Implement Communities of Practice in an agile IT environment

Abstract

Many IT companies face the challenge of keeping up with the fast pace of the markets and the rapid pace of technological progress. This manifest itself in the topic of digitization and cultural change. It is becoming increasingly important to be able to respond to external influences in an agile manner and to be able to assess technical progress appropriately for one's own needs. The appropriate toolbox -- a collection of methodologies, formats and patterns -- can help significantly in mastering these challenges. Therefore, it is essential for companies to have a working toolset in place. This paper describes patterns from the author's perspective and experience in implementing Communities of Practice (CoP) -- a well-known collaboration format to empower employees to engage with strategically important issues early on -- in an agile IT environment. This paper is for managers, team-leads, architects and members of self-organized development teams working for IT companies that are creating software.