Speaker Bio

Victor Bonacci, Coach, Trainer, and Podcast Host

Victor Bonacci is a senior consultant (Agile Coach) at LeadingAgile and a Certified Scrum Trainer / Agile facilitator at RocketNine Solutions.  He started his career as a filmmaker, then worked a few years as a teacher before moving into software development. He grew into project management roles, but working as an Agile coach, facilitator and trainer is clearly the “sweet spot” where he is most effective, passionate, and happy.

Presentation Ice Breaker

Mr. Bonacci captured all of our attention within the first five minutes! Who could resist a few cups of coffee from the Agile Baristisa himself? As we sat eagerly awaiting his tips and learning objectives of working with a collaborative high-performing team he shared his rich and diverse career background. The evening’s icebreaker encompassed a live example of an Agile team and how quickly and efficiently they are able to adapt to requirements.

Layout: 1 participant from each table to stand in front of the room.

1st Requirement: Victor gave instructions to a chosen leader to align the individuals by the amount of driving time spent en route to the event. (Time elapsed: 2.5min)

2nd Requirement: Victor instructed a chosen leader to empower the same individuals by the attendance frequency to PMI Dinner Events in 1 year. (Time elapsed: 30 secs)

Conclusion: Revealed that when a team is asked to organize themselves will produce quick decisions and adaptations to changes. “This type of empowerment can become a vital tool when used properly.”  – Victor Bonacci

The Basics

According to the Scaled Agile Framework, an agile team is a cross-functional group of typically 10 or fewer individuals with all the skills necessary to define, build, test, and deliver value to their customers.  Source: https://scaledagileframework.com

An Agile project prioritizes flexibility, collaboration, and continuous improvement to deliver value to customers. – Victor Bonacci

Value To The Project Manager

Victor was able to zoom into the big question that all project managers or possibly a more novice project manager will ask, and that is; How do you know if you have a collaborative and/or self-organizing team? Which is often an amazing team!

Victor was kind enough to share his YouTube video with us.  To check out his other AgileCoffee videos and subscribe to his channel follow the QR Code below.

The 8 Characteristics of a Collaborative Team

There are strong characteristics that evolve as a result of Tuckman’s Team Model in which over time the teams’ performance level will increase as they move through the initial forming and result in performing actions together as a true team.  Each team presents the following characteristics:

1. Self – Organizing
2. Empowered to Make Decisions
3. Success As A Team
4. Motivation By Trust
5. The Team Can Solve Any Problem
6. Participatory Decision Making
7. Consensus-Driven Decisions
8. Constructive Disagreement

All participants were invited to small groups or virtual breakout rooms to discuss the following items:

1. Can you imagine a team you have worked with benefiting from being more collaborative?
2. How would having a high-performing team contribute to the success of your project?

You can imagine that these conversations were very enriching. The breakout room Discussions were just as insightful with stories from the different industries and how they would address the given questions. If you were not lucky enough to participate this time around do not fret.  Mr. Bonacci shared valuable literature suggestions you may consider during your next bookstore visit.  You also have an opportunity to visit the chapter’s Book Club sessions as it is another area where the Project Management Community is happy to share experiences with real-world issues.

Honorable Mentions

What an awesome event.  It is always an enjoyable one. Many congratulations to our Volunteers of Merit this month. We are so lucky to work alongside each of you and appreciate all of your efforts on each assignment.

 Please don’t miss the next Dinner meeting.  PMI-OC Dinner Meeting Event Calendar

 Hope to see you soon.