Karolina, Marketing Specialist

What were your first days and weeks working in the Agile methodology like? Did anything surprise you or was anything new?

My first days working in Agile were a bit chaotic, but very quickly I was able to settle into the controls of Agile projects. The rules are very clear and it’s easy to get into a rhythm and find your place in the team. I was initially surprised by the division of the project into sprints, which requires you to focus on many smaller goals instead of one main one. You can see right away how much you’ve accomplished, which motivates you even more.

How do you currently work with this methodology and how do you rate it against your previous experience?

Very good! The Agile methodology is very enjoyable, mainly because of its flexibility and ability to make changes. It kind of puts creativity into a time frame, giving it structure and order, which makes for a great combination. Working on a project has its own rhythm, which is very easy to get into and achieve fluidity. Until now, I felt that in projects, creativity doesn’t go hand in hand with order and it’s almost impossible to achieve that balance. Agile has shown me that it’s possible to combine the two and achieve great results.

Based on your experience, do you see any advantages or disadvantages of Agile?

It’s important for me to divide the project into sprints so that I can focus on the smaller goals and work towards the overall project. Sometimes it’s possible to get caught up in small tasks or to work too closely on unimportant things that don’t contribute much and thus waste a lot of time. Working in the Agile methodology eliminates this risk, which is a very big plus. The downside (which we don’t always have to deal with), for me, is the inadequate selection of roles in the project – it’s important that the right people skilfully take care of the project and discipline the team as necessary.

Piotr, Senior Programmer

What were your first days and weeks working in the Agile methodology like? Did anything surprise you or was anything new?

In my first days with the Agile methodology I had to get used to frequent meetings. I’m involved in several projects, so the initial sprints were difficult for me to organise my working time so that I could complete my to-do list. My work mainly consists of IT projects, so it wasn’t as difficult as it might have seemed at first.

How do you currently work with this methodology and how do you rate it against your previous experience?

After a few sprints, the Agile methodology with its backlog, planning and execution became a natural way to deliver project work. A very interesting experience is the monthly presentation of the results of the project work in front of the Agility Board. Working in an Agile team means that we build solutions together that are important to the company. In addition, we create relationships between project team members based on cooperation, trust, good communication, help and support with knowledge.

Based on your experience, do you see any advantages or disadvantages of Agile?

As I work as a programmer, my tasks are usually carried out through project work – in the past in the “waterfall” methodology. Currently, agile methodologies work best in the IT industry: Agile/Scrum. This is mainly due to the increasing complexity of IT solutions. It becomes impossible to precisely plan activities for the entire project in the initial phases of its duration. Therefore, in agile methodology we plan only the next sprint, taking tasks that are possible to complete within the next sprint. This is both a major advantage and a change from classic project delivery methods.

Sylwia, Team Leader

What were your first days and weeks working in the Agile methodology like? Did anything surprise you or was anything new?

The Agile methodology, I was already familiar with, but it wasn’t until I took my first steps in projects that I realised it wasn’t easy to implement.

I definitely like the abandonment of the traditional cascade model in favour of working according to the Agile philosophy.

How do you currently work with this methodology and how do you rate it against your previous experience?

As I mentioned earlier, the Agile methodology is difficult to implement. It requires the involvement of all project participants who are assigned roles from the beginning. The development team is self-organizing, all team members are equal, although they have different skill sets. A team in Agile theory is a team of experts in each area of expertise needed to perform the assigned task. Each member is able to take responsibility for the others’ tasks at any time. What follows – full team efficiency and the fastest possible implementation of subsequent “increments” of the supported product. This is what I strive for.

Based on your experience, do you see any advantages or disadvantages of the Agile methodology?

Whenever someone asked me where my working methods came from, I would reply with a smile on my face: “I’m an empiricist, we’ll see”. The Agile methodology is based on empiricism; it assumes that the main source of our knowledge is the stimuli we perceive and further analyse.

I am currently involved in two Agile projects as a Scrum Master. I completed the Professional Scrum Product Owner training in November 2020 and I know that the words “SPRING and ADAPT” – support me in leading projects. I make no secret of the fact that I have finally hit my stride in management.

Łukasz, HR Specialist

What were your first days and weeks working in the Agile methodology like? Did anything surprise you or was anything new?

The first weeks of working with Agile were completely new for both me and the project team. We all had to learn to be concise and precise in our discussions during the first Daily Scrum meetings.  I was positively surprised by how free and open the team was in exchanging information.

How do you currently work with this methodology and how do you rate it against your previous experience?

I have already implemented two Agile projects at CERI, and I am currently involved in two more. I appreciate the Agile methodology especially for the high transparency of what is happening in the project and the introduction of Daily Scrum.

Based on your experience, do you see any advantages or disadvantages of Agile?

Agile has revolutionised my project work most by testing the solutions developed in a project. This allows the product to be improved while it is still being developed. Retrospective is also a very good way to allow the team to give direct feedback on their work. In my opinion, you should pay special attention to the way a sprint is planned. Its events (‘daily’, ‘retro’, ‘review’, etc.) should be tailored to the stage of the project and the team members involved.

Katarzyna, Team Coordinator

What were your first days and weeks working in the Agile methodology like? Did anything surprise you or was anything new?

My first experience of working in Agile methodology was during CERI Excellence implementation in ZW/Teleson Team. At that time, I was surprised that by working in sprints, the requirements of the final product could change according to the users’ needs. By using the Agile methodology within the team, I was able to see how the different elements of the Agile framework come together in practice.

How do you currently work with this methodology and how do you rate it against your previous experience?

My experience with Agile is still limited, but very positive. I admit that when I first came across the methodology, I didn’t believe there would be room for Agile implementation at CERI. However, it turned out that most of the activities, which have a defined goal and time of completion, can be called a project, and therefore can be implemented in an Agile way. I became particularly convinced of this with the Crowd Working project. In this initiative, thanks to Agile, we worked closely together as an interdisciplinary team and successfully employed staff fully remotely!

Based on your experience, do you see any advantages or disadvantages of Agile?

I like the fact that the project is divided into tasks assigned to individual members of the development team. The idea is not at all innovative, because it is well known that it is easier to eat the elephant a piece at a time. It turns out that if you assign priorities and divide tasks appropriately, you can achieve amazing results.

Another big plus is that the sprint goals are defined, but the way to achieve them is not. This allows the development team to find the best way to accomplish the task on their own.