Self-organization is a property of complex adaptive systems, whereby the organization of the system emerges over time as a response to its environment. In Agile development, particularly in Scrum, self-organization is a property of the agile development team, which organizes itself over time, rather than being ordered by an external force such as a project or development manager. Self-organization also reflects the management philosophy whereby operational decisions are delegated as much as possible to those who have the most detailed knowledge of the consequences and practicalities associated with those decisions.

Related links: Self-Organization

See also: Emergrence, Inspect and Adapt