Siloed Team
What is it?
Team members focus exclusively on tasks within their area of specialization (e.g., backend, frontend, QA) and do not actively collaborate on others' work, creating silos and dependencies.
Common symptoms (how does it manifest?)
- Tasks are strictly divided by role (backend, frontend, QA).
- Members do not collaborate on tasks outside their specialty.
- Bottlenecks occur when a specialist is overloaded.
- Lack of shared vision of the complete product.
Impact and consequences (why is it a problem?)
- Slow deliveries due to dependencies and waits between specialists.
- Low quality due to lack of an integrated view (e.g., QA only at the end).
- Little flexibility to adapt to changes or absences.
- Difficulty achieving a true "Done" Increment at the end of the Sprint.
Frequent root causes (why does it happen?)
- Organizational structure based on functional silos.
- Hiring focused on specialists ("I-shaped") rather than generalists ("T-shaped").
- Lack of incentives for cross-functional collaboration.
- Fear of leaving the comfort zone or "stepping on" others' work.