Team Practices Group

The Team Practices Group (TPG) supports Wikimedia Foundation engineering teams in their continual improvement.

The TPG does so by offering the following services to WMF engineering teams:
 * Providing dedicated resourcing for a team's scrummaster (or similar) role, depending on availability/resourcing of the TPG.
 * e.g. A team wants a dedicated scrummaster but does not currently have anyone on their team who wants or is able to take on the role. They go to the TPG, and the TPG provides them with someone who can fulfill that role.
 * Periodic or one-off collaborative engagements to facilitate process improvements for individuals and teams
 * e.g. A team getting ready to kick off a big project wants help in reorganizing their team practices to use the Scrum framework. They request support from the TPG, and the TPG provides Scrum training to that team.
 * Mentorship and support for people in the scrummaster (or similar) role.
 * e.g. An existing scrummaster (not provided by the TPG) is looking for ways to increase and improve their skills. S/he requests support from the TPG, and the TPG provides mentorship and resources.

Engagement with the TPG is entirely optional for WMF engineering teams. Engineering teams may elect to receive all, some, or none of the TPG services at any given time.

The TPG aims to not be prescriptive nor dogmatic. The TPG is agnostic in regards to specific methodologies (e.g. Scrum vs Kanban). Instead, the TPG works with individuals and teams to facilitate their discovery and implementation of methodologies/approaches that work best for them, guided by the agile manifesto and agile principles.

The Team

 * Kristen Lans - Scrummaster (Mobile web and Mobile apps)


 * Arthur Richards - Team Practices Manager

Documentation

 * Health check survey (draft)
 * 2014-2015 Goals
 * Proposal for formation of the Team Practices Group

Contact

 * IRC:
 * mailing list