Team Velocity: Productive Teams at Scale • Ben Mackie • YOW! 2018

Velocity measures output, while productivity focuses on delivering value efficiently with minimal waste and friction

Key elements for productive teams at scale:

• Create awareness through goals and metrics
• Build accountability through team commitments rather than deadlines
• Enable autonomy while maintaining alignment with business objectives
• Focus on flow and reducing waste in processes

Effective tactics for improving team productivity:

• Use guardrails and “trip wires” instead of strict rules
• Enable experimentation within constraints
• Map end-to-end value streams to identify bottlenecks
• Implement “no meeting” days to improve focus time
• Create opportunities for cross-team learning and sharing

Leadership approaches that support productivity:

• Move from heroics to sustainable team performance
• Balance standardization with team autonomy
• Connect team activities to business goals
• Create psychological safety for improvement initiatives
• Step back but stay connected through metrics and check-ins

Quality and measurement considerations:

• Focus on defect prevention over defect counting
• Test automation and coverage should align with business value
• Use metrics to identify patterns and improvements
• Consider both team health and technical metrics
• Measure progress toward goals rather than just activity

Cultural elements that enable productivity:

• Celebrate learning and improvement
• Own commitments as a team
• Build accountability through transparency
• Encourage experimentation within guardrails
• Balance individual and team productivity needs