Cultivating Excellence in Teams with Continuous Software Engineering — Part 1: Defining Excellence through 5 Characteristics

This series of articles will explain how to use Continuous Software Engineering (see this paper from 2014), a framework to promote excellence in engineering teams.

In this first article, we will set the context — we will define excellence in engineering teams (in my view).

Excellence in Engineering Teams

“Excellence” refers to the “state of performing exceptionally well”.

How do you recognize if a team is achieving excellence?

Five core characteristics can determine if a team is excellent:

1. Effectiveness
2. Craftsmanship & Quality
3. Efficiency & Productivity
4. Adaptability & Learning
5. Communication & Collaboration

Characteristic #1: Effectiveness

An effective team understands its customers and knows what they want. This team focuses on building the right product by deeply knowing the product they develop, being aware of the business metrics measured for the product, and understanding the trade-offs involved in product…