Crystal Clear: A Practical Guide to Agile for IT Teams (2-8 People)

Is your little IT department being choked by Scrum red tape? Daily standups have become a monotonous report, and they have no time to make a real development? Each sprint is designed as a military event, despite having only a few developers in the team? Crystal Clear is an escape: a development organized without exorbitant regulations, in which individuals are paramount to processes and outcomes are paramount to reports.

What is Crystal Clear?

Crystal Clear is not another project management methodology. It is a lightweight method of software development that is particularly aimed at small teams with 2–8 people that require utmost flexibility without Scrum bureaucracy.

The given methodology, developed by one of the authors of Agile Manifesto, Alistair Cockburn, is founded on a very basic yet effective concept, people are more central than processes. The team does not simply follow the rules that have been set but instead, they select the ways that are effective to them.

The findings of studies conducted on the agile forms of software development have shown that the productivity of teams that employ people-focused models is 25–30 times higher than that of a waterfall system. This is more apparent in small groups where individuals are familiar, and they are able to get used to each other.

Achieving Productivity: 7 Practices of Crystal Clear

Crystal Clear has been developed on the seven practices, out of which three are compulsory to every team. The following is how they will be practical:

Mandatory Practices (Core Practices)

Frequent product delivery – instead of waiting for one big release per quarter, the team releases functionality in small, useful portions. The value is provided to users more quickly, and you can react more quickly to their needs and change the way of development.

Personal, one-on-one communication – personal face-to-face communication, rather than emails, Slack, and documents. When an issue occurs, you communicate with your colleague face to face instead of waiting to get a reply within a couple of days. This is referred to as osmotic communication (as the exchange of substances in a cell) – the information is propagated naturally, such as background noise.

Development via reflection – frequent meetings to talk over what is working and what should change. It is as though a debriefing of a sports match. The team pauses, evaluates their activities and strategizes on how to improve in the future.

Supporting Practices (Additional Practices)

Sense of security: team members are sure about their choices and they do not hesitate to discuss issues. Nobody is afraid of being criticized on errors, as the errors are considered as a way of learning.

Dedication to work: the staff is not divided by frequent interruptions and rethinking. This implies sprints or cycles where individuals have the ability to be able to work without distractions.

Easy access to experts: who do you consult when you do not know how? In Crystal clear, it is easy: professionals are sitting next to one or can be reached easily. There is no need to wait to have somebody available or to open email messages.

Quality technical environment: good tools, version control, automated tests. All of this streamlines work and prevents errors in early development stages.

The creation of Crystal Clear by Alistair Cockburn

The whole process began with a question: What makes some teams successful and not others?

One of the authors of Agile Manifesto, Alistair Cockburn, chose to seek the answer in 1991. He is a prolific researcher who interviewed various project teams and observed the way they worked. This study resulted in two ground-breaking conclusions:

• People matter more than processes – people-oriented methodologies are far more effective than process-oriented ones.
  
• There is no universal methodology – each project and team needs an individual approach.

Cockburn would later apply these concepts in practice in the Orange project in 1994, as the lead consultant. This was a project of proof of concept. His values proved that successful that in 1997 Cockburn wrote the book “Surviving Object-Oriented Projects” that outlined his experience and findings.

He later invented the ideas into a complete family of methodologies called Crystal by 1998. The three key organizations of the present version got solidified in 2004: frequent product delivery, continuous improvement made through reflection, and personal communication.

The official sources of Agile Alliance claim that Crystal Clear is one of the most flexible methodologies, yet is not used in large organizations, as it targets small teams in particular.

Crystal Clear vs. Scrum/Kanban: Key Differences

Crystal Clear is commonly mistaken with Agile, but Agile is a far larger range of methodologies. Let us look at the major distinctions:

In practice, this looks like:

Scrum is similar to the menu in a restaurant; you have options, but they are not very many (specific roles, artifacts, ceremonies). You have to play by the rules.

Crystal Clear is more of recipes using simple ingredients, and you have to cook the dish in your liking. Sprints may be 1 week or 3 weeks long – context dependent.

Result: Crystal clear is most suitable in the context of small (2-8 people) and experienced developers. Scrum is more effective in bigger companies which require standardization.

Crystal Clear: Step-by-Step Plan for Your Team

If you’ve decided that Crystal Clear is what you need, here are practical steps for implementation:

Step 1: 360-Degree Assessment

To begin with, assemble your team and address five key points:

• Business value of the project
• User requirements
• Required technologies
• Project plan
• Team composition (each member’s competencies)

This will take from a few days to two weeks, but it will give you a clear understanding of what to do next. This period is your “foundation”.

Step 2: Early Wins (Quick Wins)

Identify the first small feature which can be deployed fast and demonstrated to the team and the users. This is referred to as a walking skeleton.

It is as though an alpinist made the first step, it indicates that you can make it to the top. The team is confident, the first result is in the view of the users and you both learn how the team works.

Step 3: Information Radiators

Put a large board on the wall where the project status is visible. This could be:

• Kanban boards (To Do → In Progress → Done)
• Progress charts
• Current task lists
• Release calendar

Misunderstandings should be avoided, and people should perceive progress. The information should be up-to-date, readable, and universal.

Step 4: Regular Reflection (Retrospectives)

Carry out retrospectives once a week, once a month or on a need basis. Ask: “What went well?” and “What needs to change?” On this, make adjustments to your working practices.

This is the crucial time – it is with the reflection that Crystal Clear is flexible and adaptive.

Step 5: Architectural Improvements (Incremental Architecture)

Architecture must develop at a slow pace. You will not need to change the whole system completely. Rather, do minor adjustments in the common iterations.

This keeps the code quality/speed of development at a balance.

All You Have to Know about Crystal Clear

Ideal for: Teams of 2–8 people without Scrum bureaucracy

Central value: Humans are important as compared to processes.

Key distinction to Scrum: Maximum flexibility, the least standardization.

3 mandatory practices: Frequent delivery, personal communication, reflection

Benefits: Flexibility, quick adaptation, high productivity for small teams

Requires: Experienced teams. 

Struggles With: Not suitable for large companies.

Crystal Clear is especially the case with startups and small IT teams, where people are familiar with one another and can readily adjust to changes. Crystal Clear will be your way to go, should you require a methodology that will treat you and not constantly demand that you adhere to a different person’s regulations.