The Football Framework: Learning from the Gridiron

What can Football teach us about agile frameworks & high-performing teams?

— WRITTEN AS A SPEACH OUTLINE —

Pre-Game:

Do you know what the greatest professional football dynasties (1970s Steelers, 1990s San Francisco, and 2000s NE Patriots) all have in common? They were high-performing agile teams using the “football framework”.

Every week the world watches one of the most useful examples of how to cut through the “noise” of agile methodologies.

When you distill a project down; you find that is very similar to the game of football. — Objectives, measurements, milestones, hardships, changes, and goals. — One may also hear similar/interchangeable terminology…

Teams… especially agile teams, also look similar to a football team. — The planners, the leads, the playmakers, and those who work to make it come together.

Any team can be: “Mobile, agile, hostile!” like the famous T.C. Williams Titans Football Team — by thinking like a football player!

First Down: The most popular agile activity in the world: Football

{This segment will consist of a general background of football and a juxtaposition of the construct/players involved in both football & an agile team.}

The Basics:

Football game (similar to a project)

Football team possession (similar to a sprint)

Milestones & Measurements (downs)

Plans (plays)

Goals are scored

The Players:

The Front Office = The Organization

The Coaching Staff = The Product Team/Management

The people who define plans/plays and their expected outcome

The Quarterback = Team Lead(s)

The Running back = The hardworking colleagues who can “plow” through impediments

The Receivers = Skilled positional team members who help accelerate a project or goal

(On Defense) The linebackers, corner backs, safeties = The Quality Assurance team… ensuring that nothing negatively impacts the progress of the team

The Offensive/Defensive Line = The key support team members

This is a most interesting & typically underappreciated part of a team. These are the team members who understand the plan/play, know what the other positional players are going to do, and make it possible for the play to develop through “moving” impediments and protecting the team.

The Fundamentals:

While an exact 1:1 comparison cannot be made for each position on a football field, there are distinct similarities between the gridiron and an agile team.

We see that teams (both football & agile) are formed, primarily through “drafting” the players that they think can help them achieve their goals.

Plans (or plays) are drawn up, with a certain expectation of success

Those players work together, in unique ways, every time the ball is snapped to help them achieve those goals.

Teams typically have players with specialized skillsets, which allow them to build the trust of their teammates each time they execute a task.

Sometimes the unexpected happens… and plans/plays break-down. Teams need to know what their options are to mitigate risk or loss.

Second Down: How do teams identify what to do, when to do it & who should do it?

In football, during the course of a game, progress towards a goal is measured in a series of four “downs” at a time. If a team can move the football (without issue) 10 yards during those four downs, it gets a first down and continues to move toward a goal!

If a football team cannot make a first down, they must decide whether to punt the ball away, kick a field goal, or go all-in on the final down.

Similarly, to the downs in football, teams work (or sometimes “sprint”) toward milestones en route to a goal. At a basic level, the more goals a team achieves guarantees sustained project success. But sometimes things come up & plays break down.

Just as in football, it is important that teams know what to do in a given situation and when to consider the following:

What are the fallback plans is a play/plan breaks-down?

When is it appropriate to either get some of the “points”, or meet some of the goal (like a field goal), or punt to gain a new perspective?

In what scenarios should a team go all-in and “gamble” on getting something to the next milestone?

Third Down: Put it into practice!

Start thinking like a football team!

Huddle up before possessions or plays

Hold a daily scrum session & open lanes of communication

Football coaching staffs are notorious for their pep-talks, but between football games… they meticulously review film, analytics, metrics, and feedback to see where a team can improve. — This is exactly what a team should do! Some examples include:

Hold a retrospective after each “game” & review useful team metrics

The presentation will review an example of a useful retrospective activity (the football themed retro)

Make sure that discussions and retrospectives yield action items for the team to continue to improve.

Cultivate a team atmosphere. It is imperative that a team understands each of their roles, learns from each other & trusts each other. A team should understand that they are all working toward a common goal together.

Beyond routine execution of a play/plan, cross-team training & bonding is invaluable to creating this atmosphere.

Furthermore, team members will start to understand who can help or fill-in when difficulties arise.

Determine team options when a play/plan breaks-down — how will a team respond to adversity?

Design project plans, like plays, to have the ability to “check-down” or “hand-off” when needed — to ensure a team can get to that next first down

Hold effective planning sessions which design “plays” that utilize the strengths of your team.

For example: if a football team is better at passing the football that running it, they would design plays to emphasize that aspect of their game.

An agile team should design project plans and backlogs, which take into account how their team operates best.

Fourth Down: Tying the football mindset together

Of all of the thousands of books, literature, and discussions around agile frameworks, teams, and various approaches — it is useful to simply look toward the good ‘ol gridiron.

Adversity is part of the game, but it is how creatively a team can work together to both learn & overcome adversity and score.

Sometimes, a team must win by attrition, but the key is how you execute, plan, and grow as a team.

This thought process DOES NOT negate the use of a various agile methodologies (i.e. SAFe, XP, traditional Scrum, Kanban, etc.) — rather it is a team-oriented mindset which can be used to cut through “noise”.

Reiterated: When you distill a project down; you find that is very similar to the game of football. — Objectives, measurements, milestones, hardships, changes, and goals.

Reiterated: Teams… especially agile teams, also look similar to a football team. — The planners, the leads, the playmakers, and those who work to make it come together.

Touchdown:

All should remember the now famous line from Remember the Titans. Teams should be: “Mobile, agile, hostile!”

It is not important to do everything by-the-book, or to follow a specific agile method to the letter, but rather to understand the fundamentals. — After all, this is key when considering the rationale behind the Agile Manifesto.

There will always be rules as well as organizational policies to adhere to — but a team should align their thinking to reach their goals.

Football offers insight into a proven “framework” focusing on team coordination, trust, and effective execution.

To help a team strive to be the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time) they should start to think like a football player & use the “Football Framework”.