Built for success: Working in a cross-functional team

Laying the foundations

On the surface, working in a cross-functional team sounds chaotic. You have a bunch of people with different professional backgrounds and expertise working together towards a single goal. How on earth does this work in practice?

But, dig a little deeper, and you’ll quickly discover working as a cross-functional team is like striking gold. Leveraging these different areas of expertise and collaborating closely together is a recipe for success. When each individual is aligned on the goal and knows exactly their part to play, then cross-functional teams can operate like a well-oiled machine.

Visualizing the process in draw.io promotes this alignment and clarity by providing a clear roadmap from project start to finish. Combined with working within a single source of truth like Confluence, which is made for collaboration, cross-functional teams can produce something truly magical. With draw.io for Confluence:

• Your company data is kept secure.
• No precious work is lost with draw.io’s Revision History, and Confluence page version history.
• With user tier subscriptions and competitive pricing, everyone in your organization can visualize the way they want.

In this blogpost, we’ll lay the solid foundations cross-functional teams require in order to set themselves, and their project, up for success.

Building the perfect house

To build the perfect house, what do you need? The right tools and materials, the right spot to build on, and, most importantly, the right people to get the job done.

Much like building a house, managing a big project requires the same formula: the right software tools, and the right people with a shared vision to make the project a reality. When your team consists of a strong constellation of colleagues, with each individual knowing their role and responsibilities and having the know-how to get things done, great things can be achieved.

In this example, we look at a swimlane diagram built in draw.io, containing four key players of a cross-functional team: the Architect, Client, Builder, and Inspector. Simply put, swimlane diagrams highlight who does what and when in a given process. They are a powerful tool for cross-functional teams, as they clarify responsibilities and handoffs, which in turn streamlines processes and improves collaboration.

Swimlane diagram showing the steps and roles involved in building a house

Clarity

The swimlane diagram shows how everyone has a distinct role in the housebuild project, and the tasks each individual is responsible for are clearly outlined.

When decisions are to be made, these are designated by a decision split. The next step in the process is determined by whether or not the condition is met. Either the teammates move on to the next step, or adjustments need to be made before proceeding.

A decision split showing the next step, depending on whether or not the design is approved

Task hand-offs are represented by connectors. In this example, once the Architect has designed the blueprints for the house, it’s time for the Builder to start laying the foundations. Cross-functional teams that clearly communicate when their part in the process is done is crucial, as it allows the next team member to begin their part of the task, with no time being wasted on uncertainty about what the next step in the process is, or who is responsible for it.

Once the Architect has created the blueprints, it’s time for the Builder to start laying the foundations

Transparency

Each team member has a role to play, and when they communicate transparently on where they are with their tasks, everyone has an accurate overview of the project status.

Working visibly in Confluence or Jira is a great way to facilitate transparency and effective communication on a project. Require feedback from another team member? “@-mention” them in the Confluence page or in a Jira ticket comment. Heading on leave, and need to hand over a task part-way through? Change the Jira ticket Assignee, and inform the new person responsible what has already been done, and what’s outstanding.

Communicating clearly and regularly throughout the project is vital, as it means problems can be immediately addressed and resolved. It’s much better to be upfront about what’s possible than to over-promise and fall short. This in turn helps avoid those tricky situations where things get delayed because of unrealistic expectations, or lack of communication.

Notify colleagues with “@-mentions” in Confluence pages and Jira tickets

Alignment

As part of the shared vision for the project, the team should be aligned on what needs to be achieved and when. Alignment extends not just to a shared project vision, but also to clarity on team members’ involvement in project decisions – RACI charts are a great way to outline this.

When teams are aligned on their ways of working and how they communicate, this helps the project to come along in leaps and bounds, by reducing inefficient workflows and reducing the risk of miscommunication. Continued alignment is something teams can nurture, for example, by encouraging individuals to give regular updates on their tasks throughout the project.

The goal that the team is aligned on in this scenario is to build the perfect house, and this involves steps to check over work and refine the project at every stage. This means team members should already have agreed on one way of working: that their work isn’t done simply when their task is done, but that they need to be open to receiving feedback and refining their work.

And the outcome? All being well, a Happy Client – something I’m sure everyone on the project wants!

The outcome? A Happy Client (hopefully)!

Adding the finishing touches

When clarity, transparency, and alignment are a priority for each member of a given project, cross-functional teams can thrive. Equally important is learning from when things don’t go to plan, which is the rule, rather than the exception, particularly for big projects with multiple dependencies.

A great way to capture what went well and what could be improved next time round is with a retrospective held after the project end. This should be an open, honest discussion on achievements to celebrate together, and what could be implemented next time for the project to go smoother. A retro should not be a blame game of “he said this”, or, “she did that”, but rather an objective look at what actions were taken during the project that did or didn’t have the desired outcome, to put in place measures for the next project.

A house is never truly finished – it will always need renovating, and a lick of paint here and there. There will also be key learnings the cross-functional team can take away for when they work on their next dream project, to renovate themselves, as well as their ways of working.

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