‘I am here to help you’.
Both the Agile Coach and Agile Consultant will say the same to you. Whom will you choose? It gets difficult to make a choice as many people are not able to differentiate between an Agile Coach and an Agile Consultant which makes it even harder to take a decision. I would like to throw some light on this interesting topic to give our readers a clear picture of the same. At first I am explaining the general concept of Coaching and Consulting.
Coaching
Coaching is all about assisting people to clarify and put in their best efforts in order to achieve a target set. It is considered a co-creative process wherein a Coach works with people who have already achieved some degree of success but their success is stagnant. The Coach helps them to move forward by attaining higher performance. He takes an individual into his own inner wisdom. Lots of effective listening, support and facilitation of personal development goes into the process of Coaching along with dynamic interaction with people to get wondrous results. The focus of coaching is for a longer span of time.
Consulting
Consulting is always about offering expertise, analysis and recommendations. It gives people an idea on how to alleviate a certain problem. Consultants use their wisdom to advise people the solutions which leaves them motivated. The primary job is to identify a problem and recommend specific solutions to it. The focus of consulting is short-term which is mostly tactically oriented. Many consultants work as freelancers and give advice to their clients when needed.
When it comes to a professional environment, both Coaches and Consultants are highly skilled professionals who can play an instrumental role for a client or organization to achieve their coveted goals in an efficient manner. Same goes for Agile Coach and Agile Consultant. They are the people knowing the best practices to address the most crucial and intricate software development process. Find the differences between a Coach and a Consultant
Agile Coach |
Agile Consultant |
| He follows a process of powerful questions which helps the project team to identify the problems. He is there when you implement the action plan in order to give a reminder of what all aspects to be considered. The Agile Coach guides the team to resolve issues their way. | You can expect an Agile Consultant to provide you answers or solutions to a problem identified in the project. He delivers an action plan which is to get implement to resolve the issue occurred. He helps the team to deal with project related problem his way. |
| Indeed, a Coach will stand by the team’s side in order to achieve the project goal. He will look at the things in team’s perspective. He knows what resonates for the team in the process of software project development. | A consultant will never be bothered about what a team’s perspective is; it is not a part of his job. He is there to give you an advice based on his extensive experience with Agile methodologies. |
| You can expect the Agile Coach to change the direction with the team when needed. Plus, he looks at the broader picture of all the issues affecting project management strategies. | You won’t find such flexibility with consultants. The Agile Consultant provides solutions to the situation the organization has contracted him to deal with. |
Well, Coaching is a small form of Consulting, but both are different.
Gone are the days when Coaches were associated and confined only to the executive suite and the sports field. With the rapid growth in the field of Agile Software Development, the demand for Agile Coaches is also growing by leaps and bounds. Well, the Agile team may exist without the Coaches and Consultants. But, it has been observed that they can’t easily achieve the peak performance. The Agile Coach and Agile Consultant make significant contribution towards a Software Development project’s success. Both can prove to be asset to an organization.
Conclusion
Though there is a difference between an Agile Coach and an Agile Consultant yet both are important for the success of a Software Development process and growth of an organization. They both can help you! The Agile Coach helps the project team to improve on Agile methodologies and best practices whereas the Agile Consultant plays the role of an advisor to resolve complicated project development issues.
