Self-organisation in the sprint: setting priorities for tech teams

Agile working: Self-organisation as a key competence in the sprint

In tech teams that work with agile methods such as Scrum or Kanban, the focus is increasingly on self-organisation. Increasingly, team members are independently managing their work processes, setting priorities and determining how to achieve the set goals. The challenge in the fast-paced everyday life of a two-week sprint is to find a balance between flexibility and structure in order to avoid excessive demands and shifts in priorities.

Especially in IT, where technologies and requirements develop at high speed, both teams and individuals benefit from the ability to actively manage their own work processes and set priorities accurately. Those who work purposefully and maintain an overview during sprints achieve sustainable results and contribute to greater satisfaction in the working environment.

What does self-organisation mean in an IT context?

Self-organisation in IT teams involves planning and distributing tasks, setting priorities and making decisions independently. In agile development phases in particular, the team determines how and in what order tasks are implemented after the product owner has defined the technical requirements.

A practical example: A development team starts a new sprint. During sprint planning, the stories in the backlog are viewed and assessed. The traditional leadership role takes a back seat. Each team member makes suggestions - for example, about which tasks should be given special focus or who should take on which story. Flexibility and adaptability are required as the process progresses, for example if a bug needs to be fixed at short notice without losing sight of the overall plan.

Clear goals: Priorities and sprint backlog at the start

The sprint benefits significantly from clear objectives. The team should determine from the start which results are to be achieved by the end of the sprint. It is advisable to plan the sprint backlog realistically in order to avoid overloading or getting bogged down in too many tasks.

Checklist for prioritising in the sprint:

• Define sprint goals transparently so that they are understandable and comprehensible for everyone
• A well-founded assessment of the effort involved: not every task has to be completed immediately
• Keep an eye on the contribution to the company or value creation: What are the specific benefits?
• Regular comparison in the daily routine to recognise bottlenecks at an early stage and take countermeasures

In practice, there are always situations in which the team has to react to changes at short notice. For example, an e-commerce team may be working on performance optimisation and the introduction of a new voucher feature at the same time. If a critical error occurs in the check-out process during the sprint, a decision needs to be made: Is the bug prioritised? Will the feature be postponed? The ability to prioritise independently and according to the situation is the foundation of agile self-organisation.

Methods for better self-organisation

Efficient self-organisation develops through the targeted use of methods and established routines. Many teams use tried-and-tested tools to ensure transparency and orientation within the sprint at all times.

Visual task management with Kanban

A Kanban board makes tasks and their progress visible at all times. Bottlenecks can be quickly identified with columns such as "To Do", "In Progress" and "Done". To clarify responsibilities, each team member either uses their own swimlane or specific markers. Remote teams also benefit from digital solutions such as Jira, Trello or Azure Boards.

Prioritisation techniques: MoSCoW & Eisenhower matrix

With the MoSCoW method, tasks are prioritised according to their urgency into must-do, should-do, can-do and not-do tasks. This approach makes it easier to stay focussed in hectic phases.
The Eisenhower matrix is used to categorise tasks into important and urgent categories. Tasks with the highest priority are implemented immediately, while less critical tasks are either processed later or removed from the backlog.

Definition of Done & acceptance criteria

Jointly defined acceptance criteria and a clear Definition of Done (DoD) provide guidance on when a task has actually been completed. This prevents ambiguity or duplication of work. An example of a team agreement: "A story is only completed when the automated tests have been passed, the documentation is up to date and the review has taken place."

Communication in the sprint: making problems and priorities transparent

Open communication remains a central element of functioning self-organisation. Dailies serve as a discussion platform for progress, challenges and potential conflicts of objectives. Instead of pure status reports, the focus is on an honest exchange - for example with the comment: "The database performance is blocking my story, should we adjust the prioritisation?" Comments like these are valuable in order to be able to react quickly.

Collective and regular feedback promotes team performance and helps to respond appropriately to changing conditions such as unexpected security gaps or postponed deadlines. The aim remains to respond to new circumstances as flexibly and efficiently as possible without regularly jeopardising the overarching sprint plan.

Develop self-organisation individually and as a team

A high degree of self-organisation is not a prerequisite, but develops in the course of collaboration - at both personal and team level.

Specific recommendations for promoting self-organisation:

• Structured time management: methods such as the Pomodoro technique or timeboxing help to organise work better
• Daily self-reflection: After the daily, specifically check which tasks deserve the focus of the day
• Early communication of blockages: Address uncertainties or obstacles in the team in good time instead of ignoring them
• Encourage constructive feedback: Regularly question what worked well in the sprint and where priorities may need to be reprioritised

Regular review meetings at the end of each sprint are recommended for teams. In this round, the team reflects on how effective the self-organisation was and whether the priorities set led to the desired results. Questions such as "What made it easier to focus?" or "What distractions occurred?" help to initiate improvements.

Remote and hybrid teams: living self-organisation at a distance

The requirements for self-organisation are even more stringent for distributed teams. Digital workflows play a key role here - as does a shared understanding of roles and responsibilities.

A practical approach: each story is assigned a clearly named "owner" who ensures status updates and keeps work progress transparent. Digital check-ins and the use of established communication platforms such as Slack or Microsoft Teams allow queries and coordination requirements to be resolved efficiently.

One possible scenario: during an infrastructure upgrade, team members from several time zones work together. As prioritisation decisions cannot wait until the next joint meeting, it is advisable to first evaluate critical tasks asynchronously and make a final decision in the next sync call.

Best practices for sustainable self-organisation in sprints

Successful teams establish self-organisation as a continuous process. The following procedures support self-organisation in everyday sprint work in the long term:

• Short, targeted meetings: discussions on priorities take precedence over pure status updates
• Regular retrospectives: Joint reflection promotes improvements in work processes and self-organisation
• Distribute responsibilities cyclically: At times, everyone takes on the role of a "sprint coach" to ensure compliance with common rules of the game
• Clearly document commitments: For example, the promise to tackle ongoing blockades on the same day

Teams that pay attention to overload and mental health create a sustainable working environment. Self-management also includes consciously limiting the scope of work and openly discussing capacities and workloads.

Conclusion: Self-organisation in a sprint can be learned

Self-organisation can be developed and consolidated in a targeted manner - both at an individual level and in a team context. With clearly defined goals, proven methods and a culture of open communication, it is possible to structure sprints effectively and achieve sound results together.