How Autonomy Emerges as Agile Cross-Functional Teams Mature

Adopting the practices of autonomous agile teams in organizations predominantly utilizing staged waterfall type product development processes, introduces organizational, technical and cultural challenges. The Norwegian Labor and Welfare Services (NAV) delivers social and employment services to over 2 million users. NAV decided to investigate the benefits of autonomous agile teams and how to overcome possible challenges through a pilot software development project. The autonomy of the teams was defined by their freedom to work in close cooperation with product owners and users, to take ownership to their processes and practices, and to take responsibility for their interfaces to other systems. During two years of development, both the autonomous agile teams and the project governance matured towards a more coherent manner of working. The findings are used as one reference in the process of transforming the organization to deliver faster, better and to a lower cost.