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How to Scale Agile Practices as Your Team Grows
Agile practices that work for 5 developers may fail at 15 or 50. GitScrum scales with your team—start minimal, add WIP limits as flow matters more, use Team Standup when async coordination becomes essential, and leverage Reports when data-driven decisions become necessary.
Scaling Challenges
What Changes as Teams Grow
SCALING PAIN POINTS:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ GROWTH PHASE CHALLENGES │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ 5 PEOPLE → 10 PEOPLE: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ • Can't just "know" what everyone's doing ││
│ │ • Informal communication breaks down ││
│ │ • Need more structure in workflow ││
│ │ • Review bottlenecks appear ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ 10 PEOPLE → 25 PEOPLE: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ • Single team becomes multiple teams ││
│ │ • Cross-team coordination needed ││
│ │ • Standup meetings too long ││
│ │ • WIP limits become essential ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ 25+ PEOPLE: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ • Need portfolio visibility ││
│ │ • Metrics and reporting matter ││
│ │ • Process standardization required ││
│ │ • Governance and compliance ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Progressive Feature Adoption
What to Add When
| Team Size | Features to Enable |
|---|---|
| 3-5 | Basic Kanban board |
| 5-8 | Labels, WIP limits |
| 8-15 | Team Standup, column rules |
| 15-25 | Multiple projects, Reports |
| 25+ | Workspace dashboard, full analytics |
Scaling Workflow
Adapting Process
PROCESS EVOLUTION:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ GROWING YOUR PRACTICES │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ PHASE 1: FOUNDING TEAM (3-5) │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ Board: To Do → Doing → Done ││
│ │ Standups: Informal, when needed ││
│ │ Sprints: No, continuous flow ││
│ │ Labels: None ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ PHASE 2: GROWING TEAM (5-15) │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ Board: + Ready, Review columns ││
│ │ Standups: Team Standup dashboard (async) ││
│ │ Sprints: Optional, 1-2 week iterations ││
│ │ Labels: Type + priority labels ││
│ │ WIP: Limits on Development, Review ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ PHASE 3: MULTIPLE TEAMS (15-30) │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ Projects: One per team/product ││
│ │ Standups: Per-team Team Standup ││
│ │ Sprints: Synchronized 2-week sprints ││
│ │ Reports: Cumulative Flow, velocity tracking ││
│ │ Labels: Team + component labels ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ PHASE 4: ORGANIZATION (30+) │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ Dashboard: Workspace portfolio view ││
│ │ Reports: Full analytics suite ││
│ │ Process: Standardized across teams ││
│ │ Roles: PM, team leads, contributors ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Multi-Team Coordination
Cross-Team Visibility
| Feature | Coordination Value |
|---|---|
| Workspace Dashboard | All teams at a glance |
| Shared labels | Cross-team tagging |
| Reports | Compare team velocity |
| NoteVault | Shared documentation |
Warning Signs
When to Add Process
SCALING INDICATORS:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ SIGNS YOU NEED MORE STRUCTURE │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ ADD WIP LIMITS WHEN: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ • Too many tasks "in progress" ││
│ │ • Review queue growing ││
│ │ • Context switching complaints ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ ADD TEAM STANDUP WHEN: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ • "What's everyone working on?" questions ││
│ │ • Blockers discovered late ││
│ │ • Daily standups taking 30+ minutes ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ ADD REPORTS WHEN: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ • Can't predict delivery dates ││
│ │ • Stakeholders asking for metrics ││
│ │ • Want to identify improvement areas ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘