The ideal cross-functional team according to TMAP principles

What makes a team cross-functional?

A cross-functional team is, simply put, a group of people with different skills working together toward one goal. Think of developers, testers, designers, and DevOps specialists building, testing and improving side by side. The difference from traditional teams? In a cross-functional team, the boundaries between roles blur. Everyone bears responsibility for the final product, leading to faster iterations and better communication. But, as anyone who has ever worked in a team knows: collaboration does not always come naturally.

The ideal composition according to TMAP

The strength of a cross-functional team lies not only in the diversity of skills, but also in how those skills come together. From the TMAP philosophy, there are a number of key roles that make any team complete:

1. Product owner
   The product owner is the link between stakeholders and the team. He or she translates customer needs into clear priorities and User Stories. Without a product owner managing the backlog, the team would get caught up in unclear requirements and ad hoc requests.

2. Scrum master
   As a process master, the scrum master ensures that the team works together smoothly. Think of someone who removes obstacles and keeps everyone on track. Within the TMAP approach, the scrum master plays a key role in integrating testing activities into the sprints.

3. Developers
   These are the creators. But in a TMAP context, they are more than that: developers work closely with testers to build quality directly into the code, rather than fixing it after the fact.

4. Quality engineers/testers
   The backbone of quality assurance. This role goes beyond just debugging; testers help assess risk’s and ensure that every User Story meets the Definition of Done. They work with developers and product owners to create testable specifications.

5. UX/UI designers
   Often underestimated, but essential to user-friendly software. Their focus is on the end-user experience, and in collaboration with testers, they make sure that everything that looks beautiful works well.

6. DevOps engineers
   They keep the technical foundation afloat. Whether it's CI/CD pipelines or infrastructure management, DevOps specialists make sure the team can deliver smoothly and reliably.

How TMAP guards the balance

A cross-functional team can only be effective if everyone speaks the same language – and no, we don't mean programming languages here. With TMAP, you create a common ground for communication and collaboration. The VOICE model is a perfect example of this: this model helps teams clearly define business value (Value) and quality goals (Objectives) so that everyone knows where the end goal lies.

In addition, TMAP encourages a whole-team approach, meaning that everyone on the team bears responsibility for quality. This prevents testers from feeling like they have to put out fires while developers continue to build blindly. Everyone works together toward the same goal: a product that is not only functional, but also reliable and user-friendly.

The power of risk-based testing

One of TMAP's most valuable insights is its focus on risk-based testing. Instead of testing everything – which is time-consuming and inefficient – the team works with stakeholders to determine which risk’s have the greatest effect on the success of the product. This allows testers and developers to focus on the critical issues, such as security, performance or usability.

Suppose a team is working on a mobile app for financialële transactions. The top priority for stakeholders is security. With TMAP, the team can focus on security testing, such as penetration testing, while less critical items, such as button color selection, are addressed later. This increases efficiency and keeps everyone focused on what really matters.

What can go wrong in a cross-functional team?

Cross-functional teams sound great on paper, but all sorts of challenges can crop up in practice. Think miscommunication, unclear responsibilities or the classic “but that's not my job” syndrome. Fortunately, TMAP provides tools to avoid these pitfalls.

One of the biggest risk’s is that team members continue to work in silo’s. Although a team can be formally cross-functional, in practice you sometimes see testers, developers and other specialists barely working together. Instead, TMAP emphasizes shared responsibility for quality. By involving the entire team in test strategyën and quality criteria, you prevent anyone from hiding behind their role.

In addition, it is important to set realistic expectations. Stakeholders often want everything at once, but that's a recipe for disappointment. With the VOICE model, you can make priorities clear and help teams focus on what is really important. This prevents frustration and ensures everyone is on the same page.

Continuous improvement with TMAP

A good cross-functional team is never ‘finished’. Like the product they build, teams must continue to evolve. TMAP encourages a culture of continuous improvement. This means not just fixing bugs, but looking structurally at how to improve processes.

A practical example is the use of retrospectives. Using the principles of TMAP, you can supplement retrospectives with concrete quality measurements. Suppose a team notices that releases are often delayed due to late bug fixes. By identifying these problems with metrics from TMAP, the team can look for more targeted solutions, such as more focus on test automation or earlier involvement of testers.

Involve stakeholders the right way

Stakeholders are an important part of any project, but their involvement can be both a blessing and a challenge. On one hand, they bring valuable insights; on the other, they can sometimes distract from the core of the project. How do you keep that balance?

TMAP offers a solution here by defining clear quality criteria that can be directly linked back to stakeholder requirements. For example, during Sprint Reviews you can not only present the progress of the product, but also show how the team has met stakeholder quality expectations. By engaging stakeholders in this way, you give them confidence in the process én prevent them from wanting to change course halfway through the project.

Test automation as a tool

Test automation is one of the best friends of a cross-functional team. It speeds up the process, reduces human error and allows you to respond quickly to change. But automation is not a magic solution – it must be wellïntegrated into the team.

TMAP helps with this by linking test automation to risk-based testing. Instead of automating everything, you can prioritize the tests that have the greatest impact on stakeholders. This not only makes for a more efficient process, but also prevents you from wasting time on redundant scripts.

An example: suppose you are building an e-commerce platform. It is important that the checkout process works flawlessly, while minor visual bugs on less important pages’s are less of a priority. With TMAP, you can develop a strategy in which you automatically test at critical points, while manually testing where it is more efficient.

The importance within modern teams

In a world where speed and quality are increasingly important, TMAP provides a structure that helps teams deliver both. It combines technical tools with a philosophy of collaboration, accountability and continuous improvement. This makes it not only a method, but also a mindset that fits perfectly with the dynamics of cross-functional teams.

By integrating TMAP into your team, you can increase not only the technical quality of your product, but also the collaboration and commitment of your team members. And let's face it: a team that works well together not only delivers better results, but also works a lot more pleasantly.

Compose your team well

Creating an effective cross-functional team is an art in itself. It requires a mix of skills, personalities and – perhaps most importantly – a shared focus on quality. With TMAP, you gain not only the tools to structure this process, but also the mindset to continuously improve and work better together. Follow the e-learning TMAP®: Quality for cross- functional teams.