There are various ways to approach this, and I agree the one I mentioned isn’t the only one, but point remains: however good the solution it won’t work if someone simply introduces new working practices as “the answer” and expects change to happen. Trying to impose a solution creates stress, and stress causes people to seek the comfort of established habits.

Having said that I agree with John that the approach taken will depend on the team. In particular, it will depend on the experience the team members have. If certain team members do not have the relevant experience to contribute to what practices are implemented and when, then I see no problem with those who do - manager or otherwise - taking the initiative. What I do think is important is to get buy-in from those who will have to practice the practices. In my previous article, Methodology and Madness - Introducing Process to a Development Group, I described how we got programmers inexperienced in C++ to pair program with a C++ mentor. We introduced this practice by suggesting they try it and see if they felt it was beneficial.

So, the “what to do” should come from something like a retrospective, not be handed down by a consultant/manager.