stituation
Developers continued to misinform Business of features changes due to the technical limitations of the product. Business continue to raise this concern with the team only to receive a response that developers work on the "how" and the business provide the "what" and "why". This introduced disagreements and distrust on both sides.
Challenges
By Developers not communicating the "how", Business had no way of knowing if they were building the right product, or for that matter, the right product right. This created tension between Business and Developers and a lack of transparency within the Developers working agreements.
Actions
Created a safe space to have a workshop on conflict navigation using a vision and values activity. Provided icebreakers to get team members to establish better partnerships. Encouraged video conferencing with off-shore team members and ensured full participation. Revisited team's working agreements to include how groups intend to de-escalate future conflict.
results
Revised team working agreement by consensus that enlisted full participation of the Business. Product team survey captured a 75% increase of better communication and collaboration after participating in the conflict navigation workshop. Business was encouraged with continued communication of future changes and developers felt more trust, autonomy, and Business guidance on product development.