Steve Trapps - Being in an Awesome Agile Team

In 2015, the Agile Yorkshire Xmas Lightning Talks Competition featured eight inspiring speakers, each delivering a 10-minute talk that captivated the audience. The event was packed with energy, audience interaction, and insightful talks. This video, captured during the 2015 event, features one of the key presentations from the evening. Enjoy the talk! In this talk, Steve Traps, a Scrum Master and .NET Architect, shares the story of his experience working with an agile team in a fast-paced startup environment. Initially tasked with building an API for a footballer voting app, the team had to pivot when the project changed direction and began developing a social network to handle millions of users. Despite being a highly talented and passionate team, Steve highlights the challenges they faced, including micromanagement, misaligned priorities, and losing trust from leadership. Ultimately, despite following agile principles, the team struggled to deliver success due to a lack of support from higher management and the broader business. Steve’s story offers valuable insights into the importance of leadership support for agile practices and the need for alignment between team goals and business expectations.