I have a (Cloud-management) dream

(Based on a conversation I had yesterday with a manager whose subordinate is in a Scrum-team… )

Should your team-members report directly to you or work in a (real) team ?

Should they be “owned” by you, or by their team?

Or

What are your benefits of switch from direct management to becoming a stakeholder?

The same benefits of cloud-computing!

• Sometimes you need more than what Documentation-guy/ Graphic-designer/ Java-Developer/ Recruiter can deliver.
• And sometimes you need less.

So why not create a team where everyone can help everyone (to some extent), and benefit the temporary slack one member has to help another one?

When you use the cloud:

• you don’t pay for the resources you don’t use,
• The computer you used yesterday may be used now by someone else.
• You no longer own loads of computers just to cover possible peak time.
• You no longer deal with the pains of your computer going down when you need it the most, of an expired software version, etc.
• You can use tons of OS versions, and configurations

When you use a multi-disciplinary team, you no longer:

• Have people staying late while others do idle tasks.
• Have to justify having a ‘full-time’ designer/ developer so when there is pressure you don’t fall-short.
• Have the management overload
• Start panicking when your critical ‘Resource’ is Sick at the worst time.
• Need to take care of training (the team does it!)
• And you enjoy a much richer skill-set!

And if you are not satisfied?

Simply (in my dream, reality may be more complicated… :) take your stakes out — stop funding the team, and use the money to have your own employee back.

You can use a multi-skilled team (let’s call it a Scrum-team?) that provides services for you and other people (let’s call them Stake holders?) and whose priorities are set be Someone who serves your needs (let’s call her a Product Owner?)

So — Why not?