confused (and delays etc). The best way to combat this is whenever a misalignment or disagreement happens, to immediately try to host a roundtable with the key stakeholders in the team and discuss how the final outcome and how to get back on track. This usually does the trick as everyone gets a chance to express their ideas and try to learn other perspectives as well as open the floor to clarification and clear communication.

Understanding the root causes of disagreements within your team is crucial for resolving conflicts effectively. Encouraging open communication and active listening are foundational steps.

More robust decissions are made from diverse teams and diverse teams are more likley to disagree. You need to encourage dialogue without alignating anyone or letting loudest voice "win". A code of conduct lets people know what is acceptable behaviour from the start but the team leader needs to demonstrate early on that they know what is in the code will enforce it. Conflict resolution can be in the code of conduct. An ideas fillter is when the team decide a set of filters for what is a good idea e.g., a filter could be cost or match to the teams skills. Then the team mark the ideas to the filter. If team members mark ideas very different then discuss that, the others may have overlooked something or the filter may need adjustment.

Ein guter Dialog ist wichtig Dazu gehört das Standup-Meeting. Jeden Tag zur gleichen Zeit und am gleichen Ort über die Herausforderungen sprechen. Wichtig ist dabei sich im Team auszutauschen und das Schwarmwissen zu nutzen. Wichtig ist auch die anstehenden Aufgaben richtig zu schneiden. Beim Schneiden ist das ganze Team am runden Tisch und jede Story wird beim Refinement so optimiert, dass jeder im Team versteht was zu tun ist. Der Umfang darf dabei nicht größer als eine Sprintlänge sein.

La clé d'une équipe agile c'est le dialogue sans quoi l'idée des sprints ne tiens plus, si on se réunni c'est pour montrer notre avancement mais aussi prévoir les prochaines étapes.

Prioritizing goals helps keep the team aligned and focused on the project's success amidst conflict. It ensures discussions remain goal-oriented rather than getting sidetracked by personal preferences or technical details.

La clé d'un bon suivi de projet c'est de ne jamais oublier l'essentiel, il est normal de se disperser, les idées se mélangent, les chemins divergent et c'est à ce moment que les leadeurs du projets doivent s'affirmer et faire des choix.

During conflicts, steer the focus back to the team’s main objectives. Remind everyone of the project’s key goals and how each suggestion fits into these targets. By keeping the bigger picture in mind, you can shift the conversation from individual preferences to how each idea can help achieve overall success.

If you use an idea filter it ranks the ideas so an inital prioritisation is done. Idea filters are designed to assess new innovations so are good for those tricky to assess new innovations. Further work may need to be done for example feasability tests and alignment with the purpose of the product and organisation. You can do this through iterating through the idea filter a couple of times to include the results of your feasability tests and adjusting filters to the purpose of the product and organisation.

Ziele Priorisieren Dies mache ich am liebsten live und im Team. Man bucht sich einen Raum und konsolidiert die Sichtweisen bei einer Standortanalyse. Dabei mache ich gerne das Spiel mit der Bowl. So funktionier die Bowl: Derjenige, der den größten Redebedarf hat beginnt. Er nimmt sich die Schüssel und darf alles sagen was er zu sagen hat. Mindestens aber einen positiven und einen negativen Aspekt. Dann geht es reihum und die Themen werden geclustert. Dann hat man alle Themen am Tisch und man kann das Hauptziel und Zwischenziele zu definieren. Wenn man nach Scrum Arbeitet, kann man gleich die Iterationen in Sprints darstellen und die Sprintziele definieren.

Análise o contexto em que você está inserido. Nem sempre o consenso é o melhor caminho. Dependendo da situação, ele costuma ser caro e se pelo menos uma pessoa não concordar com a solução proposta, você não tem o consenso (independente da técnica que pretenda utilizar). Uma alternativa ao consenso, é o consentimento. Consentir não significa que você é a favor da ideia apresentada, mas também não tem nada contra. Decisões por consenso costumam ser decisões mais equilibradas, porém não significa dizer que é a melhor decisão para o sucesso do negócio.

The ideas filter seeks and builds consensus at each level, by setting and adjustung the filter in the team, by assessing ideas against the filter, by understanding any outliers from the assessment and by iterating through the filter with results from feasability tests and changing product and organisational purposes.

Il n'est jamais question de savoir qui à tord et qui à raison, l'essentiel c'est de choisir la réponse qui se rapprochera le plus du choix idéal.

It’s important to reach agreement of a topic, and the only way to do this is by allowing everyone to have their say. Consensus is reached when everyone has been seen and heard and the approach aligns in some way or another like a puzzle piece with everyone’s take. We don’t have to proceed with everyone’s ideas, but we should be using them to brainstorm and improve our overall solutions.

Voiting is good when everyone in the team clearly understands the problem. I don't think it's a good option for resolving an issue. To listen an opinion of involved in the current issue problem is a good option, but give them a vote shouldn't be set as a final solution.

When we implement solutions, it’s important that we understand the prerequisites and stages of our implementations and ensure that we support these appropriately. We need to plan and understand ahead, but also take into account that things may change and how this will overall affect our implementation. The key is that we are planned enough to be agile and understand all the possible outcomes which we can do to make things successful. We can imagine it like driving a car, we don’t always know if the road ahead is going to be closed, but if it is and we take the diversion which may add a few minutes, if we allowed additional time for our drive then we will still be on time to our destination.

I love writing documentations! But to have documentation means also to maintain it often and don't forget to update. And it's another issue that we should keep in mind. Especially when they're a lot of them on your project.

The decision-making process within a team involves a crucial phase of effective implementation and monitoring. This involves clearly communicating the rationale behind the decision, defining roles and responsibilities, maintaining clear communication, documenting decisions and actions, monitoring the impact of the changes, and adapting to evolving needs. This ensures that decisions are implemented effectively and with clarity, minimizing disruptions and maximizing the likelihood of successful outcomes. It is essential to maintain open and transparent communication, encourage open questioning, and be prepared to make adjustments based on feedback. By following these steps, the project can continue to deliver value and align with its goals.

After making a decision, focus on implementing it smoothly and keeping track of its impact. Make sure everyone understands why this direction was chosen and what their role is. Clear communication and proper documentation can help avoid confusion. Be ready to adjust as needed based on feedback and how the project evolves.

Adjust your code of conduct or conflicts resolution if needed. If you are not able to enforce the code of conduct or conflicts resoltuion reflect on what is happening, have individual conversations with members of the team and finally seeks mentoring or coaching. It is a learning oportunity.

After decisions are made, reflect on the process and learn from it. Agile is about continuous improvement, so think about what went well and what could be better next time. Encourage the team to share their thoughts and use this feedback to refine your conflict resolution strategies. This reflection will strengthen team dynamics and improve your ability to handle future changes effectively.