Agile Team – Cricket or Basket Ball

Let’s consider a few examples.

Example 1: Army – In case of the army, a command and a control structure is very important and they play a crucial role. In any armed force, the following the order is must. There’s one boss and the others should executes the orders. 

Example 2: Borgs from Star Trek – There is no central command. Everyone is equal and completely replaceable. 

Example 3: Cricket: Team has a captain who calls the shots but the team depends heavily on cooperation of the players.  Also, the captain is a player first, and captain later.

Example 4: Basket Ball:  In this team, the coach calls the shots though he is not part of the “playing team”

Where does your agile team fit? I am sure your answer is NOT the either of the first two.

Let’s look deeper into the workings of  a  Crickets team.  In Cricket, while one team is fielding, its captain decides who will be throwing the ball,) but HOW the players should cover the field is decided by bowler..   Simplistically speaking, once the overall strategy is decided by the Boss, the execution details are left to the people on the ground.

Now let’s look at Basket Ball. Here the coach decides on each and every aspects of the game, though he is not playing. Who will be playing in which part of the court, who will be playing at this point, etc. The coach also gives instructions during the game. In summary, the Boss is not only involved in strategy making but he also keeps a tight control over the execution.

So now, with which game, your agile team associates more - Cricket or Basket Ball?